Today was all about sunrise, sunset, snorkeling and hiking in the morning, and an incredible humpback whale encounter in the afternoon! As we rose from our slumber and greeted the morning, we were privileged to enjoy one of those spectacular Baja sunrises that the Sea of Cortez is noted for. After breakfast, we enjoyed a morning of expedition. We explored a new beach, which had great snorkeling, and took some nice desert hikes. Once back onboard, we were off with high hopes to find more whales. We spent the rest of the day enjoying their company, and we were not disappointed. In fact, the bridge crew found two very friendly humpbacks that approached our ship. As we sat motionless for almost an hour, these whales proceeded to go back and forth under the bow before surfacing straight below our extremely excited guests! After our friends finally went on their way, we continued to cruise south and were treated to a magical sunset over the Baja Peninsula. Just another incredible day in the Sea of Cortez!
2/3/2025
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National Geographic Venture
Punta Colorada, Isla San Jose
We started our day with a perfect sunrise tinting the clouds in fading pinks and oranges. We had an all-in-one day starting with snorkeling by the colorful rocky shores of Punta Colorada, a place that is only accessible when we have perfectly calm conditions as we had today. We spotted a humpback whale straight from the dining room during lunch, and right after we headed back out for our arroyo hikes and kayaking. The cove was unbelievably beautiful. Trapped in the sandstone, we found innumerable fossils of shells and even the carapace of a turtle and some whalebones. We also learned of the Baja California desert vegetation and history from our informative naturalist that led the way. We went kayaking which provided a spectacular perspective of the tall pink and yellow walls that line the coves. From Zodiacs we could enjoy the enviable views of this pristine island. We are only on day one of National Geographic Venture’s Among the Great Whales expedition and we have seen and done so much. We feel accomplished yet we’re hungry for more!