We awoke this morning on a northerly course, arriving to our anchorage at Isla San Marcos just as breakfast was served. Outside, scores of seabirds swirled around us, pelicans plunging into the sea rich with food. Immature Heermann’s gulls mobbed the pelicans as they bobbed to the surface, hoping to snatch any extra fish slipping from the pelican’s beak. As we headed to shore the Zodiac’s stopped for close-up views of the ongoing feeding frenzy. Once ashore, we set out in our various directions, kayakers on a northern heading up the coastline, hikers into a narrow arroyo snaking inland, and snorkelers into the near shore waters.
After a busy morning ashore, we set sail with time to look for some of the whales and dolphins frequently found in these abundant waters. It didn’t take long for us to spot dolphins ahead. We had a fantastic time watching and photographing a group of 400-500 long-beaked common dolphins as our 2nd Mate, Carter, navigated the National Geographic Sea Bird gracefully alongside them. After a terrific time with these super active dolphins, we had to break off as they were leaping and jumping in a southward direction at a rapid clip while our course was to the north.
In the late afternoon we began our visit to the small mining town of Santa Rosalia on the Baja California Peninsula. This mine was developed in 1884 by the French “El Boleo” company to take advantage of the rich copper reserves of the region. Today Santa Rosalia is an interesting town to explore, with its unusual French architectural influences differentiating it from other towns in Baja California.
We began with an interesting tour of the former copper smelting operation, then meandered into town and up to the 100+ year old El Boleo Bakery. Some people ventured behind the scenes there and watched as the huge, old, wood-fired ovens were loaded using a 15 foot long wooden paddle pushing trays through a small opening into the far recesses. We checked out a couple of taco places, the church, and worked our way up to the top of the hill and the original El Boleo Mining Company offices, now a small museum. Just down the street was our final stop for the evening, the Hotel Frances, whose proprietor, Irma welcomed us with margaritas, chips and guacamole. Laughter filled the terrace as the sun dropped lower into the mountain backdrop. Eventually we all returned to the ship in time for the lines to be cast off for our continuing explorations to the north.
