Our expedition leader’s smooth and gentle voice came through the PA system early this morning to announce our wake-up call—and thus began another adventurous day in the Sea of Cortez on board National Geographic Sea Bird.
Every morning starts with a stretch class on the upper sundeck to keep us fit and prepare us for our day, filled with all kinds of water and land activities.
We spent the night anchored at Los Frailes, a beautiful bay protected from El Norte, the northern wind that has been blowing down the Sea of Cortez for a few days now. This morning, we boarded the local pangas (skiffs) and headed over to the marine park of Cabo Pulmo for snorkeling.
We saw a wide variety of fish, such as groupers, parrotfish, and sergeant major fish. We went to Sea Lion Rock, where young males were pushing each other off the rock into the water to claim their dominance over the territory. It was quite the morning!
Other guests had opted to stay dry and joined Adrian to explore the lagoon behind the beach. There was still a lot of water there, due to the late rain the desert peninsula experienced in late November and December.
In the afternoon, we all went ashore to go hiking. Some of us climbed up the giant hill that provides shelter from El Norte to the bay below. We gained 769 feet of elevation to reach the summit and were rewarded with an amazing 360-degree view of Cabo Pulmo National Park.
Others opted for an easier walk with Berit and Christine to learn about some natural history facts, and photographers followed Gemina to improve their photography shots.
It was another great day in the Sea of Cortez and we will spend the night sailing north to reach our next destination and learning more about the islands and the wildlife we might encounter.
