Merry Christmas from National Geographic Venture! We have had a fantastic day here in the Sea of Cortez. With unusual westerly winds, we were able to check out one of our favorite bays on the east side of Isla San Jose. We woke up early for yoga and hikes of both the aerobic and natural history variety. The aerobic hikers scrambled their way through an arroyo and up to the top of some sandstone cliffs for some nice vistas. Natural history hikers wandered along the shoreline, discovering fossilized whale bones, turtle shells, and even a dead tarantula! For those that did not feel like being active that early on Christmas morning, the coastline was explored via Zodiac.
After a delicious brunch—complete with beautifully decorated Christmas cookies—our youngest guests to learn how to drive our Zodiacs in lessons taught by our brave Bosun, deck team, and US Coast Guard-licensed staff members. It was not a competition, but the girls’ boat definitely won. A little breeze picked up just in time to suit up for one last dip in the clear waters of Baja while the sun continued to blaze. In a beautiful protected cove with red sandstone cliffs, we snorkeled until we got cold, then headed back to the ship.
For the afternoon we cruised south towards La Paz. Hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins raced over from the open Sea of Cortez to take turns riding the pressure wave created by National Geographic Venture’s bulbous bow. Cocktail hour was held on the sundeck as the sun set behind the peninsula, and all guests under the age of 18 (plus their grandparents) were allowed a swing at the Christmas piñata. After an amazing Christmas feast, we enjoyed a slideshow of photos taken by guests during the trip and then strolled down the Malecon for some ice cream and city lights to end a wonderful holiday expedition.
