In the morning we walked through the dunes to Bah¡a Santa Maria, a twelve mile half-moon-shaped beach set off by two rocky headlands. The smell of the Pacific sent some of us on long walks, a few running, and even a few intrepid souls went body surfing on the incoming tide. Most of the group explored and gathered around a still life of found objects, including the giant sand dollars that Sand Dollar Beach is known for, a gorgeous collection of other brightly colored shells and the find of the day, a seahorse.
A decision was made to explore a nearby mangrove environment called El Barril. Zodiacs were launched and slowly we made our way into the slightly less windy channels that make up the mangrove habitat of Bah¡a Magdalena. The tide was low, so our exploration was short but rewarding. There were still hopes that the wind would drop in the afternoon, but it remained steady out of the north. Soon the Zodiacs returned to the Sea Bird, which was the ultimate shelter from the strong and steady wind of this entire day.
As the last light of the day approached, the wind began to drop, and an impromptu sunset visit to the sand dunes was arranged. We quickly assembled at the stern of the ship and a Zodiac awaited to take us into the dunes for those last deep, horizontal, shadows of yellow and purple light.
