After having sailed south all night long from the midriff area of the Sea of Cortez, sunrise found us off Punta Púlpito, north of Loreto. As the National Geographic Sea Bird made her way towards the Loreto Bay National Park we watched a couple of small groups of long-beaked common dolphins moving quickly in their pursuit of small schooling fish. We had a strange visitor: a solitary mourning dove that kept flying around the ship, an uncommon sight at sea. During and after breakfast we encountered some groups of bottlenose dolphins, including a few that delighted everyone in the dining room by jumping high in front of the windows!
During lunch we dropped the anchor off Danzante Island. Danzante is one of the five islands that comprise the Loreto Bay National Park, and it made the perfect place for our afternoon activities. Many of us went snorkeling and had the chance to watch a number of fish and invertebrates, including king and Cortez angelfishes, giant damsels, coral hawk fishes, sun, pyramid, and cushion stars, parrotfishes, mother-of-pearl oysters, pen shells, and many more. Kayaking was another great activity and many enjoyed paddling along the rugged shoreline, looking at the occasional Mobula ray jumping out of the water and having some quality time in groups or by themselves.
After such busy afternoon, we all went back to the island to enjoy a great treat, a delicious dinner ashore! Great food, friendship, humor, music, and stars made for the perfect ending of another wonderful day exploring the Sea of Cortez.
