Sand Dollar Beach & Hull Canal
The meandering walk across the dunes of Isla Magdalena is simply magical. What a wonderful place to start our voyage. We discovered middens of shells and learned of family groups that once roamed this area, eating plants and creatures from the sea. We stumbled upon the tracks of a jackrabbit right next to those of a coyote. The rippled, rolling dunes are a striking stage for nature’s theater. There was ample time to explore along the long, flat beach as the falling tide revealed clumps of curious seaweed. Red mangrove seeds, sand dollars and colorful shells were scattered in all directions. Some walked in solitude and others sat and chatted while a variety of marine birds flew by to check out us humans. The National Geographic Sea Lion appeared at times to float on the water, and at times on the sand, as we slowly made our way back across the hilly dunes.
After getting underway, we had a smooth ride north in Hull Canal and through the extremely narrow and shallow area of Devil’s Bend. We were fortunate to see three different groups of bottlenose dolphins. What fun they seemed to have as they rode the pressure wave at the bow of the ship. With low tide and low winds, the views were excellent for bird watching and sighting coyotes. Those who spent the whole afternoon on the bow may have had seven or more sightings. Along the shore, local fishermen collected clams and pen shells for sale. We dropped off our pilot, Allejandro, and then anchored just before a quick, but brilliant, orange sunset at Boca de Soledad.
The meandering walk across the dunes of Isla Magdalena is simply magical. What a wonderful place to start our voyage. We discovered middens of shells and learned of family groups that once roamed this area, eating plants and creatures from the sea. We stumbled upon the tracks of a jackrabbit right next to those of a coyote. The rippled, rolling dunes are a striking stage for nature’s theater. There was ample time to explore along the long, flat beach as the falling tide revealed clumps of curious seaweed. Red mangrove seeds, sand dollars and colorful shells were scattered in all directions. Some walked in solitude and others sat and chatted while a variety of marine birds flew by to check out us humans. The National Geographic Sea Lion appeared at times to float on the water, and at times on the sand, as we slowly made our way back across the hilly dunes.
After getting underway, we had a smooth ride north in Hull Canal and through the extremely narrow and shallow area of Devil’s Bend. We were fortunate to see three different groups of bottlenose dolphins. What fun they seemed to have as they rode the pressure wave at the bow of the ship. With low tide and low winds, the views were excellent for bird watching and sighting coyotes. Those who spent the whole afternoon on the bow may have had seven or more sightings. Along the shore, local fishermen collected clams and pen shells for sale. We dropped off our pilot, Allejandro, and then anchored just before a quick, but brilliant, orange sunset at Boca de Soledad.
