When someone says “Good morning,” it usually means, “Hello,” or, “I hope you have a pleasant day.” Today’s morning for us was much more of a special good morning than that—it was fabulous! The pre-dawn sky revealed a glorious string of planets, all five that can be seen with the naked eye. Pelicans and cormorants flew past, backlit by the sunlight as it glinted above a shoreline of mangroves and then gently crept across the immense dunes to the west.
Eager whale watchers boarded the rubber boats for our final outing to watch these magnificent mammals from water level. Backs and spouts broke the glassy surface in almost every direction. With no shortage of cow/calf pairs, we spread out to see individuals spin just beneath the surface, spy hop (as in the photo), and approach our boats for close inspections. The time flew by, and by late morning our local pilot had boarded the ship in readiness for our transit back to Magdalena Bay. He departed after carefully negotiating the narrow and shallow channel, and the ship continued towards the opening between Isla Magdalena, our home for the past few days, and Isla Santa Margarita, a mountainous island of metamorphic rocks.
We entered the open Pacific and found it to live up to its peaceful name. Splashing and spouting of several humpbacks caught our attention. The ship’s officers maneuvered us into position to watch what appeared to be competitive male behaviors including dramatic tail throws as in the photograph. It was exciting to see the differences between these animals and the gray whales that we have enjoyed the past few days.
At sunset even a number of non-believers managed to see a vivid green flash over a clear ocean horizon. We then continued onward for our overnight passage to tomorrow’s destination at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula, where a totally different episode of our journey together will unfold.
