Cabo San Lucas & Gorda Banks
The first sun rays shone over the Sea Bird as we approached the southern tip of the peninsula, the famous Land’s End. The wonderful early morning light made the granite formations glow, including the statuesque arch that seems like the perfect doorway between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. Brown and blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigate birds and brown pelicans perched on the rocks and added a touch of life to the already dramatic landscape. Soon, we docked in the marina in Cabo San Lucas and divided into different groups to go exploring the avian and underwater realms nearby. Those in the bird-watching group were able to find a great variety of feathered creatures in the San José estuary located in the neighboring city of San José del Cabo. Snowy egrets, common moorhens, white-faced ibises and ospreys are just a few of the many species they observed. Meanwhile, those of us that chose to snorkel were rewarded with clear waters, nice water temperature and lots of fish! Schools of sergeant majors and Cortez chubs welcomed us right at the beach, whereas golden trevallys, bicolor parrot fishes, reef cornet fishes and convict tangs were seen among the abundant coral heads that crowned the reef. Big schools of Mexican goat fish and yellowtail surgeon fish slowly swam in mesmerizing formations.
Back on board, we sailed away from Cabo and continued our journey into the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. It wasn’t long before a group of bottlenose dolphins interrupted the siesta, approaching our ship for some bow-riding. Then, humpback whales were spotted, one of them launching its rear end out of the water in spectacular white-water displays. Plans to reassume the interrupted siesta were soon forgotten, as more whales were discovered. Many females with their calves, more often than not accompanied by a male escort, were seen throughout the afternoon. We even got a chance to listen to the songs of the whales nearby by lowering a hydrophone below the surface. And as the sun setting behind the Sierra de la Laguna painted the ocean in red and golden tones and with those amazing whale songs still fresh in our minds, I’m sure that we all felt privileged to be here.
The first sun rays shone over the Sea Bird as we approached the southern tip of the peninsula, the famous Land’s End. The wonderful early morning light made the granite formations glow, including the statuesque arch that seems like the perfect doorway between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. Brown and blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigate birds and brown pelicans perched on the rocks and added a touch of life to the already dramatic landscape. Soon, we docked in the marina in Cabo San Lucas and divided into different groups to go exploring the avian and underwater realms nearby. Those in the bird-watching group were able to find a great variety of feathered creatures in the San José estuary located in the neighboring city of San José del Cabo. Snowy egrets, common moorhens, white-faced ibises and ospreys are just a few of the many species they observed. Meanwhile, those of us that chose to snorkel were rewarded with clear waters, nice water temperature and lots of fish! Schools of sergeant majors and Cortez chubs welcomed us right at the beach, whereas golden trevallys, bicolor parrot fishes, reef cornet fishes and convict tangs were seen among the abundant coral heads that crowned the reef. Big schools of Mexican goat fish and yellowtail surgeon fish slowly swam in mesmerizing formations.
Back on board, we sailed away from Cabo and continued our journey into the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. It wasn’t long before a group of bottlenose dolphins interrupted the siesta, approaching our ship for some bow-riding. Then, humpback whales were spotted, one of them launching its rear end out of the water in spectacular white-water displays. Plans to reassume the interrupted siesta were soon forgotten, as more whales were discovered. Many females with their calves, more often than not accompanied by a male escort, were seen throughout the afternoon. We even got a chance to listen to the songs of the whales nearby by lowering a hydrophone below the surface. And as the sun setting behind the Sierra de la Laguna painted the ocean in red and golden tones and with those amazing whale songs still fresh in our minds, I’m sure that we all felt privileged to be here.
