Los Cabos & Gorda Bank
Today we were rewarded at the very beginning of the day. Slightly earlier than previous days, we gathered on the bow to view the sunrise at Land's End. The sun rose, painting the sky in various tones of red and yellow.
The sun began to light the Friar Rocks at Land’s End, the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula. Misty blows were spotted at this time and to our growing surprise, these were gray whales! A good number of them were seen swimming quietly on their own or even in groups of three and four.
We entered and docked at the Cabo San Lucas Marina where we were invited to choose from a variety of activities. One group stepped aboard our Zodiacs to snorkel and explore the marine life around Pelican Rock; they saw a variety of reef fish such as butterfly fish, Cortez and king angel fish, moorish idols, and many other species rarely seen outside of this region of the peninsula.
Two more groups boarded a motor-coach heading north to the other “cape”: the small local town of San Jose del Cabo, capital of the municipality of Los Cabos (The Capes). Here, we went bird watching in an estuary, a remarkable lush area refreshed by the fresh water that runs towards the sea, forming a true oasis. Among other birds seen, there were blue-winged teals, cinnamon teals, green-winged teal, common moorhen, white-faced ibis, osprey, little blue heron, peregrine falcon and more. The other group went to visit the town square and the nearby historic mission.
Back to the National Geographic Sea Lion we departed Cabo San Lucas, heading north towards the area known as Gorda Banks, where we expected to see Humpback whales, a regular visitor to this region. Instead, we encountered more gray whales! More than we have ever seen, the gray whales outnumbered the humpbacks!
As closure for this magnificent day, we enjoyed another beautiful sunset in the Gulf of California or the sea of Cortes.
Today we were rewarded at the very beginning of the day. Slightly earlier than previous days, we gathered on the bow to view the sunrise at Land's End. The sun rose, painting the sky in various tones of red and yellow.
The sun began to light the Friar Rocks at Land’s End, the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula. Misty blows were spotted at this time and to our growing surprise, these were gray whales! A good number of them were seen swimming quietly on their own or even in groups of three and four.
We entered and docked at the Cabo San Lucas Marina where we were invited to choose from a variety of activities. One group stepped aboard our Zodiacs to snorkel and explore the marine life around Pelican Rock; they saw a variety of reef fish such as butterfly fish, Cortez and king angel fish, moorish idols, and many other species rarely seen outside of this region of the peninsula.
Two more groups boarded a motor-coach heading north to the other “cape”: the small local town of San Jose del Cabo, capital of the municipality of Los Cabos (The Capes). Here, we went bird watching in an estuary, a remarkable lush area refreshed by the fresh water that runs towards the sea, forming a true oasis. Among other birds seen, there were blue-winged teals, cinnamon teals, green-winged teal, common moorhen, white-faced ibis, osprey, little blue heron, peregrine falcon and more. The other group went to visit the town square and the nearby historic mission.
Back to the National Geographic Sea Lion we departed Cabo San Lucas, heading north towards the area known as Gorda Banks, where we expected to see Humpback whales, a regular visitor to this region. Instead, we encountered more gray whales! More than we have ever seen, the gray whales outnumbered the humpbacks!
As closure for this magnificent day, we enjoyed another beautiful sunset in the Gulf of California or the sea of Cortes.
