Right from the get-go this morning it was nonstop action and incredible sights. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise near Land’s End—the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula—with dolphins riding on our bow and humpbacks swimming all around us. After a delicious breakfast of chilaquiles, we spent even more time with curious and active humpbacks before making our way towards San José del Cabo. In town, some of the group went to a nearby estuary to bird-watch while others went into the main city to explore or for a photo walk. We enjoyed all the paletas (local popsicles) our hearts desired before reboarding the ship and starting our journey north towards Los Frailes, ending the evening with a colorful sunset.
2/25/2023
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Bahia Almejas, Baja California
As the sun rose, the hills of Isla Santa Margarita lit up to wake us to our first day in Bahia Magdalena. We had lots of firsts today, as we got to meet our panga drivers and head out to explore the area. Today’s focus was Bahia Almejas, the social center of gray whale hangouts at this time of year. And the whales certainly didn’t disappoint. We had lots of encounters with ‘friendly whales’ coming right up to the pangas and allowing us to touch them. As if that wasn’t enough, there was all sorts of activity like whales breaching, spyhopping, and even some mating! Naturally, one of the highlights was getting whale snot blown all over us! We split into two groups for whale watching. The group that wasn’t on the pangas learned how to improve photographic composition using iPhones from Gemina Garland-Lewis, certified photo instructor for the trip. We went out for a couple hours in the morning and afternoon, passing a spit covered in double-crested cormorants and brown pelicans each time. On the way back to National Geographic Sea Bird , we had a treat and saw a lone bald eagle that had clearly been hunting amongst the cormorants. The day wasn’t quite done. After a delicious dinner that included the popular chocolate decadence, Kylee Walterman educated us with a presentation on gray whales. Everyone had the opportunity to touch whale lice if they so wished!
