As the stars faded, and the sun started rising in the East, the National Geographic Sea Lion slowed as it entered the wide channel between the city of Loreto and Isla Carmen. The night had brought some stronger winds from the North, and luckily our course was to the South, giving us following seas! The sun rose over Isla Carmen as we made our way Southward to try to find calmer waters for a morning of cruising.
We soon spotted a pair of whales, mother and calf, but the waves were big enough that we never got a clear look sat the pair, and could not positively identify them, even though they seemed to be Fin Whales; frustrating! So we continued south around the bottom of Carmen, and then into Salinas Bay on the east side. There was still plenty of wind and chop as we slowly made our way back north. A few bottlenose dolphins visited the bow of the ship, entertaining us for a short time, but we soon needed to turn and head toward Puerto Escondido to get some gas for the expedition landing crafts, and pick up some fresh produce. On the way however, we did spot five desert bighorn sheep, three females, and two very young lambs. This was a real treat!
After our short stop to replenish supplies, we headed just a short distance to Honeymoon Bay on the island of Danzante. The plans needed to be downsized because of the continuing windy conditions, but there was several different walks offered on the fairly well maintained trails that spread out from our landing beach. Soon it was time to get back on board, reposition to even a more protected anchorage at Puerto Escondido for cocktail hour, recap and dinner, before heading south again later this evening toward tomorrows adventures!
