We awoke to another beautiful morning, cruising south along the Baja peninsula. Before breakfast was announced we encountered a large group of bottlenose dolphins. Many of them came leaping towards the ship to ride on the bow wave. In today’s photo, a young calf surfaces alongside an adult animal (probably its mother).
During breakfast we cruised south between the islands of Carmen and Coronados. We were then back out on deck to see the town of Loreto, site of the very first Californian mission, backed by the dramatic mountain range known as the Sierra de la Giganta. From there we continued on southward where we found a large group of long-beaked common dolphins. There were hundreds of animals, many with tiny calves in tow. We all cheered as we watched dolphins leaping high in the air. Many others came swimming over right alongside the ship. We had fabulous views of these delightful creatures. After rounding the southern tip of Carmen Island we sighted a fin whale which surfaced numerous times beside the ship, showing us its distinctive white, lower right jaw. In the afternoon we visited Arroyo Rojo on Carmen Island where we embarked on a series of activities; snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, and even a bird walk in the late afternoon. We all returned to the ship for a deck barbecue dinner. As the light of the day faded, the clouds above Carmen Island to the west turned yellow to orange and red.
