Gorda Banks & Cabo San Lucas
This morning, nearly at the southernmost point of our trip, we were officially in the tropics. We were also near Gorda Banks, a good location for finding humpback whales. We were not disappointed. We woke up to the news that there were three humpback whales fluking and diving just ahead of the ship. We watched them in the morning light and then continued on. Less than 30 minutes later, and in the middle of breakfast, half of us were out of our seats and rushing to the window to get a better look. A group of eight humpbacks swam right by the windows! This is the mating season for humpback whales and this was a competitive group: males competing with each other, often chasing one female, to determine who is the most fit and who will be the one to mate with her. This group spent their time swimming quickly in a tight formation. The signs of battle were visible to us in the form of bloody and scarred dorsal fins.
This afternoon as we pulled into Cabo and back into civilization, we had a new appreciation of the wilderness and solitude. Some of us explored the town, while the rest of us went off to investigate some special places nearby. A group of swimmers and snorkelers went to Los Chilenos, a beautiful sandy beach. The swimmers loved playing in the waves while the snorkelers were rewarded with some new species of fish. Another group went birding near San Jose del Cabo at a river and estuary. Birding highlights included white-faced ibises, snowy egrets, black-necked stilts, hooded orioles, least sandpipers, a cardinal and verdins.
As we left Cabo, we paused to view Land’s End before heading off for a night of northward cruising on the rolling waves of the Pacific.
This morning, nearly at the southernmost point of our trip, we were officially in the tropics. We were also near Gorda Banks, a good location for finding humpback whales. We were not disappointed. We woke up to the news that there were three humpback whales fluking and diving just ahead of the ship. We watched them in the morning light and then continued on. Less than 30 minutes later, and in the middle of breakfast, half of us were out of our seats and rushing to the window to get a better look. A group of eight humpbacks swam right by the windows! This is the mating season for humpback whales and this was a competitive group: males competing with each other, often chasing one female, to determine who is the most fit and who will be the one to mate with her. This group spent their time swimming quickly in a tight formation. The signs of battle were visible to us in the form of bloody and scarred dorsal fins.
This afternoon as we pulled into Cabo and back into civilization, we had a new appreciation of the wilderness and solitude. Some of us explored the town, while the rest of us went off to investigate some special places nearby. A group of swimmers and snorkelers went to Los Chilenos, a beautiful sandy beach. The swimmers loved playing in the waves while the snorkelers were rewarded with some new species of fish. Another group went birding near San Jose del Cabo at a river and estuary. Birding highlights included white-faced ibises, snowy egrets, black-necked stilts, hooded orioles, least sandpipers, a cardinal and verdins.
As we left Cabo, we paused to view Land’s End before heading off for a night of northward cruising on the rolling waves of the Pacific.
