Gorda Banks & San Jose del Cabo
After a good night’s sleep, we opened our eyes to the vicinity of Gorda Banks, an underwater sea mount, near the southern tip of the peninsula of Baja California. Here were whales waiting for us! Quite a bit of activity: breaching, following each other, and definitely some male-male interaction in the fiorm of fighting. When these behemoths dive, they resurface quite soon, so the waiting period is not long. We watched them for quite a while, and then had to move further south to San Jose del Cabo.
San Jose del Cabo was the original town in this part of the peninsula, due to the proximity of fresh water. Here we divided our activities into birdwatching along the stream near the ocean, and a visit to the old town. Birds in the first place were very abundant, including this magnificent oriole! Wading birds were there, as well as other birds taking in the generous abundance of green life. An osprey insisted on attracting attention. Overhead the turkey vultures glided to and fro, and the frigates showed up every so often.
Later we set sail for Cabo San Lucas. On the way, we cruised by the rocks of Land’s End, where we enjoyed the granitic pillars; this is where a series of birds, such as the magnificent frigate birds, cormorants, pelicans and blue-footed and brown boobies would spend the night, safe from any land predator. The famous arch beckoned us, as well as the small group of California sea lions, growling and barking away.
And on we sailed, around those rocks, off into the open Pacific, which was pacific. Here we enjoyed a margarita on deck while the sun died over the horizon.
