Thursday, March 29 – Monday, April 9, 2007

Trip Report by on-board naturalists and leaders David Wimpfheimer and Scot Anderson

Day 1         Thursday 29th March

 Pacific Coast - San Diego

Most of the group flew in from the UK the previous evening and spent the night close to the harbour.  This morning, a small group joined naturalist David Wimpfheimer for the optional full day birding tour in the varied habitats of San Diego and adjacent cities.  In varied habitats, we saw almost 90 species.  Some of the highlights of our day included Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Anna’s Hummingbird, Cassin’s Kingbird, and Wrentit

We boarded the Spirit of Adventure in the late afternoon.  After unpacking our gear, we enjoyed the dinner buffet and met fellow travellers.  David Wimpfheimer and Scot Anderson gave us an orientation and briefed us on the journey.  Later Captain Mike Keating outlined the safety features of the boat and gave us a general orientation.  We went to sleep full of anticipation for the forthcoming adventure.

Day 2             Friday 30th March

 Pacific Coast - Todos Santos Island

Smooth sailing down to Ensenada allowed most folks to have a restful night’s sleep.   After clearing customs, we left the large harbour.  A small group of waders identified as Surfbirds were at the tip of the harbor jetty.  It was not long after leaving the harbor that Captain Mike spotted the first cetacean of the voyage, Pacific White-sided Dolphin. David and Scot informed us that these animals are restricted to cold-water areas and are not typically seen after the first few days of the trip.  For over twenty minutes, we marvelled as these beautiful animals swam only a few feet below us under the bow and surfaced quickly near the sides of the boat.

Just as the crew was unloading the skiffs, a Fin Whale surfaced fairly close to the boat.  The wonderful, calm seas made for great skiff rides along the dramatic rocky coast of Todos Santos Island.  Many Harbour Seals with their pups stared back at us from their rocky perches or the exceptionally clear water close to our boats.  Other pinnipeds included Northern Elephant Seal and California Sea Lion.  The birds were even more varied, including Double-crested, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants.  All were in breeding plumage; the Brandt’s were quite stunning with bright blue throat patches.  We saw numerous Black Oystercatchers that whistled loudly as they flew by us.  An all black bird would not be special, but put pink legs on it, a bright red bill, orange eye ring and they are.  Among the oystercatchers, we were able to pick out one American Oystercatcher, here at the northern end of its range.  A Peregrine Falcon flew by the cliff face.   A few of us also saw a Brown Booby.

After we left the island and headed south, we saw another Fin whale and a probable Minke Whale.  The keen birders on the upper deck found Cassin’s Auklet, Pacific Loon, Black-vented and Pink-footed Shearwater.  Our tasty lunch of vegetarian Chilli was interrupted as a group of 500 Common Dolphins swam by, giving us awesome views.

The afternoon was spent resting and adjusting to the boat’s rhythms.  We were very happy to see both Black-footed and Laysan Albatross.  The almost mythical green flash did not occur, but it was a dramatic sunset and a fitting end to a great first day.

Day 3             Saturday 31 March

 Pacific Coast – San Benitos Island

Just after daybreak, as we started our day under clear skies and a light northwest breeze, we had a Black-footed Albatross come by.  As we approached West San Benitos Island, we found a small group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins and we could see large numbers of California Sea Lions swimming between patches of kelp. Captain Mike anchored the Spirit in a cove on the south side of the island and we headed to shore by 8:30 am.  We walked to the south side and observed many Northern Elephant Seals, (most of which were there to moult,) and still quite a few wieners. All the breeding adults had gone to sea after the breeding season ended.

