La Entrada and Hull Canal, Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur
Just before the sun raised above the horizon this morning we begun to observe the extraordinary creatures that we came to seek for: grey whales, present on different sizes and ages. In fact, we moved across the little-agitated waters of La Bocana (The Big Mouth), as the southernmost entrance of Magdalena Bay is called, when we started to detect the tall and bushy exhalations of adult grey whales, here and there, either as solitary individuals, in pairs or even in groups of three and four animals. Accompanying the big cousins there were also several bottle-nose dolphins (or "toninas," as they are named by the local fishermen), swimming and diving slowly around the ship. There was no hurry, so we stayed a little longer among them and listening to our Natural History staff explanations.
Later, we anchored in front of Magdalena Island for hikes on the dunes. As we penetrated in this almost golden moon-like ecosystem, we started to appreciate the different wildlife that thrives there: crabs, wadding birds like sandpipers and Sanderlings, milkweeds and sand verbenas, among others, plus multiple tracks from mice, coyotes, foxes and jackrabbits. The real highlights of the hikes were the human-made piles of shells (left by the legendary ancient inhabitants of the peninsula) and the size of the very abundant sand dollars on the Pacific side of the island (see photo). Not for nothing we call this location the "Sand Dollar Beach."
By the afternoon we picked the local pilot up and navigated along the un-navigable Hull canal to get the northernmost part of the bay, locally known as Boca de la Soledad (Mouth of the Solitude), the true nursery for the grey whales. During our journey through the canal, however, we found more marvels, including vast patches of red, white and black mangroves and big numbers of marine birds like brown pelicans, frigate birds, cormorants, brants, white ibises, willets and whimbrels. We also saw a solitary coyote walking on the dunes (and perhaps wandering if our ship was another but strange-looking whale).
Just before the sun raised above the horizon this morning we begun to observe the extraordinary creatures that we came to seek for: grey whales, present on different sizes and ages. In fact, we moved across the little-agitated waters of La Bocana (The Big Mouth), as the southernmost entrance of Magdalena Bay is called, when we started to detect the tall and bushy exhalations of adult grey whales, here and there, either as solitary individuals, in pairs or even in groups of three and four animals. Accompanying the big cousins there were also several bottle-nose dolphins (or "toninas," as they are named by the local fishermen), swimming and diving slowly around the ship. There was no hurry, so we stayed a little longer among them and listening to our Natural History staff explanations.
Later, we anchored in front of Magdalena Island for hikes on the dunes. As we penetrated in this almost golden moon-like ecosystem, we started to appreciate the different wildlife that thrives there: crabs, wadding birds like sandpipers and Sanderlings, milkweeds and sand verbenas, among others, plus multiple tracks from mice, coyotes, foxes and jackrabbits. The real highlights of the hikes were the human-made piles of shells (left by the legendary ancient inhabitants of the peninsula) and the size of the very abundant sand dollars on the Pacific side of the island (see photo). Not for nothing we call this location the "Sand Dollar Beach."
By the afternoon we picked the local pilot up and navigated along the un-navigable Hull canal to get the northernmost part of the bay, locally known as Boca de la Soledad (Mouth of the Solitude), the true nursery for the grey whales. During our journey through the canal, however, we found more marvels, including vast patches of red, white and black mangroves and big numbers of marine birds like brown pelicans, frigate birds, cormorants, brants, white ibises, willets and whimbrels. We also saw a solitary coyote walking on the dunes (and perhaps wandering if our ship was another but strange-looking whale).
