Linda Burback, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
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Daily Expedition
Reports
29 Jan 2023
Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos / San Dollar Beach , 1/29/2023, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Baja California
We started our day by searching for whales in heavy fog. Eventually, we found a couple whales and a pod of bottlenose dolphins. We were all happy to end our last grey whale encounter with a recently born grey whale calf and its huge mum.
The afternoon was filled with a delightful stroll along Sand Dollar Beach and the most spectacular sunset.
Lisa grew up in the mountains of the Black Forest in Germany. When she was 18, she moved to Italy where Lisa spent two years of working in different places meanwhile studying Italian. At 20 years old, returning from Italy, she moved to Hamburg and fi...
Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Linda and her Air Force family moved extensively throughout the U.S. when she was a child. Linda continues to travel and explore a broader spectrum of the world as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geogr...
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The day began with an exhilarating stretch class just after sunrise. Gray whales were spotted on our way south and guests enjoyed the early morning at the bow looking at whales, dolphins, and a couple of curious sea lions. Essentially, we saw whales all the way to the mouth of Bahia Almejas. During the morning whale watch outing, we boarded pangas with local captains who took us to the best spots. The experience with the whales was characterized by the number of spy hops we saw. At one point we counted up to 10 whales in the same area! For the second outing in the afternoon, some boats were lucky enough to see whales up close and even touched them. We were fortunate to have perfect weather all day which allowed us to calmly enjoy the whales going about their daily activities. Back on board National Geographic Sea Bird , guests felt inspired by what we’ve experienced and put it in watercolor. At the end of the day, we attended a presentation about climate change with guest speaker, Joy Ward.
Our morning started with an incredible sunrise and glassy calm water in the Canal de Soledad. We continued our morning with an expedition on board pangas captained by local captains to search for gray whales. After a lovely brunch (which included fabulous cinnamon rolls!), we continued towards Sand Dollar Beach where we hiked among the incredible barchan sand dunes, incredible desert plants, and made it to the Pacific Ocean, where we encountered all kinds of marine life.
This morning, we had the opportunity to Zodiac cruise in a maze of mangroves that offered some protection from the northerly breeze blowing on the Hull Canal. Both red and white mangroves are present, sharing the estuary and growing side by side. These plants have adapted to survive in saltwater marshes and create a unique ecosystem that many different animals take advantage of, including a nice variety of shorebirds, osprey, frigatebirds, egrets, and even a few passerines. Once back on board, National Geographic Sea Bird sailed north in the Hull Canal, a long and narrow saltwater river that leads to the small town of Lopez Mateos. We anchored just a little south of it and had a chance to simply wander on the extensive dunes of Isla Magdalena, enjoying the scenery, some photo opportunities, and the warm sand on our bare feet. During the evening cocktail hour, we had a very special visit from a local duet who played guitar and sang songs from the Mexican folklore tradition.
