We left the tip of Baja California yesterday afternoon and sailed north all the way to Espiritu Snto Island. There, we found protection from the swells and white cups, that had been building up from previous days of El Norte blowing hard down the Sea of Cortes. We set anchor early this morning in the calm bay of Ensenada Grande, where we had breakfast and set off for our morning operations. Some of us went rock and boulder hopping up the arroyo, to be rewarded with a beautiful view of the sea from the top of the cliff. Other guests wandered along the trail taking pictures of cactus and flowers, and learning more about the amazing desert vegetation of the island. Others chose to explore the world underwater and went snorkeling along the rocky shore on the side of the bay. Every one enjoyed the activities, and afterwards we came back on board for a well deserved lunch, while the National Geographic Sea Bird was sailing north to San Francisco Island.
The afternoon was spent on Isla San Francisco for some more fun activities -kayaking, snorkeling, and hiking to check out the tide pools. A beautiful afternoon followed with a great barbecue on the beach, and s’moures by the fire to top off the many stories that everyone shared. We all had a wonderful day discovering the magic of the islands in the Gulf of California.
