The second full day of our expedition around Baja California started in a glorious way with a beautiful sunrise as National Geographic Sea Bird headed south towards Los Islotes. The eastern horizon glowed with orange and bright red colors, while the western sky turned pink. Just around sunrise we encountered a group of long-beaked common dolphins that swam alongside our ship, many of them with remoras hanging on their side.
Once we arrived to our destination, we anchored off the southern side of the small islets that a California sea lions call home and got ready to spend the morning in their realm. Los Islotes is the northernmost part of the Espiritu Santo Island Complex Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the Mexican network of federal natural protected areas; it has been a no-fishing zone for several years and the results show! We went snorkeling and watched many different kinds of fish and marine invertebrates, starting with the ubiquitous sergeant major and scissortail damselfish; entire schools swimming at mid-water welcomed us as they continued their never-ending search for planktonic prey. Down below, swimming near the bottom, we were able to see schools of blue and gold snapper, Cortez chub, and Mexican goatfish; large groups of yellowtail surgeonfish foraged for coralline algae on the rocks whereas solitary leopard grouper and yellow snapper moved around looking for a chance to capture a small fish. Although tan, pyramid, and Panamic cushion sea stars and many other creatures were seen as well, our main reason to snorkel there were the sea lions. We all had a great time watching their incredibly graceful swimming, speed and agility, capable of out swimming most fish. Using their oversize front limbs as underwater paddles, sea lions showed us how extremely well adapted to the marine world they are!
After lunch we arrived to the southern end of the reserve, a beautiful beach known as Bonanza Bay, located on Espiritu Santo Island, where we spent the afternoon doing all kinds of exciting activities, from snorkeling and stand-up paddleboarding, to hiking and kayaking. Many even got the chance to get a glimpse of the elusive endemic black jackrabbit. Then we had a special treat from our galley and hotel department, as they regaled us with a delicious dinner ashore, complete with a bonfire and s’mores, making for the perfect ending of another beautiful day in Baja California.
