Just as it was getting light, we left the protection of Puerto Escondido and poked our bow out into the gulf. There was still a brisk north breeze but fortunately, the National Geographic Sea Bird was going to head south; the wind would be at our back.
The sun rose behind Isla Montserrat and slowly illuminated the high crest of the rugged Sierra de la Giganta. In front of the peninsula loomed the deeply weathered cliffs of Isla Danzante. We were soon joined by a few bow riding bottlenose dolphins, and early bird photographers leaned over the railing in an attempt to capture the golden-lit bodies.
Later in the morning, as though it was staged as a prelude to Flip Nicklin's whale presentation, a humpback whale suddenly began breaching in front of the ship. Breaching behavior is not really understood. Is it a way to dislodge parasites, a form of communication, just fun to do? Nobody but the whale knows for certain. But for us, it was quite exciting and cameras clicked away hoping to capture the whale in flight.
In the afternoon, we landed at Puerto Los Gatos for kayaking, snorkeling, nature walks and, of course, photography. This beautiful beach is bounded by rounded, reddish rocks and cliffs reminiscent of southern Utah's spectacular sedimentary geology and ideal for picturesque images at sunset.
All these great activities were followed by a delicious barbecue served on the beach as a half moon and a multitude of stars speckled the inky sky. While most of us listened to campfire tales and songs, a few photographers tried their hand at night shots including “painting” a lone cardon cactus and the cliffs with a beam of light from a flashlight.
With bellies and memory cards full, we trundled off to our cabins and the end of another glorious day in Mexico.
