We awakened this morning, our first aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion, to a beautiful sunrise, followed by a couple of humpback whales feeding, and then common dolphins riding the bow. Wow! People made their way to the decks of the ship to see these amazing cetaceans gracefully cut through the water, ride the bow, and leap high into the air. They soon departed, but towards the end of our light exercise class another group of dolphins – this time bottlenose dolphins - came to welcome us to their home. “Bienvenidos a Mexico!” they seemed to say with each leap and tail-slap and zip to the bow for a free ride. Well, probably they were feeding and not paying too much attention to us. However we did notice when the Captain stepped on the gas, they sped up as well, and began leaping and bow-riding with more gusto. There must have been a couple of hundred dolphins; we were told that for every one seen on the surface there are likely 3 or 4 more below. The tiny babies were so cute (as are all babies). And we saw a huge remora hanging off the side of one of the dolphins, getting a free ride to its meal. Speaking of meals, it was now time for breakfast!
After breakfast and some intros and briefings, we came up to the back deck to get our snorkel gear for the week, and some were lucky enough to see a leatherback turtle hanging out on the surface. It didn’t seem to be moving - was it sleeping? Later in the morning the photo team did an introductory talk on photography and taught everyone about their camera settings.
After lunch we anchored off Isla Santa Catalina for a smorgasbord of activities. The crew brought down all the boats and toys and we proceeded to snorkel, swim, kayak, take expedition landing craft cruises, hike, sunbathe, beach-comb and take photos. Whoever said the desert was barren has not been to the Gulf of California. So much vegetation! Huge cardon cacti, and the giant barrel cactus endemic to the island, and many more plants and creepy-crawlies. Some people were lucky enough to see the endemic rattleless rattlesnake, and constant movements that caught the eye and rustlings that caught the ear drew our attention to lizards and iguanas. Some of the cacti were in bloom, and there were lots of birds including cardinals, and white-winged doves perched atop cardons, calling to one another throughout the arroyo.
In the late afternoon the crew began bringing things ashore for dinner. As the sun set, we enjoyed a delicious beach barbeque feast, topped off with stories and s’mores around the campfire, and night-painting photography with the photo team. Wow – was that all in one day? What a fantastic introduction to the bounty and beauty of the Gulf of California.
