This morning we awoke with the National Geographic Sea Lion anchored at Isla San Pedro Martir. This remote and infrequently visited bird nesting island is frosted with guano from its steep peaks down to the lowest perches. Early morning onboard the ship seemed relatively quiet as the sun rose, but moving closer to shore on our small boat cruises we were enveloped in a cacophony of sound from the barking California sea lions and bird life soaring overhead and perched along on the cliffs and shoreline.
The day evolved perfectly. We had incredible fun with sea lions playing alongside our small boats. The water was so clear we could watch them soaring below the surface, then photograph them leaping around us as they followed our cruises around the island. As we set sail southward, we had excellent marine mammal sightings as we quickly found a group of six fin whales, the second largest animal in the world. Next up were a pair of humpback whales, including one who surfaced just under our bow.
