We awakened on our last morning in Bahia Magdalena to fog, slight wind, and the sound of PPffftt…pffft from near and far. The gray whales were all around us, and we couldn’t wait to climb into the expedition landing craft and visit them one more time. After breakfast we did just that. The sun began burning through clouds and fog as we watched gray whale cow and calf pairs come up for breath. Again, miraculously, we found ourselves approached by mom and baby coming in for closer looks at the humans. The first pair we encountered were playful and teasing, baby popping its head above the surface, staying just out of reach and swirling, twirling around mom and our boat. It was fun to watch these antics, and also to watch the whales approach another boat, the distance giving us perspective, a sense of scale, and witnessing the joy of our shipmates’ encounters.
Back aboard we weighed anchor, picked up our pilot Alejandro, and began threading our way back through Hull Canal. We were treated to a lunch on deck, and then convened in the lounge to watch a preview of the voyage video chronicle.
Later in the afternoon, we took expedition landing crafts ashore to Isla Magdalena for a final romp among the sand dunes. A short walk across this barrier island revealed tracks of all kinds of critters, hardy desert plants, and huge middens of sea shells. We trekked through silky sand and crunchy sand and as we crested the final dune, a gorgeous vista opened up before our eyes: long breaking waves of the Pacific Ocean tumbled to the shoreline of a gorgeous sandy beach that stretched for miles in either direction. Strewn across the beach were countless varieties of shells, including that which gave this beach its nickname of Sand Dollar Beach. We spent out time taking long walks, beachcombing, swimming, building sand castles, and generally soaking up the amazing beauty and miracle of nature’s creations. Another beautiful day in Baja California!
