The morning began with a warming sunrise sparkling across the glassy calm water of Bahia Almejas. After breakfast, there was much excitement in the air, as we had perfect conditions for another round of whale watching with the local pangueros. The first stop was at a sandbar filled with seabirds, mostly cormorants and California brown pelicans, with a few gulls in the mix too. It was quite spectacular listening to them take flight, as they ran across the water and flapped their wings to venture off in search of a fishy meal. Then as we rounded the sandbar, the heart-shaped mist from the exhalations of several gray whales could be seen ahead. The whale watching was fantastic; gray whales were spyhopping, fluking, blowing bubbles, and rolling. Some guests even experienced a whale swimming alongside — or right underneath — their panga.
During the afternoon aboard National Geographic Venture, we cruised from Bahia Almejas into Bahia Magdalena to La Entrada, where the bay and the open Pacific Ocean meet. We looked for wildlife from the bow and the decks, finding quite a variety: gray and humpback whales, large schools of fish, sea lions, pelicans, gulls, and cormorants, just to name a few.