David took half of the group on the long hike up to the lighthouse, while Scot took the rest through the little town to the north side to look at more seals and birds.  David’s group had great views of the island and birds such as Rock Wren and Horned Lark.  They were thrilled to see a Humpback Whale surfacing in the ocean just beyond the kelp zone.  The plant life while sparse and dry still had some colour; yellow tarweed, purple Brodiaea and the lovely white and purple San Benitos Mallow.  Down along the shore Scot’s group spotted a small group of inshore Bottlenose Dolphins socialising, rolling, spy hopping and diving in the blue water.  At the same time an Osprey was fishing.  It dived several times until at last it caught a fish.  He flew straight to the nest where his ‘wife’ was sitting on eggs. The island is riddled with seabird burrows; bird scat outside a burrow is evidence of the bird’s nighttime visits. We spotted a pair of Peregrine Falcons. The main reason the nesting sea birds come and go by dark is to avoid attack by large and predatory Western Gulls.

Heading back to the boat, we watched a group of Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelicans and Heermann’s Gulls chasing fish into the shallow harbour.  Once back on the boat we headed to East San Benitos Island for some skiff rides.  On the rocks side-by-side with California Sea Lions were hundreds of endangered Guadalupe Fur Seals.  These fur seals get too hot in the sun so they haul themselves out on islands with caves in order to cool themselves in the shade.  Above the seals on the rocks was a pair of Snowy Egrets and two Yellow-crowned Night Herons.  One skiff had a group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins come close so they stayed with them and enjoyed some wonderful close views.

We pulled the anchor and headed south.  Mike spotted a pair of Black-footed Albatross sitting on the water and brought the boat very close before the huge birds flew off into the wind.  A Franklin’s Gull, in breeding plumage, came to join the Western Gulls feeding on scraps behind the boat.  Lots of Black-vented, Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwaters wheeled over the ocean as the sun set in the west.

Day 4             Sunday 1 April

 Pacific Coast – San Ignacio Lagoon

A spectacular orange moon setting into the calm Pacific rewarded some early risers.  As we got closer to the entrance to San Ignacio Lagoon, we started to see more and more birds including pelicans, cormorants and gulls.  Soon we saw the distinctive bushy shaped blows of Gray Whales and the animals themselves.  The waves were breaking on either side of us as Captain Mike expertly glided the Spirit through the channel.  All the whales were cow-calf pairs.

Those gathered on the bow were treated to views of Bottlenose Dolphins bow-riding.  The birders were on top and not disappointed.   A Peregrine Falcon flew across the channel in laboured flight as it carried a heavy prey item that we could not identify.  A Pomarine Skua joined the parade and many Surf Scoters flew by displaying their colourful breeding plumage.

We soon anchored off Rocky Point and our three panga drivers arrived. We donned our rain jackets and pants to protect ourselves from spray and were off on a new adventure.  It was not long before we saw several Gray Whale calves coming close to our boats.  To be so close to these playful cetaceans was an incredible thrill.  Occasionally their mothers would come close to our boats, but the pattern was that the three to four month old calves were bolder and amazingly were now coming close enough that we could touch them.  It was difficult to know what these whales were feeling, but it was hard not to think that they were enjoying us as much as the other way around.

We gathered back on the stern deck of the Spirit and had great views of several Bottlenose Dolphins playing near the smaller boats.  The photographers enjoyed this especially.  At lunch we all shared stories of touching whales, looking into their eyes and being so close to animals that were once hunted in this same estuary.  The photographers with digital cameras excitedly looked at their screens, reliving these amazing experiences. 

In the afternoon, we went out for more whale watching in the pangas.  It was a little bouncy all the way out in the entrance to the lagoon, but many whales surfaced and blew in the surf near us so we did not mind so much.

Scot gave a slide presentation on Gray Whales after dinner and we ended another rewarding, full day.  Knowing that we would be at anchor all night in the lagoon had many of us looking forward to a good, quiet night’s sleep.

Day 5             Monday 2nd April

Pacific Coast – San Ignacio Lagoon

Everyone was up early this morning in anticipation of more friendly Gray Whales. It was foggy and cool, but we had a light breeze and we headed out at 7:00 after our skiff drivers had their breakfast. The whales seemed to be waiting for us and being the first boats out we had the whales all to ourselves.  We had good action right from the start, the calves blew bubbles under the boat and you could feel and hear the boat rumble as they exhaled under water.  The mother whales would patiently stand by while the calves pushed the boat around with their heads.  They would roll gracefully down the side of the boat being petted and photographed, only to return the favour by blowing in our faces!

