Our voyage exploring the Sea of Cortez began with a bountiful full moon. In the middle of the night, an intrepid group of travelers woke up to watch a stunning lunar eclipse from the upper deck of the ship as we sailed northward beneath a clear night sky.
By dawn, the National Geographic Sea Lion was in the waters of the Loreto Bay National Marine Park. The first rays of light tinted the nearby mountains of the Sierra de la Giganta rosy red as we ventured along the eastern shores of Isla del Carmen. Winds were whipping down from that island’s high desert hills, so we soon turned back to pass around Carmen’s southern tip. We soon encountered a very large group of long-beaked common dolphins. It seemed that our delight in watching them was equally matched by their exuberance at our ship’s approach, as they continually came bounding towards our ship to bow-ride, racing along, leaping in the air being pushed along by our ship’s pressure wave. There were many hundreds of dolphins in this expansive group, as well as many mothers with young calves.
Midday, we headed into a lovely, protected anchorage called “Honeymoon Cove” on the north western tip of Isla Danzante. Our afternoon was spent leisurely enjoying and exploring this scenic locale. Our ship seemed wrapped in the island’s dramatic scenery. We set out to enjoy snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking, with many memorable experiences. Many snorkelers saw very rare sights of sea horses on the sandy floor of the cove. There were small boat tours as well as hikes offered later in the day, climbing to look-out points for stunning views of the emerald bay where our landing beach was located. As the day ended, we sailed a short distance westward to the hidden port of Puerto Escondido in the growing shadow of the immense Sierra de la Giganta. Here, we topped off the ship’s fresh water supply before heading on northward to explore the more distant parts of the magical Sea of Cortez.
