The morning started with National Geographic Sea Bird anchored in Bahia Almejas. As the sun broke through the clouds, everyone excitedly prepared to set out whale watching. The pangas took us to the mouth of the bay and we found ourselves surrounded by gray whales! It was amazing to look around and see the giants in every direction. After the up-close encounters with the whales, the ship moved to Isla Magdalena. Everyone went ashore for a short hike through the sand dunes to the Pacific. We explored all along the way and naturalists pointed out beautiful flowers, intriguing animal tracks, and revealed the hidden mystery of sand dollars. The sand was as fine as flour and felt amazing under bare feet as we all walked back through the last light of the day.