Magdalena Bay
We spent a restful night at anchor in the protected waters of Magdalena Bay. In the early light of dawn, many of us headed ashore for an optional sunrise landing on the dune fields of Isla Magdalena. An orange orb of the sun rose to the east, lighting multiple layers of clouds overhead and soon adding texture to the undulating ripples of sand across the dunes to the west. After wandering the edges of the dunes and the shores of the bay, we returned to the ship for a hot breakfast. Then we all headed back to shore to hike across the dunes of this barrier island, eventually reaching an expansive and wild beach along the Pacific Ocean. Large, white, sand dollars dotted the upper edges of the beach that was also strewn with shells and bleached bones of seabirds and other marine creatures.
Back onboard, we lifted anchor and began our passage up a narrow channel at the northern end of Magdalena Bay known as the Hull Canal. A local pilot, Alejandro, guided our ship through the winding course of water that flows between sand bars with thickets of mangroves. On the mud flats we spotted a variety of herons, egrets and other shorebirds. A few bottlenose dolphins cavorted in the waters along the way.
In the late afternoon, Pete Pederson gave us a fascinating presentation about gray whales. Shortly after this we encountered our first gray whales. It was three pairs of cow and calf gray whales surfacing time and again. We anchored in the calm waters of this special calving lagoon, at the northern end of Isla Magdalena where the Boca de Soledad opens as channel into the sea, with great anticipation for our outings in the morning.
We spent a restful night at anchor in the protected waters of Magdalena Bay. In the early light of dawn, many of us headed ashore for an optional sunrise landing on the dune fields of Isla Magdalena. An orange orb of the sun rose to the east, lighting multiple layers of clouds overhead and soon adding texture to the undulating ripples of sand across the dunes to the west. After wandering the edges of the dunes and the shores of the bay, we returned to the ship for a hot breakfast. Then we all headed back to shore to hike across the dunes of this barrier island, eventually reaching an expansive and wild beach along the Pacific Ocean. Large, white, sand dollars dotted the upper edges of the beach that was also strewn with shells and bleached bones of seabirds and other marine creatures.
Back onboard, we lifted anchor and began our passage up a narrow channel at the northern end of Magdalena Bay known as the Hull Canal. A local pilot, Alejandro, guided our ship through the winding course of water that flows between sand bars with thickets of mangroves. On the mud flats we spotted a variety of herons, egrets and other shorebirds. A few bottlenose dolphins cavorted in the waters along the way.
In the late afternoon, Pete Pederson gave us a fascinating presentation about gray whales. Shortly after this we encountered our first gray whales. It was three pairs of cow and calf gray whales surfacing time and again. We anchored in the calm waters of this special calving lagoon, at the northern end of Isla Magdalena where the Boca de Soledad opens as channel into the sea, with great anticipation for our outings in the morning.
