San Jose del Cabo and Finisterra
All night long we had travelled south and out of the Gulf of California, into the Pacific. But shortly before arriving at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, we enjoyed hours of whale watching. Whales here are mostly humpback whales, in their winter grounds, after having spent their summers on the coast of British Columbia mostly. Here we saw females and males, and females with a calf in attendance. There is a sea mount in this area, called Gorda, and mostly males are to be found here. This species of whale is quite aggressive with each other, especially among males. Here they fight for females, and they sing. Yes, sing. Humpback whales are known for their song, which has different parts, adding up to around 20 minutes. Then they begin the same song over again.
Besides these antics, humpback whales are known as the most acrobatic of all whales. Today we witnessed a series of whales breech many times, with great facility. On many occasions breeches happened in the proximity of our ship. We would all run from port to starboard, then back again. The almost audible clicks of the cameras did not stop. But we eventually had to leave the whales to their own business, and sail further south to the small city of San Jose del Cabo, where the original presence of the Spaniards was. Here, after lunch, we divided in two groups, one to the estero, or stream, with very generous vegetation, consisting principally of tall Baja California palms and cattails, as well as reeds. Many birds were sighted, including ospreys, pelicans, cormorants and turkey vultures.
The second group went into town, to visit the handicraft shops and for a cold beer or margarita. Cuban cigars, tequila and beadwork were purchased. And the obligatory visit to the old mission, founded at the beginning of the 18th century. It is still active! And ice-cream flowed generously today as well. Pretty soon we were back at our ship and sailing away, southwest, in the direction of Cabo San Lucas and the famous arch of Finisterra, or Land’s End. Two hours later we were at the famous arch, watching the waves ramming the old granite, making the arch, little by little, bigger.
Helped by the delicious margaritas, we waited and then SAW the green flash! Yes, the elusive green flash. But now we sail on west, and around the peninsula of Baja California, up to our destination for tomorrow: the gray whale lagoon of Magdalena!
