Ensenada Grande & Los Islotes
Last light fading over the broken red volcanic rocks of Los Islotes, last evening of the voyage and the National Geographic Sea Lion is rocking gently at anchor. In the lounge, we sip fine tequilas and contemplate the treasures in the form of memories and images we have accumulated over the last week. John Steinbeck, in The Log From the Sea of Cortez, says, “we shall take something with us, but we will leave something too.”
Our collective memories will surely include images of wild Zodiac rides through the breakers at Boca de Soledad to see those glorious California gray whales surf the big seas as they prepare themselves and their young to undertake their ancient northbound journey. Out in the Pacific, hundreds upon hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins streaked through the water to grace our bow and leap in our wake. Being among those agile, playful and intelligent animals can’t help but bring a deep joy to anyone watching. In the southern Sea of Cortez, groups of four or five male humpback whales lunged after each other in an exciting competition for females; their bushy blows and identifying flukes were visible all around us in the calm sea.
From exquisite seashells on the remote beaches of the Pacific coast, the descending trill of the canyon wren in a red-rock arroyo of Isla Espirtu Santo, and a young California sea lion catching a brief ride in the Zodiacs, we have shared and shaped our expedition as it unfolded. We hope that you too have experienced some of the magic of this untamed place, and that remembering Baja California will lighten your step.
Last light fading over the broken red volcanic rocks of Los Islotes, last evening of the voyage and the National Geographic Sea Lion is rocking gently at anchor. In the lounge, we sip fine tequilas and contemplate the treasures in the form of memories and images we have accumulated over the last week. John Steinbeck, in The Log From the Sea of Cortez, says, “we shall take something with us, but we will leave something too.”
Our collective memories will surely include images of wild Zodiac rides through the breakers at Boca de Soledad to see those glorious California gray whales surf the big seas as they prepare themselves and their young to undertake their ancient northbound journey. Out in the Pacific, hundreds upon hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins streaked through the water to grace our bow and leap in our wake. Being among those agile, playful and intelligent animals can’t help but bring a deep joy to anyone watching. In the southern Sea of Cortez, groups of four or five male humpback whales lunged after each other in an exciting competition for females; their bushy blows and identifying flukes were visible all around us in the calm sea.
From exquisite seashells on the remote beaches of the Pacific coast, the descending trill of the canyon wren in a red-rock arroyo of Isla Espirtu Santo, and a young California sea lion catching a brief ride in the Zodiacs, we have shared and shaped our expedition as it unfolded. We hope that you too have experienced some of the magic of this untamed place, and that remembering Baja California will lighten your step.