Before lunch, we headed into the mangroves to look at the variety of birds that roost, nest and feed in this productive habitat. We had great views of; Mangrove Warblers, Reddish, Snowy and Great Egrets, Green, Great Blue, Little Blue, Tri-coloured and Yellow-crowned Night Herons all standing in the short mangroves.  On the shore, the waders were roosting in the morning sun waiting for the tide to go out.  We had excellent views of White Ibis, Long Billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit and Willet. We landed and stepped on to the sand at the end of our ride to look at the expansive desert that surrounds the lagoon. Off in the distance a Coyote appeared to be “walking on water”, not really, it was the mirage effect, creating a watery image.

After lunch, we spent the rest of the day whale watching, and the whales were in the mood to play, we had many friendly cow-calf pairs.  One skiff headed down to the opening of the lagoon and found some surfing whales playing in the waves there.  At 4:00 we said goodbye to our skiff drivers; Domingo, Luis and Max, thanking them for their expertise and care in sharing this special place.

Captain Mike, navigated through the narrow and shallow entrance to San Ignacio, and we made it out safely. Turning south, we watched the sun set into the sea, ending another great day.

Day 6             Tuesday 3^rd April

 Pacific Coast – Magdalena Bay

At daybreak, the Spirit was travelling southward off Punta Lazaro.  During the middle of breakfast we felt the boat turn abruptly, a sure sign that a whale had been spotted from the bridge.  It was a Bryde’s Whale and typically did not show itself very well.

The weather gods looked favourably upon us again and we enjoyed calm conditions.  Soon there was another tall, narrow spout and after some searching, we got excellent views of a Fin Whale.  Its large size and sickle shaped dorsal fin were helpful to separate it from the similar Sei Whale.  After seeing two mystecetes (baleen whale), it was good to see an odontocete (toothed whale).  Shortly afterwards a group of about 20 Long-beaked Common Dolphin swam in and return our gaze from below the bow.

Six pangas were in the ocean off the entrance to Magdalena Bay and we went over to see what they were catching.  It was fascinating to see the fisherman pull up three-foot long, wriggling Humboldt Squid, their tentacles all splayed out.  David explained that these squid were not rare in past years, but have become fairly common recently.  These boats would catch thousands of squid on this one day.

Soon we saw another whale blow that was taller, more robust and narrower than the others we had seen before.  The whale was to our side and we could see the grey colour and small dorsal fin identifying it as a Blue Whale.  This whale was in a hurry, migrating northward.  We followed it at about eight miles per hour, a fast speed for a travelling whale.  Unfortunately, it was going in the opposite direction to us.  Each time it surfaced, we got a great view of the massive splashguard, nostrils, patterning on its back and small fin.  It was tantalising as it raised its tail, but did not bring its flukes out of the water.  Finally, on the last breathing sequence that we watched the whale did raise its massive flukes out of the water.  Strangely, it defecated as it did so.  The huge whale disappeared below the waves, but a brown-pinky colour was left in the water.

The day was not half over and Kate remarked “five cetaceans by 11:00, not bad.”  We also had seen a pair of Craveri’s Murrelets, Black Storm Petrel and Black-vented, Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters.

We examined several more Bryde’s Whales thinking one might be a Sei, but never saw the key field marks to make that identification.  Some saw a distant turtle, which cotA identified as a Loggerhead Sea Turtle because of its huge head.  Before lunch, we followed another Blue Whale.  The fact that we could see its vertebrae indicated that this whale had not been feeding as well as the first one we had seen.

