Boca de la Soledad, Canal de la Magdalena and Sand Dollar Beach
This morning at sunrise there was no division between the sea and the sky in the northern end of Bahia Magdalena and its exit to the Pacific Ocean: a dense and blinding, but beautiful mass of fog covered the entire bay and adjacent peninsular ranges. The moisture in the air diffused the distant profiles of the ochre-colored dunes, the deep blue of the sky and the green of water in the ocean, and created a continuous “Impressionist-looking canvas” of the environment around our ship, the National Geographic Sea Bird. A tint of golden color was added by the sun filtering through the mist.
With such a scenario and oriented with GPS, we ventured out for whale watching and we were rewarded soon: several pairs of mothers and calves were found at Boca de la Soledad. They traveled fast, but (just like yesterday) one well-grown calf delighted us with a long-lasting performance of spinning breeches. This calf looked full of energy, enthusiasm and ready to leave the lagoon. It also took scoops of sediments from the bottom, and let them go out as cascades of mud through its baleens. This behavior was interpreted as a feeding practice for future foraging activities in the Bering Sea. Another calf and its mother were more stationary and “friendly,” and came under and at the sides of our Zodiac boats. These whales were intensively petted by our enthusiastic crowd of guests and naturalists.
Once the fog dissipated and we were back to the ship, the National Geographic Sea Bird moved south through the quiet canal to reach the narrowest part of the Magdalena Island. Once anchored and with our aquatic toys dropped, some of our guests kayaked in the lagoon side, but most of us preferred to explore the beautiful ecosystem of the sand dunes to admiring the enduring plant species that live there, as well as the moon-like sand formations and the archaeological sites known as “middens.” We also reached the Pacific side of the island, known as Santa Maria Bay and its long, wide beach called Sand Dollar Beach, where hundreds of sand dollars, shore birds and delightful sea waves were encountered. This was a relaxing afternoon, and the perfect finale of an extraordinary voyage.
