After navigating the always changing bathymetry of Hull Canal, we anchored the National Geographic Sea Bird in Magdalena Bay. A short expedition landing craft ride south of the ship, we found ourselves surrounded by spyhopping whales and mother-calf pairs surfacing in the glass-calm conditions. The gray whales take refuge from the open Pacific in these lagoons on the Baja California Peninsula to breed, give birth, and prepare their calves for the 5,000-mile journey north to their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chuckchi Seas. Not every day do we have the opportunity to experience a gray whale’s gentle disposition and immense size on such a personal level.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 05 Mar 2018
Hull Canal & Magdalena Bay, 3/5/2018, National Geographic Sea Bird
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird
- Baja California
Emily Newton, Undersea Specialist
Emily was raised in the mountains of Central Oregon, where she spent much of her time on the back of a horse. Her fascination with marine science began with family vacations to British Columbia, where she explored tidepools, captured sculpins, inspec...
Read MoreRodrigo Moterani, Videographer
Rodrigo Moterani was born in Brazil, where he still lives. After spending his teen years playing with camcorders and VCRs, Rodrigo ended up working in the field of television journalism and video production in his home country. He graduated with a de...
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Baja California: Among the Great Whales
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Canal de Cerralvo / La Paz
We awoke navigating on the Cerralvo Canal, between Cerralvo Island and the peninsula, searching for wildlife. We were not disappointed, as two different pods of common dolphins came to visit and bow ride with us for a long time. After lunch, we anchored at Pichilingue Port and disembarked the vessel to visit the capital city of Baja California Sur, La Paz, where we had the chance to interact with the locals in some of the most popular places, like La Fuente, a traditional ice cream parlor, and the Jardin Velasco in downtown. Then guests enjoyed a fiesta, dinner, and returned on board National Geographic Venture .
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Magdalena Bay
Today we woke with the shining stars and took Zodiacs ashore to meet our coaches for a trip to Chale, a small town on the shores of Magdalena Bay. The goal was to find some wintering gray whales, magnificent leviathans which frequent this coast to give birth before the long migration back to their Arctic feeding grounds. These whales did not disappoint! Spyhopping, breaching, and even a bit of tail flukes. As a result, there were lots of smiles and laughter all around! We returned to the town for lunch and then headed back out on the local boats for a second round. As we returned to the ship, the sun set over La Paz, with glassy waters of gold in the harbor, and pink clouds above. The constellations of Orion, Taurus, and the Pleiades shone over our Zodiacs on our way back to dinner aboard National Geographic Venture .