After lunch, we continued to enjoy the gentle swell of the Pacific; catching up on journal keeping, reading and admiring our photographs from the morning.  A few birds flew by, but no cetaceans were sighted until late afternoon when keen eyed observers on the bridge spotted the bushy blows of a couple of Humpback Whales.  Everyone assembled both on the bow or the upper deck and after eight or ten minutes the two whales blew close to the Spirit and showed their huge pectoral flippers.  After blowing a few, more times they both sounded showing distinctive patterns on the underside of their flukes.  Many of us had seen this wonderful species before, but for others this was their first connection with “everybody’s favorite whale.”

David mentioned to Graham that this species is more acrobatic than any other whale.  In addition, one never really knows when a Humpback will start to do some strange playful behaviours.  In fact, the Russians call them Vessyl Kit, which translates as the merry whale.  Only moments later, as if to make a bold statement, one of the whales hurled itself upward, completely perpendicular to the water so that we could see its fluke.  The dramatic surprise of this breach was wonderfully special.  It fell down to the sea, making a huge splash and we responded with yells of joy and amazement.  A few photographs were snapped and we hoped the whale would repeat the performance.  Sadly it didn’t and after a few more breaths we left it and continued south.

 Scot assembled most of the Wild Wings group at the stern to look for the ‘green flash’.  Many were skeptical of this rumoured phenomenon, but the cloudless sky looked extremely favourable.  The red ball sun dropped down and then quickly below the sharp horizon producing a short, but intense green light.  Now there were more believers!  At dinner, we toasted our wonderful whale sightings and a special day.             

Day 7             Wednesday 4th April

Sea of Cortez – Los Frailles

We awoke to another warm sunny day, just off the cape, the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. We found a group of six Humpback Whales surfacing together and then disappearing in the deep water. In the distance we saw a pair breaching together at the same time, so we headed that way.  Breaching and tail lobbing it did not take long before the ones we had been following came to join the two breaching. One of these whales had survived an attack from Killer Whales, as its’ flukes were “chewed” leaving parallel white rake marks and scars.  A second group of six or so whales came and joined in and the activity increased with more breaching, tail lobbing and flipper flapping. All this socialising ended in a grand finale when one breached on the port side and then two, one right after the other on the starboard side, coming all the way out of the water! 

Off to the east Captain Mike spotted a group of Bottlenose Dolphins, which we went over to investigate. These are the offshore form, being much larger and darker and staying in deep water in large groups. These animals love to bow ride and jump in the wake of the boat. We slowed the boat down and spent an hour just hanging out in the glassy blue sea with the dolphins. It was spectacular, you could see every detail, as well as how social they are, pairing up and swimming off together and then coming back to the boat.  We had a sighting of a Green Sea Turtle and a few Dwarf Sperm Whales.  Although these small whales are related to the giant Sperm Whale, they are hard to see and quite boat shy. Basically, they look like a dolphin sitting on the surface, motionless and sometimes they are in pairs. 

We arrived at Los Frailles at around 3:00. David took a group in to the desert for a bird walk, and Scot took the rest to cool off with a snorkel. The water was very murky as the large south swell was rolling though stirring it up. The snorkellers came back early and headed into the desert for some birding before dark. Both groups had excellent views of: Northern (Crested) Caracara, Gila Woodpecker, Cactus Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, Hooded Oriole and House Finch. Back at the Spirit, we washed the sand off our feet, had another great dinner and headed up the Sea of Cortez.  The moon rose in the east, looking like a large golden Easter egg.

Day 8             Thursday 5th April

Sea of Cortez – San Jose Island

At daybreak, we were approaching San Jose Island from the south.  The sun poked into a band of pink and orange clouds stretching across the eastern and southern horizon. As we dropped anchor the early morning light bathed the many hued sandstone cliffs of Punta Colorado.  We landed on this, the eastern side of the island.  A spectacular rocky ledge dotted with fossil shells was our landing spot.  White-throated Swifts twittered as they flew overhead.

