Sea of Cortez and San Marcial
Our first morning on the Sea Lion was spent cruising the waters by Isla San Jose, San Diego and Santa Cruz. It was a blustery morning with winds and clouds coming over the mountains of the Baja California peninsula. A few spotted showers and rainbows were in the area and after spending some time scanning the waters, were rewarded with the announcement of a whale in front of the ship! The next half hour was spent getting some nice views of a Bryde’s whale which is a year round resident in the Sea of Cortez. Normally this species is hard to follow, but we were lucky with several good views of the glistening back. Perhaps even more enjoyable were the views of bow riding bottlenose dolphins that greeted us shortly before lunch. The dolphins gliding in out of the pressure wave created by our bow could be called “poetry in motion.”
In the afternoon the vast majority of us enjoyed a nice sandy beach and a very good snorkel outing with parrotfish, angelfish and more. The hiking at San Marcia was also very good with lush vegetation (for a desert!) – showing signs of some recent moisture. All in all it was a very good first day on our home away from home, the M.V. Sea Lion.
Our first morning on the Sea Lion was spent cruising the waters by Isla San Jose, San Diego and Santa Cruz. It was a blustery morning with winds and clouds coming over the mountains of the Baja California peninsula. A few spotted showers and rainbows were in the area and after spending some time scanning the waters, were rewarded with the announcement of a whale in front of the ship! The next half hour was spent getting some nice views of a Bryde’s whale which is a year round resident in the Sea of Cortez. Normally this species is hard to follow, but we were lucky with several good views of the glistening back. Perhaps even more enjoyable were the views of bow riding bottlenose dolphins that greeted us shortly before lunch. The dolphins gliding in out of the pressure wave created by our bow could be called “poetry in motion.”
In the afternoon the vast majority of us enjoyed a nice sandy beach and a very good snorkel outing with parrotfish, angelfish and more. The hiking at San Marcia was also very good with lush vegetation (for a desert!) – showing signs of some recent moisture. All in all it was a very good first day on our home away from home, the M.V. Sea Lion.
