Linda Burback, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
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Daily Expedition
Reports
29 Jan 2023
Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos / San Dollar Beach , 1/29/2023, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Baja California
We started our day by searching for whales in heavy fog. Eventually, we found a couple whales and a pod of bottlenose dolphins. We were all happy to end our last grey whale encounter with a recently born grey whale calf and its huge mum.
The afternoon was filled with a delightful stroll along Sand Dollar Beach and the most spectacular sunset.
Lisa grew up in the mountains of the Black Forest in Germany. When she was 18, she moved to Italy where Lisa spent two years of working in different places meanwhile studying Italian. At 20 years old, returning from Italy, she moved to Hamburg and fi...
Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Linda and her Air Force family moved extensively throughout the U.S. when she was a child. Linda continues to travel and explore a broader spectrum of the world as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geogr...
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We started the morning with a magnificent full moon. According to a pre-Hispanic legend, one day Priestess Coatlicue (Maternal Earth deity) was sweeping her shrine when a ball of hummingbird feathers fell from the sky. She snatched them up, placed them at her waist, and became pregnant with the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli. Her pregnancy embarrassed her other children, including her eldest daughter, Coyolxauhqui, who decided to kill Coatlicue with her brothers, the Centzon Huitzinahuas. Miraculously, when Coatlicue gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, he was grown and armed. He beheaded Coyolxauhqui and tossed her head in the sky. Her head became the moon, and her brothers became the stars. After a beautiful sunrise, we went in search of gray whales near Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, a quite village to the north of Magdalena Bay. We encountered cows training their calves to migrate to their feeding grounds in Alaska. The 9,000-mile voyage will last at least two months. On the way to Boca de la Soledad, we visited a marsh where magnificent frigatebirds nest among other species. We concluded our day with cocktails and dinner by the gorgeous dunes of Magdalena Island.
The day dawned overcast and cool, but it soon warmed up and turned partly sunny. These were perfect conditions for our morning operations. We started with kayaking and standup paddleboarding, followed by Zodiac cruising. Both activities took place in the mangroves of El Barril (‘The Barrel’). We saw several species of birds and learned about the often neglected and abused mangrove ecosystem, which is tremendously important to coastal communities and areas. We returned to National Geographic Sea Bird for lunch. While eating, we weighed anchor and began sailing through the ‘unnavigable’ Canal de Soledad under the expert guidance of Sergio, a third-generation local pilot. National Geographic Sea Bird is the only vessel that can navigate the treacherous and shallow canal because of the ship’s small size/draft and the fact that Sergio annually charts the safest passage. The canal is a hotspot for birds as well as bottlenose dolphins; some of the dolphins briefly ‘surfed’ our bow wave. Just after emerging from the shallowest portion of the canal, we saw a breaching gray whale. Later, we determined the whale to be a mom with a small calf alongside her. We arrived at our anchorage near Puerto López Mateos and went ashore to explore the beautiful beaches and sand dunes of Isla Magdalena. Some of us walked along the dunes, while others walked inland to view the Pacific Ocean. Dinner followed the traditional recap. Afterwards, we were entertained by The Desert Flowers, a trio of enthusiastic dancers from Puerto López Mateos. The music and dancing were infectious and joyous, inspiring many to join the festivities! It was another excellent day of activities, wildlife, and exuberant culture! More to come tomorrow.
Our first day of whale watching was an action-packed success! We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in Bahia Almejas, and after breakfast, we listened to an enlightening photo talk from certified photo instructor Jim Pfitzer. With empty memory cards and full batteries, we embarked on our first gray whale watching adventure of the week. We were picked up from the ship by local captains in their speedy, comfortable pangas and whisked away to see the wonders of Bahia Almejas. There were so many whales in the bay this morning that some of our naturalists began calling it a “whale soup.” Our group was all smiles under the sunny skies. We were in awe of the sheer number of animals. It was hard to know which way to look because whales were spyhopping on both sides of the pangas at times! The morning was made complete by a visit to the local magnificent frigatebird colony. Some of these sleek, beautiful birds soared above our heads, while others nested in the mangroves. We enjoyed trying to spot the bright red throats of the male birds amongst the many animals. Back at the ship, we took a break from the sun and wind. After a rejuvenating lunch and a brief rest, we were ready for another round of whale watching. The afternoon brought more spyhopping whales along with the occasional full-body breach! We were even lucky enough to have a couple of curious whales linger right under our pangas. They surfaced so close to us that we were drenched by their spouts. The afternoon whale watching came to an end all too soon, and we drove back to the ship to enjoy naturalist Jim Coyer’s presentation about the amazing whales we had just seen. Our trip is off to an incredible start, and we are looking forward to our next encounter with the beautiful gray whales that frequent Bahia Magdalena.