David gave a brief overview of the geology of the Sea of Cortez islands.  Many wildflowers and shrubs were in bloom; direct evidence of the hurricane that drenched this area with many inches of rain six months ago.  Just a short distance up the wash we discovered a female Costa’s Hummingbird building a tiny nest on the branch of an Elephant Tree.  Other birds we saw here included Black-throated Sparrow, Ash-throated Flycatcher and a Verdin feeding young in a nest.

Although it was only 8:30 in the morning it felt hot already.  Soon lizards started moving about, warming themselves on rocks in the arroyo.  We saw Side-blotched, Zebra-tailed, Lesser Earless and a very colourful blue tailed Western Whiptail.

After getting back to the Spirit, the snorkellers donned their gear and plunged into the clear water from the shore.  The visibility was much better than the previous day and many colourful reef fish were seen in abundance, including King Angel, Rainbow Wrasse and Mexican Goatfish.  Blue gorgonians festooned the rock wall.  Those who rode in the skiffs were happy as well.  The eroded sedimentary cliff faces here are some of the most picturesque of Baja.  Brown Booby, Belted Kingfisher and Yellow-footed Gulls were observed.  The later has a unique, gentle call and is endemic mostly just to the Sea of Cortez.

Our lunch of Caesar Salad and grilled chicken was interrupted by a group of 500 Bottlenose Dolphin.  For about half an hour, there was almost a continuous display of jumping, wave riding and cart wheeling animals.  Many photographs were taken.

The water was almost glassy calm, great conditions to see the spout of a Blue Whale and we soon saw several. Captain Mike found a cow-calf pair that we followed for quite some time. We saw them exceptionally well, but a single whale swam in towards the boat, crossing in front of us and then off to the port side.  Those of us on the top deck were thrilled to see the entire whale underwater at once and frustrated that we didn’t have our wide-angle lenses ready to photograph it.

We then found another cow-calf pair. This female raised her massive flukes out of the water several times and many more photographs were taken.  We moved into the San Jose Channel, an area between the Baja peninsula and San Jose Island that is often very productive for cetaceans.  Soon Mike’s voice came over the PA system “There is a Sperm Whale blowing that we will try to get a closer view of.”

 For the next hour and a half, we pursued two different large male Sperm Whales.  They were below for about 50 minutes. However, when they surfaced they stayed up for about eight minutes giving everyone on board ample time to get in position to see the massive, triangular flukes when the animals finally sounded.  While the whales were below the surface, Scot got a bucket of seawater and showed us salps and several other kinds of jellyfish.

 The clouds had gathered during the day and now a stunning sunset was spread behind the dramatic coastal mountains.  Almost everyone was tired, but quite happy from watching so many cetaceans and experiencing such a wonderfully rich, full day.

Day 9             Friday 6th April

Sea of Cortez – Santa Catalina Island

We had a nice quiet night on the anchor at Catalina Island. After breakfast we headed ashore where we found ourselves surrounded by huge cactus, the tall multi branching Cordon and the endemic Giant Barrel. We had good views of Loggerhead Shrike, White-winged Dove and Gila Woodpecker sitting on top of these spiny plants that make up this desert forest. Our luck was with us as we set the all time record for finding Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnakes (Rattleless Rattlesnake). We found seven, the previous record was four and none of the previous trips this year had seen even one!

While some stayed ashore enjoying the desert before it got to hot, the rest headed back to the Spirit for a cool off in the water with a snorkel. We pulled the anchor and were joined by a group of Bottlenose Dolphins which rode the bow and did their jumps and tricks in the wake. Scot caught a Man-O-War (Physalia physalis) and a Blue Button (Porpita porpita). While the former has a powerful sting and the latter is harmless, both have a beautiful blue colour and are hard to see on the ocean surface.  Although they are visible to the naked eye, they are truly planktonic, moving with the wind and current.

