Lands End & San Jose del Cabo
The first light of the day found us at Land’s End, the rocky terminus of the Baja California peninsula. To our collective delight we shared the sunrise with a cow and calf, humpback whales accompanied by a male “escort” whale. As the whales moved off, a flotilla of sport fishing boats spilled out of the harbor at Cabo San Lucas. Captain Kay maneuvered the ship between the rocks for a great view of the arch at Land’s End. Magnificent frigatebirds careened overhead, while sea lions barked on the rocks below. As we pulled away from this scenic spot, more humpbacks could be seen breaching in the distance. Just before the breakfast announcement, we were treated to great views of a humpback breaching repeatedly.
Shortly after breakfast, the ship docked at San Jose del Cabo. This was the site of one of Baja California’s earliest missions. In this dry and dusty land, San Jose del Cabo is blessed with a good supply of water from the nearby mountains. This made it an important water stop for galleons sailing eastward from Manila, and sailing ships heading northward into the gulf.
This once sleepy town is now a bustling destination for tourists. Today was not only a national holiday in Mexico, but also part of a weeklong celebration of the founding of San Jose del Cabo in 1730. The streets were lined with vendor’s stalls, and by late morning everyone was getting set up for the afternoon and evening festivities. Not far from the main street, a brackish estuary is home to many types of birds, both resident as well as migrant species. Wandering along its shores we saw many waterbirds, and glimpses of the endemic Belding’s Yellowthroat.
During the afternoon we cruised east where we found even more humpback whales, including several cow and calf pairs, and four very active males who appeared to be in a competitive group. There were numerous behavioral displays to watch — tail lobbing, pectoral slapping, and more breaching. As the sun set behind the Sierra de la Laguna mountains to the west, we continued our voyage northward into the Gulf of California.
