We woke to a cloudy and cold morning in the north end of Magdalena Bay at the town of Lopez Mateos. Frankie gave a stretch class, and after a delicious breakfast we headed out for our first whale watching excursion in this area.
Five pangas led by the local captains made their way up to La Boca de la Soledad. We saw beautiful landscapes with mangroves and dunes. Jimmy, the captain, stopped at Isla Pelicano, a sandbar that formed 14 years ago due to hurricane Ximena. We spotted brown pelicans, cormorants, and juvenile gulls. We continued to the mouth of the bay and we spotted the first whales.
In between the waves we spotted approximately 5 whales that were hanging out. Our captain decided to head to the outside of the mouth to the more exposed Pacific. After a couple of surfing waves, we saw about 6 spouts in the distance, so we headed in that direction. We spent time with the whales; we saw their backs, blowholes, knuckles, and one beautiful fluke. It was amazing!
It was then time to head back to National Geographic Sea Lion to have lunch, listen to a presentation given by naturalist Octavio, and then explore again in the afternoon.
The second excursion of the day whale watching was as enjoyable as the morning outing, with whales all around and beautiful weather and sunshine.
Right before sunset we had some time to go to the sand dunes on Magdalena Island to stretch our legs and enjoy the beautiful light the afternoon offered. We finished this full day in Magdalena Bay with a delicious dinner and new memories among the gray whales.
