Isla San Francisco, 4/15/2018, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Baja California
This morning a humpback whale surfaced close to the ship, so we changed our plans and went whale watching from the expedition landing craft. Several dozen very active bottlenose dolphins swam among the small boats. We spent the afternoon snorkeling, swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding in the calm, turquoise waters of Half Moon Bay. Just before dinner, we watched a large group of common dolphins feeding and leaping – exhilarating!
Berit grew up on the rocky shores of Marblehead, Massachusetts, where she explored the marine environment through changing tides and seasons, nurturing a love of natural history and marine biology.
Sarah was raised on a multi-generational family dairy farm, established circa 1815 in Lucas, Ohio. Consequently, her first paying job was milking cows! Rewarding as it was to get paid for the first time, she found her passion behind the lens of a cam...
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During our fourth day exploring the waters and islands around the peninsula of Baja California we visited a couple of different places. We spent the morning hiking at La Encantada Beach on the western shore of San Jose Island where we encountered numerous creatures, including a male Costa’s hummingbird that spontaneously landed on one of our natural history staff’s hand! After leaving San Jose Island, we enjoyed another wonderful moment when a group of approximately one hundred and fifty long-beaked common dolphins joined our ship and delighted everyone as they swam alongside us. We later landed on Dispensa Beach located on the southern end of Espiritu Santo Island and had a great time beachcombing and hiking, finishing another awesome day in the Sea of Cortez.
We awoke to the distant sound of barking. The low morning sun illuminated the small northernmost islands of the Espiritu Santo Archipelago called Los Islotes. We were here to visit a vibrant rookery of California sea lions who were the source of that barking. Many of our intrepid group visited these playful creatures in their own wet environment. We snorkeled and watched their antics as they chased each other, blew bubbles, and even nibbled at our fins. The rest of our group visited via Zodiac where we viewed their spirited behavior on land and bathed in the cacophony of their barks and moans. We were also lucky to see many birds that roost on the island, including blue-footed and cocos boobies and yellow-footed gulls. We then moved further south in the archipelago to the gorgeous anchorage of El Cardonal on Isla Partida. We kayaked the crystal clear, electric turquoise waters in flat, calm conditions, as brown pelicans, ospreys, and hawks flew overhead. In the late afternoon we went ashore for walks across the island. Here we explored cardon cactus forests, spied on the endemic Espiritu Santo antelope squirrel, and learned about mangrove ecosystems in the beautiful evening light.
The first day of our voyage started with an incredible sunrise over a calm ocean. Whales spouted in the distance as seabirds passed by. We spent our morning enjoying the abundant wildlife and preparing for our week together. For the afternoon, we explored Balandra Beach in Northwest Isla Carmen. The mangroves and salt flats were a delight to wander in, introducing us to the local flora and fauna of the islands of the Gulf of California. Returning to National Geographic Venture , we had an incredible dinner aboard and heard a presentation about the area by Naturalist Carlos Navarro. It was a great start to our voyage, and we look forward to tomorrow.
