The day began on the near-placid waters of Boca de Soledad. Our pangas ventured off to the mouth of the lagoon to discover too many whales to count. As our naturalist and panguero called out which direction to watch, our pangas drifted in the gentle waves. Guests were delighted to watch the heart-shaped exhaled breaths of the gray whales. One majestic giant dove directly adjacent to our boat and we were able to see the dorsal ridges and tail fluke before it disappeared under the surf.
During a delicious lunch, we sailed back through the narrow Hull Canal to anchor at Sand Dollar Beach. Guests climbed over the sand dunes and around the ancient archeological sites of shell deposits, called middens, headed to the Pacific Ocean. Once there, we plucked the bleached-white remains of the keystone sand dollar off the top of the sand to study this magical species.
Leaving all specimens on the shore, we ferried back to National Geographic Sea Bird for one final satisfying dinner before we shared our group slideshow in the forward lounge. It was a delightful adventure of a day and a peaceful end to a spectacular voyage of discovery in Baja California Sur!
