The gentle voice of our expedition leader awakened us this morning just before 6 a.m.…the National Geographic Sea Bird had cruised well overnight and arrived just in time for sunrise at Land’s End, the tip of the Baja California Peninsula. We spilled out of our cabins to gorgeous golden light glowing over the famous granite rocks here known as “el Arco,” or “the arch.” After breakfast we arrived at the dock in San Jose del Cabo and took a brief bus ride to visit the town built around this natural freshwater oasis. The estuary, where the river meets the ocean, provides great habitat for many species. If I listed all the birds seen today it would take up the rest of this page! Practically every heron and egret in the book made an appearance, the local Costas and Xantus’s hummingbirds, grebes and ducks and doves and osprey, both sharp shinned hawk and Harris’ hawk, verdin and cactus wren, Gila woodpecker, and belted kingfisher, AND most surprisingly, three American white pelicans (deemed “illiterate” by one of our naturalists as the guide books say they don’t venture into this area).
In town, people visited a local glass-blowing factory, and a few tried their hands—err, lips—at this time-honored tradition. Strolling, shopping, and gallery browsing were followed by refreshing palettas, the local ice cream-on-a-stick. Yum…
After lunch (and more palettas) our pillows were calling us to siesta, however the naturalists on the bow had other ideas. Humpback whales! We spent the afternoon watching these magnificent creatures. A single breach here, a single breach there, a cow and calf coming very near the ship, more isolated breaches here and there… and then in the late afternoon a calf started breaching serially right off the bow, with two adults nearby doing some feisty acrobats near the surface. As the whales were mellowing out, a pod of dolphins showed up to bow ride, and just as quickly were gone. People began making their way to cabins to prepare for cocktails and Recap and another pod came and went.
We are officially now in the Gulf of California, aka the Sea of Cortez, for the remainder of our remarkable journey. What a beautiful magical place, and we are blessed to be here.
