Bahia Bonanza, Isla Espiritu Santo and Los Islotes
Calm seas, the white arc of Bahia Bonanza, and the luxury of aimlessness. These are the ingredients for proper vacationing in Baja California. The choices this morning were many, from paddling kayaks across a turquoise bay, snorkeling from the beach, meandering through the Sonoran Desert, or a leisurely beachcombing amble. Our morning on terra firma was just the start of a very full and satisfying day of exploration.
Along the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo we found ourselves with dolphins swimming under glass flat seas. Their squeaks, chirps, and clicks were audible as we hung our heads over the rails to watch them ride our bow wave. Some dolphins took the role of surfer dudes and chose to ride in our wake.
Upon arrival at Los Islotes the sun-drenched rocks were covered by a hoarseness of sea lions, or it seemed that that should be their collective pronoun as they barked continuously through the afternoon and into the evening. Like sausages on a platter, the animals were stacked one atop the other. Most were slumbering; others were lumbering up onto the rocks while a handful of the younger animals followed the bubble trails of our Zodiacs.
Snorkelers jumped into the water and found themselves in a tornado of sardines. The fish swirled and sparkled as a unified amorphous blob, shape shifting and making three-dimensional U-turns through the water column.
Not to be outdone by the life viewed underwater, nearer the ship an unseen spatula seemed to be flipping mobula rays into the air. These cartilaginous pancakes sporadically took flight from the sea and unceremoniously splatted back into the water, leaving us dumbfounded as to why but ever hopeful of catching them photographically.
By the end of the day we were pruney from snorkeling and slightly baked around the edges from the sun. We crawled into warm fluffy beds looking forward to tomorrow and a new day for discovery.
