Gorda Banks & Cabo San Lucas
The morning started in the best possible way, with calm seas and whales; in fact, several humpback whales were spotted well before sunrise as the National Geographic Sea Lion sailed off the southernmost portion of the Baja California peninsula. The whales’ blows were seen in many directions and many individuals delighted us with spectacular breaches, some of them very close to us! One of them sported a 3 to 4 feet long piece of monofilament net entangled with her chin barnacles, the result of an unfortunate encounter with the local fisheries.
Sea birds, Mobula rays, and even a solitary marlin were also seen during our transit along the Gorda Banks area; all in all, a most pleasant morning. Unusually difficult sea conditions provided us the chance to demonstrate the flexibility of a true expedition and exercise “Plan B”. By noon we arrived at Cabo San Lucas, where we boarded motor coaches and headed north to the lovely town of Todos Santos for a quiet afternoon ashore. Along our way we admired the magnificent vistas of the Pacific coast, as dozens of whale blows were spotted from the shore! Crested caracaras, red-tailed and Harris’ hawks, northern mockingbirds, and many more birds during the new “motor coach hike”. We arrived at the tranquil city of La Paz, where a magnificent display of traditional Mexican dances and a great buffet dinner waited for us at Los Arcos Hotel. Tomorrow our adventure will continue as we head towards Magdalena Bay, where we will seek out gray whales!
The morning started in the best possible way, with calm seas and whales; in fact, several humpback whales were spotted well before sunrise as the National Geographic Sea Lion sailed off the southernmost portion of the Baja California peninsula. The whales’ blows were seen in many directions and many individuals delighted us with spectacular breaches, some of them very close to us! One of them sported a 3 to 4 feet long piece of monofilament net entangled with her chin barnacles, the result of an unfortunate encounter with the local fisheries.
Sea birds, Mobula rays, and even a solitary marlin were also seen during our transit along the Gorda Banks area; all in all, a most pleasant morning. Unusually difficult sea conditions provided us the chance to demonstrate the flexibility of a true expedition and exercise “Plan B”. By noon we arrived at Cabo San Lucas, where we boarded motor coaches and headed north to the lovely town of Todos Santos for a quiet afternoon ashore. Along our way we admired the magnificent vistas of the Pacific coast, as dozens of whale blows were spotted from the shore! Crested caracaras, red-tailed and Harris’ hawks, northern mockingbirds, and many more birds during the new “motor coach hike”. We arrived at the tranquil city of La Paz, where a magnificent display of traditional Mexican dances and a great buffet dinner waited for us at Los Arcos Hotel. Tomorrow our adventure will continue as we head towards Magdalena Bay, where we will seek out gray whales!
