La Entrada & Sand Dollar Beach, Magdalena Bay
A bumpy nocturnal navigation along the Pacific side of the peninsula took us directly to the southernmost entrance of Magdalena Bay, regarded as La Entrada, or The Entrance. Before getting into it we contemplated the rugged profile of Margarita Island, reminiscent of tremendous geologic activity that took place when the entire area was in the process of being subducted. Schist and other metamorphic rocks can be found as part of the exotic terrains of Margarita and Magdalena islands, mute eyewitnesses of the peninsula formation. At the entrance we also found a feeding frenzy of birds, mainly western and California gulls, brown pelicans, double crested cormorants and Xantus’ murrelets. We found few signs of gray whales, so it was inferred that most individuals had left and initiated the migration back to the feeding areas in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Our ship progressed into the southern part of the bay with California sea lions resting everywhere at the surface of the water. Later we anchored (with a single gray whale at the side of the ship) and performed our last hikes of the voyage on Magdalena Island, a slender and long sandbar with fantastic sand dunes. Our guests, photographers and Naturalists crossed over to the Pacific side. Jackrabbits, plants like the sand verbena and sea purselane, middens (piles of shells made by the original inhabitants of the place), and other interesting testimonies of the beauty of the island were seen at every step. On the Pacific side thousands of sand dollars, that give the name to the beach, were encountered. However, what called more our attention was a huge flock of sanderlings that were actively foraging for worms and other sea food on the shore.
On the way back to the bay side, and with the last light of the day (yellow that soon turned orange), more plants were seen with an increased beauty provoked by the sunset, and the Sea Lion appeared stranded on the sand.
A bumpy nocturnal navigation along the Pacific side of the peninsula took us directly to the southernmost entrance of Magdalena Bay, regarded as La Entrada, or The Entrance. Before getting into it we contemplated the rugged profile of Margarita Island, reminiscent of tremendous geologic activity that took place when the entire area was in the process of being subducted. Schist and other metamorphic rocks can be found as part of the exotic terrains of Margarita and Magdalena islands, mute eyewitnesses of the peninsula formation. At the entrance we also found a feeding frenzy of birds, mainly western and California gulls, brown pelicans, double crested cormorants and Xantus’ murrelets. We found few signs of gray whales, so it was inferred that most individuals had left and initiated the migration back to the feeding areas in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Our ship progressed into the southern part of the bay with California sea lions resting everywhere at the surface of the water. Later we anchored (with a single gray whale at the side of the ship) and performed our last hikes of the voyage on Magdalena Island, a slender and long sandbar with fantastic sand dunes. Our guests, photographers and Naturalists crossed over to the Pacific side. Jackrabbits, plants like the sand verbena and sea purselane, middens (piles of shells made by the original inhabitants of the place), and other interesting testimonies of the beauty of the island were seen at every step. On the Pacific side thousands of sand dollars, that give the name to the beach, were encountered. However, what called more our attention was a huge flock of sanderlings that were actively foraging for worms and other sea food on the shore.
On the way back to the bay side, and with the last light of the day (yellow that soon turned orange), more plants were seen with an increased beauty provoked by the sunset, and the Sea Lion appeared stranded on the sand.
