Our day began with sightings of humpback whales spouting and breaching just south of the entrance to Magdalena Bay. As we neared the entrance we saw the first of many heart-shaped spouts from gray whales. We watched as they took a few shallow dives followed by flukes up as they dove deeper and went on their way. It seemed as though they were inviting us to join them and their kin inside the bay for their annual meeting.
As we cruised into the bay we passed the old shoreline whaling station, now in ruins, at Punta Belcher. The coastal fog crept over the island and around us as the Sea Bird and crew used shipboard radar and GPS to navigate our way north along Isla Magdalena.
Soon we reached our destination for the afternoon, the eastern shore of Isla Magdalena, where we could walk through the dunes to the Pacific coast. The short walk across the island led to a magnificent beach which we enjoyed from one end to the other. Among the many beautiful shells we found Venus clams (inset) and slit sand dollars (inset).
