Today we visited two wonderful sites in the Gulf of California, Los Islotes, (a National Park that is the home of hundreds of California sea lions) and Bonanza, (a beautiful site where we not only had walks, snorkeling, and kayaking, but a delicious cook out on the beach). However, for me, the most exciting event of the day were the multiple encounters with two species of dolphins, both bottlenose and common.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 05 Feb 2018
Los Islotes, Bonanza, 2/5/2018, National Geographic Sea Lion
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion
- Baja California
Steve Morello, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Steve Morello has had a long and colorful career in the natural history world. Born in New Jersey, he was lucky to be able to summer on the shores of Cape Cod. Whether it was exploring the tidal pools, snorkeling along the beach, or hiking in the dun...
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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 .