Dawn rose on National Geographic Sea Bird steaming into harbor in the tranquil bay of La Paz. After breakfast guests set off to explore the charming pueblo of Todos Santos. In this small town the Jesuit priest Jaime Bravo founded the Mission of Santa Rosa de las Palmas in 1723 and on the original foundation now sits a grand church built in the 1940s in honor of the work of the Jesuits. Across from the church lies a quaint town square lined with palm trees in which the towns’ festivals are held. A small museum in the heart of town gave guests a window into the lifestyle of the desert ranchers of old with a small thatched dwelling made of desert shrubs and also a sighting of the endemic Xantus hummingbird amongst the flowers.
In recent years Todos Santos has become well known for its community of artists, and after a delicious lunch at Cafe Santa Fe guests fanned out to inspect the galleries. Returning to La Paz guests had the chance to spend time wandering the waterfront at sunset before enjoying a special fiesta dinner on the top deck with musical accompaniment provided by local artists, Los Navigantes. At last the night drew to a close with some guests returning to town to sample the famous local ice cream from La Fuente's natural ice cream, whose flavors including cactus and rose petal.
