We awakened aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion in the Gulf of California and the biologically rich waters of Parque Nacional Bahia de Loreto. Our first day on-board! As the sun rose a dozen or so people gathered on the bridge deck aft for some qigong exercise. We were just finishing up breakfast when an announcement came over the PA – “Bottlenose dolphins are bow-riding… come on up to the 200-level and peek over the side!” The dolphins played with us for a little while, veering off and then coming back in. One veered off and leaped high up in the air. My heart leaped right with it! We called for an encore, and it came back up several more times. Wow – is that as fun as it looks?! We spent the morning in search of more wildlife as we made our way up the eastern coast of the Baja peninsula. In the meantime, there were introductions and briefings and distribution of snorkel gear. Late morning our photo instructor gave an introduction to digital photography, including break-out sessions for people to learn more about their cameras.
In the afternoon we anchored at a scenic inlet called Gull Rock. As the name implied, there were gulls nesting here in various places, including a large rock jutting out of the water. We spent our time exploring land and sea. Many donned wetsuits, snorkels, masks and fins, and immersed themselves in the underwater world. The wind had picked up a bit, making this first snorkel outing a challenge. The water was refreshing in the heat of the afternoon, and a cloud of millions of shrimp obscured views of other local fishes. Meanwhile, a few intrepid souls tried their hands at kayaking, also a challenge due to wind-swept waters. Still others went for expedition landing craft cruises. Later in the afternoon, we went ashore for walks up a boulder-strewn arroyo. Sand, gravel, pebbles, rocks, stones, boulders… all sizes of earth chunks created a fun obstacle course to pick our way through. We saw cacti and other plants and trees, as well as lizards, and heard the calls of wrens.
Returning from our walks we saw splashes a short distance out, not far from our anchored ship. Mobula rays! Shuttle rides back to the ship became mini expedition landing craft cruises to observe these amazing creatures fling themselves out of the water. Why do they do it? We can only guess. It sure is fun to watch them hurl into the air and come down with a loud “smack!” on the surface of the water. Back on-board, the crew had prepared ceviche hors d’oeuvres and cocktails on the sundeck. The mobula rays continued to leap and “smack!” around the ship as the sun sank in the sky. At this writing, we are being called down to the dining room for supper. What a beautiful day here in Baja California!
