Our day was spent onboard the beautiful National Geographic Venture as we sailed south and rounded lands-end of the Baja Peninsula. A beautiful day enfolded as we approached the area known as Gorda Banks. Well known for its rich waters, undersea mounts, and frequent visits by humpback whales, the sightings did not disappoint. We were simply inundated with whales over the course of the day and spent most hours watching them from the bow. It was a spectacular sea-day indeed!
Pacific Northwest born James Hyde grew up immersed in the Salish Sea, on Vashon Island with Seattle as his backdrop. A passionate traveler from a young age, James explored four continents before finishing his degree at Western Washington University's...
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
We started our final morning along a beautiful coastline where some hiked along a shell-laden canyon and others explored the nearby seas via Zodiac. After an adventurous morning, we set sail on National Geographic Venture to search for the largest animal on the planet, the mighty blue whale, and we found five!
We started our day early by visiting El Cardonal on La Isla Espiritu Santo. Some guests opted to snorkel, exploring the corals and fish of the Gulf of California, while others chose to soak in the views of turquoise waters via Zodiac cruise, exploring the mangroves and watching birds. In the afternoon, we went ashore to explore the coastal town of La Paz. We watched a beautiful cultural representation of regional dances and music, all taking place along the malecon of the town, before enjoying a traditional Mexican dinner.
There is nothing quite like waking up to the sunrise on the waters of the Gulf of California. Today we had the opportunity to cruise around Cabo Pulmo, one of the better managed marine reserves in Mexico, declared in 1995 and promising some of the greatest recovery in fish biomass in any marine reserve worldwide. We cruised around with the local guides on board their pangas – small skiffs – where we encountered a large group of grey whales that got curious among our presence. The whales came close and spy hopped around our boats for several hours. On our way back to National Geographic Venture , we were also greeted by some humpback whale mommas and their calves, and a pretty big pod of dolphins. During the afternoon, we went ashore to explore the coast of Los Frailes Bay where we got to experience some of the local vegetation and bird life. There is an arroyo that contains remains of a lake in the dry season but continues to have a lot of greenery and life. For those that were especially adventurous, we had the chance to rock scramble along some hills and walk among the stunning dunes.
