Carmen & Danzante Islands
Shortly after sunrise the National Geographic Sea Bird entered the boundaries of the Loreto Bay National Park. This park is part of the network of natural protected areas of Mexico and one of the few marine reserves in the Gulf of California. During the morning we sailed off Carmen Island, the largest of the five islands included in the park, and not long after breakfast a group of bottlenose dolphins joined us. This is possibly the second most abundant cetacean in the Gulf and a pure joy to watch because they love to ride the pressure wave in front of the moving ship and often leap out of the water.
We continued our exploration of the productive waters around Carmen Is. and encountered a big group of the most abundant cetacean in the area, the long-beaked common dolphin. Perhaps a couple of hundred dolphins busily chased fish close to the surface and even seemed to use us as a barrier to corner their prey. For a long time the ship became one of the group as the dolphins swam alongside her, giving us the chance to admire their streamlined bodies and photograph their antics.
After lunch we dropped the anchor at Honeymoon Cove in Danzante Island. There we all enjoyed different water activities like snorkeling and kayaking; snorkelers observed a number of different fish and invertebrates, including king angel fishes, Panamic cushion sea stars, blue and yellow chromis, flower sea urchins and blue-spotted jaw fishes. Later in the afternoon hikers explored the island following numerous trails established by the park authorities. A delicious dinner was served ashore by our ever-busy hotel department, putting a great end to another beautiful day in Baja California.
Shortly after sunrise the National Geographic Sea Bird entered the boundaries of the Loreto Bay National Park. This park is part of the network of natural protected areas of Mexico and one of the few marine reserves in the Gulf of California. During the morning we sailed off Carmen Island, the largest of the five islands included in the park, and not long after breakfast a group of bottlenose dolphins joined us. This is possibly the second most abundant cetacean in the Gulf and a pure joy to watch because they love to ride the pressure wave in front of the moving ship and often leap out of the water.
We continued our exploration of the productive waters around Carmen Is. and encountered a big group of the most abundant cetacean in the area, the long-beaked common dolphin. Perhaps a couple of hundred dolphins busily chased fish close to the surface and even seemed to use us as a barrier to corner their prey. For a long time the ship became one of the group as the dolphins swam alongside her, giving us the chance to admire their streamlined bodies and photograph their antics.
After lunch we dropped the anchor at Honeymoon Cove in Danzante Island. There we all enjoyed different water activities like snorkeling and kayaking; snorkelers observed a number of different fish and invertebrates, including king angel fishes, Panamic cushion sea stars, blue and yellow chromis, flower sea urchins and blue-spotted jaw fishes. Later in the afternoon hikers explored the island following numerous trails established by the park authorities. A delicious dinner was served ashore by our ever-busy hotel department, putting a great end to another beautiful day in Baja California.
