You can’t help but smile when you find out that you are headed for an island called Danzante, the dancer. What images pop into your head? Cardon cacti dancing in the moonlight? Gulls doing the boogy-woogy on the beach? Neither of those things happened, but amazing things did nonetheless. As we navigated towards the island, we discovered a smattering of dolphins. Effortlessly riding the bow wave of the National Geographic Sea Bird were bottlenose dolphins. We challenged ourselves to photograph these speedsters of the sea. Whether or not we captured the image with our cameras, we definitely etched a memory in our minds.
We moved quickly up the cetaceanal ladder from dolphins to blue whales. That’s right, plural. It is a good life when you have to decide which blue whale to follow. We followed the one that was coming up on its side with half a fluke sticking out of the water. Speculation followed that it might be lunge feeding. The productive waters of the Gulf of California are a krill cafeteria for blue whales, and it did appear this whale was actively feeding.
Our landing at Danzante presented many options. We kayaked the calm waters of Honeymoon Cove, paddling about in single or double kayaks. We immersed ourselves in the experience by donning fins, mask and snorkel and joining the denizens of the sea for a short swim. Lastly, we did the “hike of many views.” Danzante is a small island, but it offers sweeping views of the Sierra de la Giganta to the west, Isla del Carmen to the east, and the bowl of Honeymoon Cove to the South.
With the western horizon aglow with a cloud shrouded sunset, we made our way south, towards tomorrows adventures at Los Islotes, the little islet that California sea lions call home. I can see the smile creeping across your face already.
