We awakened our first morning aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird anchored in Bahia Magdalena off Isla Magdalena. The skies were clear and blue, temperature 63 degrees Fahrenheit, and a light wind of about 10 knots. A group gathered on the aft Bridge deck to shake free of the long travels to get here, and breathe in the fresh sea air here in Baja California Sur. The qi is amazing here, a spaciousness of desert and sea, inviting us to open and expand outward. The gentle rocking of the ship was soothing. We shook and tapped and circled our joints, grounded feet down and crown up, and connected one to another in a massage and back-scratch circle. Then it was time for a different kind of outward expansion… breakfast!
After breakfast and shipboard introductions and briefings, we boarded the inflatable boats and zipped ashore to explore Isla Magdalena. Wow - the sand! My feet were in sensory heaven. First the refreshing wet landing to awaken and invigorate; then emerging from the bay to shore line, the sand was still very dense with water and my feet sank in a few inches with each step. Ditching life jackets we made our way across the narrow island towards the Pacific side. The sand was hard, crunchy, encrusted with dried salt, and forming interesting patterns from water and wind. And then – wow – climbing a sand dune – soft and silky and wave-patterned. The history of the desert is written here. And erased. And re-written. A constant etch-a-sketch of life shaping and re-shaping this living moving carpet beneath our feet. I remember being surprised when I first saw a glacier in Alaska… I could feel the aliveness and movement of the flowing glacial ice. Here, too, in the desert, I am surprised by the life of the sand dunes, on the dunes, in the dunes. What is this myth about deserts being barren and empty? They are anything but. We continued onward, wending and weaving our way around vegetation and vast shell middens, and before we knew it we had reached a pinnacle, and the Pacific Ocean spread out before us. Oh the beauty of this place! We made our way down and up and around, and arrived to the welcoming sight of sand dollars strewn everywhere on miles of sandy beach in either direction.
Once back across and onboard, the Captain pulled the hook, and we picked up some local navigation experts to help us traverse the very shallow Hull Canal, on our way north up to Boca de Soledad, where we plan to spend the next 48 hours visiting with the gray whales here in their nursery. It was a beautiful ride up, with sightings of sea birds, and finally our first looks at a gray whale, spy-hopping it’s head out of the water numerous times. Since anchoring we have seen quite a few gray whales passing by. Can’t wait to get in the small boats tomorrow and get closer looks!
