Santa Rosa Island, The Channel Islands, 12/8/2018, National Geographic Venture
Aboard the
National Geographic Venture
California Coast
The morning sun illuminated a pod of dolphins drawn to our wake, creating stark silhouettes of common dolphins and California sea lions leaping over the surface of the glassy water. We enjoyed these first few hours of daylight in the company of these curious marine mammals effortlessly gliding just below our feet. Tours onboard our inflatable landing craft gave everyone a greater perspective of Santa Rosa Island in the northern portion of the Channel Islands.
Harbor seals hid amongst giant kelp and waves crashed against sandstone cliffs on the shore. The land called to us in the afternoon with hikes up Cherry Canyon and for some, encounters with the endemic island fox. With a perfect mix of sea and sand, today was the best introduction to the possibilities hidden in the Channel Islands.
Emily was raised in the mountains of Central Oregon, where she spent much of her time on the back of a horse. Her fascination with marine science began with family vacations to British Columbia, where she explored tidepools, captured sculpins, inspec...
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A quiet calm surrounds National Geographic Sea Bird as the sun crests the dunes to the west. Magdalena Bay begins to stir as guests enjoy breakfast and coffee onboard. Before long, local pangas arrive to take everyone out searching for grey whales and their young calves. The endeavor is fruitful, and guests see more than they set out to find with a pair of bald eagles nesting along the banks of the lagoon. After a short reposition in the afternoon, all disembark to explore Sand Dollar Beach, a staple of Lindblad’s Baja itinerary. A half mile wide strip of scrubby sand dunes awaits to be explored, hemmed in on the Pacific Ocean on one side and the calmer waters of Magdelena Bay on the other. Many remnants of echinoderms and seabirds can be found, bleached among shells that litter the shore.
National Geographic Sea Lion ’s first Baja trip of the season is off to a great start! We began in Bahia Almejas, where we were picked up from the ship after breakfast by the local pangueros, who hold the permits required to watch whales in Magdalena Bay. Their small fiberglass boats are a great platform for viewing the stars of this itinerary, the gray whales. We zoomed out toward the mouth of Bahia Almejas in the speedy pangas, getting great sightings of hundreds of birds congregating on the sand bars. And then, a spout! And another, and another! A dozen or more whales dotted the horizon in every direction. The whales were unusually active. While full body breaches are usually a rare occurrence in this species, we saw multiple breaches from multiple animals throughout the morning. All in all, it was a beautiful introduction to these animals that we hope to know better as the trip continues. The pangueros delivered us back to National Geographic Sea Lion and we lifted our anchor to relocate to Puerto Magdalena, a small fishing village. Photo instructor Chelsea gave a presentation about smartphone photography as we completed our repositioning, and then we disembarked once more for the afternoon. Some of us opted to go for hikes, which provided beautiful looks at native and endemic plant species. Others chose a fat tire bike ride, or a leisurely afternoon at the restaurant on the beach. Those who chose the Zodiac tour had a nice surprise when they encountered a large pod of bottlenose dolphins. After a long day of play in the sun, it was time to return to the ship and have a well-deserved dinner. Following a beautiful meal, naturalist Sofia gave a talk in the lounge about gray whales. Tomorrow, we journey north for new adventures!
It was the last day of our twelve-day trip and we plan to make the excursions memorable. Many guests were up by dawn in stretch class or on the bow looking for wildlife. After breakfast, we visited Punta Colorada on the island of San Jose to walk up the canyon or along a sandstone bluff. The striped bluff has layers of pink sediment between layers of marine sediment laden with shells in the process of fossilization. Out on the layered promontory surrounded by water, we found a turtle fossil as well as two whale vertebras embedded in the stone. After lunch, we set up our chairs and shade canopy on a lovely beach called Puerto Gato. Surrounding us was an even deeper red striped sandstone. Guests snorkeled over a rocky reef with healthy looking corals and colorful fish. Some chose to kayak or standup paddleboard and others took their second hike of the day up the arroyo. Dinner was delicious with a spongy chocolate cake for dessert in the lounge as we viewed our collaborative slideshow. Oh, the places we’ve been! We leave tomorrow with new friends.
