National Geographic Sea Bird was underway all night traveling south along the Pacific Ocean with the peninsula to her port side. By morning’s golden hour we sailed around the tip and positioned near the famous rock formations “El Arco” for sunrise, with the beautiful setting full moon as backdrop. We continued on into the Gulf of California and just after breakfast pulled in to dock at the marina of La Playa, just a short ride away from downtown San Jose del Cabo. Several towns in the area make up Los Cabos—the popular tourist destination Cabo San Lucas, the more old-style San Jose del Cabo, Todos Santos, Santiago, and a number of other smaller communities—all here because of the main artery, the Rio San Jose, which begins high in the mountains at Milleflores and runs 75 kilometers down to the ocean. The estuary at the base of the river provides water, home, and a rest stop to a wide variety of birds as well…residents, those nesting in the area, and as a final stop for migratory birds making their way across the gulf to the mainland. Some of our naturalists led walks through the estuary to see what we could see.
Time spent in downtown San Jose del Cabo included visiting local artisans and galleries, jewelry shops, the missionary church, and Baja Glass to witness local glass-blowing. The paleteria provided a refreshing culmination to the morning with paletas—ice cream on a stick.
The afternoon was devoted to cruising north along Gorda Banks in search of humpback whales and whatever else we might find. Those lingering at lunch were enticed outside to the bow with the PA announcement of a breaching humpback whale off the starboard bow. Wow! Those lucky enough to be outside initially saw half-a-dozen breaches. We can only guess why whales perform this awesome acrobatic feat. As we watched, the wind began to pick up, producing larger swells and some whitecaps. We traveled onward and found a couple more whales hanging out. Many people went to lay down for a siesta as the ship rocked and rolled.
At this writing we are anchoring in a calm bay for evening Recap and dinner, before heading back out for a probably rocky night aboard.
