La Entrada, Bahia Magdalena
Just above the horizon a full moon reluctantly gave the show over to a new day. We could not help but immediately focus on the heart-shaped blows starkly cast against the desolate mountainsides of Isla Margarita. Gray whales! Soon we boarded Zodiacs and left our anchorage just off of Isla Magdalena. We headed out into La Entrada, the southernmost mouth of Magdalena Bay. The slow rolling swells of the open ocean made the journey all the more exciting. Within minutes we were surrounded by whales! Shifting into neutral, we waited and soon enough these curious animals approached our boats and no further did we travel.
As these whales were without young ones by their sides, it is possible that this gathering consisted mostly of adults displaying courtship behavior. Two particularly curious adults swam from one boat to another, sometimes close enough to be touched. In the clear water it was also easy to see just how large these animals are in comparison to a Zodiac, at least twice their size! Just as it was time to return to the National Geographic Sea Bird, they too chose to part company and, as if to say goodbye, one of the whales raised its great fluke and dove in the direction of the open ocean.
In the afternoon, many of us turned our attention to the green hillsides of Isla Magdalena. Some of us ventured up an arroyo, where we marveled at the lush desert garden of plants exploding with green fleshy leaves and colorful blooms. Other people wandered along the shoreline to examine the many treasures washed up by the sea. A ribbon of dried pelagic red crabs lined the beach as well as bones and shells of other expired critters.
Just as the day began with bang, the day ended with one as well. Many of us witnessed a green flash just as the sun fell below the horizon.
