What perfect weather for our last full day on the ship! We cruised north through the Sea of Cortez with great anticipation. We were on the lookout for cetaceans and were especially keen to find the largest animal that’s ever lived on the planet, the blue whale. Our perseverance paid off three-fold! We had three blue whale sightings; one in particular was very close to our vessel. Close enough to hear its powerful breath (which shot 30 feet into the air) coming from this majestic creature. The whale was so close that without the aid of binoculars, we saw the most powerful muscle on the planet, the tremendous caudal peduncle. It lifted up the whales tremendous fluke and propelled this beautiful creature for a deeper feeding dive. What a treat to see this animal up close!

The adventure continued as we made our way to Isla Danzante. There we hiked the headland trails around the cliffs that provided spectacular views in every direction. After our hikes, we took a very short Zodiac ride to a beautiful little beach where a full dinner buffet was set up for our enjoyment. There, old and new friends enjoyed a delicious feast. This day was a perfect way to end our journey here amongst the great whales in Baja California Sur. As a side note, the heart shaped rock that I found has a little piece taken out of it, my thought being that we take a little piece of Baja in our hearts.