Early morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise, scattered clouds and calm waters, great for wildlife spotting, and enjoying the perfect temperatures of this pristine place. As we edged our way along the beautiful range of the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains, a large group of devil manta rays were the first thrill of the day with occasional lunges out of the water and a “warm-up” to the next exciting show—short-finned Pilot whales!
Plentiful in numbers and practically surrounding the ship, they were very active and probably feeding on their main stable diet of squid, providing great opportunities for various photos and video opts. Their color pattern is fairly simple-basic black or dark brown, with a light gray throat patch and often a conspicuous light gray saddle behind the dorsal fin. The bulbous head has given them the nickname of pot-head, which will protrude beyond the front of the mouth, with a short, barely noticeable beak. We hung with them for over an hour, continued on our way, only to have long-beaked common dolphins surround our vessel and do a bit of bow riding before continuing on their way. The rest of our morning was a hands-on camera time with photo instructor Rikki Swenson, learning photo essentials with various cameras to hopefully optimize the use of them for the rest of our journey.
We were ready for some physical activity when the afternoon rolled around. National Geographic Sea Bird anchored off a wide expansive cove with an idyllic sandy beach, perfect for launching kayaks, snorkeling, or scrambling up the sandstone slopes. Scouring the nearby area or simply lounging in beach chairs was also popular, as well as late afternoon hikes with a couple of our naturalists to learn more about the flora and fauna of this place and hopefully spot some interesting birds.
Ending a perfect day in this unforgettable place was a traditional barbecue dinner ashore by our ambitious and talented galley, serving up ancho and tomatillo braised pork, seared jurel fish with fruit salsa, coleslaw, and brownies. As the bonfire roared, s’mores were enjoyed as well as some campfire songs under a canopy of brilliant stars. Who could ask for anything more!