At 16:00 we spotted a Giant Sperm Whale (that did not fluke), a few Thresher Sharks jumping and a large group of Common Dolphins chasing fish while Blue-footed and Brown Boobies dove and Frigatebirds hovered overhead. Running south we spotted a pair of Sailfish feeding together at the surface and another Thresher Shark and a few more Striped Marlin. It seems the place to be if you’re a big, warm water, predatory fish (or marine mammal for that matter).

By late afternoon, the clouds had built up to a dramatic scene that Baja can be famous for.  Another Sperm Whale was seen sounding.  As we waited for it to come up the colours intensified in the sky and then the sun dipped below a mesa to the west.  A palette of pink, orange and purple bathed the clouds.  Almost everyone was on deck to take in a spectacular end to a great day.  After dinner, David gave a slide presentation on Baja natural history and birds.

Day 10            Saturday 7th April

Sea of Cortez – San Jose Channel

We enjoyed a calm anchorage at Tampabeche even though the wind had picked up.  After breakfast, many of us went ashore.  Those with Scot wandered down the beach and explored the mouth of a small estuary where fishermen brought in nests filled with Sierra, Roosterfish, Barracuda and several other species of fish.  There were several egrets and herons, but a tame Heermann’s Gull that even tolerated being touched was the main highlight.

David and the group saw the ruins of an elaborate stone house that had been built in the early 1900’s with money made from pearl diving.  Enjoying passerines in the blowing dusty wind was challenging, but we did see a shiny black male Phainopepla, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and some impressive dragonflies.

Heading south on the Spirit we paused to look over an outcropping of volcanic rock, Roccas Negras.  Clearly there were no boobies, frigatebirds or dramatic seabirds there.  However, nestled in a small alcove were three Surfbirds and a Wandering Tattler.  These birds nest in a relatively small area in Alaska and Canada, but spend the winter along the rocky shores all the way south to the equator.

Soon there were Blue Whales to look at.  However, these whales were not just swimming past, they were actually feeding just below the surface on the abundant krill that showed on the fish finder in the bridge.  The two whales circled very close to the boat coming up just once every few minutes. Everyone watched transfixed for about half an hour.

When it seemed as if the whales had dispersed and people started focusing on other things, like lunch, Mike found more whales and announced over the PA that “these whales are doing the real thing, lunge feeding!”  We all rushed back onto the deck thinking this might be a short feeding activity that we would only be seen briefly.  It was just the opposite.  For most of the next two hours, we witnessed several whales feeding very close to the boat.  They rushed up to the surface abruptly, mostly lying on their sides.  Often their pectoral flippers stuck out of the water as if a signal to us.  Sometimes we could see the bottom part of their mouth extended in the manner of rorquals feeding.  If we looked hard at the right time, we could even see plates of black baleen in their open mouths just as they came to the surface.  Several times the whales rolled completely over showing us the whole bottom side of their mouths.  This activity is usually seen in the late afternoon or early morning when krill rises to the, so it was a treat to see it now in the middle of the day.

Besides the lunge feeding whales that we tracked close to the boat, at least eight to ten other Blue Whales blew at varying distances in all directions around the boat.  David and Scot have been on almost forty of these Baja cruises and they remarked that this was the best sighting of Blue Whales they had ever seen in terms of the sheer activity at the surface, the number of whales and the length of time we observed them. 

Knowing that we could probably return to the Blue Whales later in the day, we motored off to the south to see what else we could find.  It seemed fitting that it was only a few minutes later that we followed up the sighting of the largest baleen whale with sightings of the largest toothed whale, the Sperm Whale.

The wind had dropped to almost calm which allowed us to really enjoy two different Sperm Whales.  We were able to track and watch them dive for over two hours.  These views were even better than the ones we had a few days before and the photographers took full advantage of the opportunity.  Just before sunset one of the Sperm Whales seemed to play with us by not raising his fluke when we expected him to and by raising his head out of the water in a bit of a spy hop.  Finally, he did raise his massive triangular fluke out of the water before diving for the final time.  We anchored for the evening under a dramatic wall of volcanic rock.  The brilliant stars burned overhead as a multitude of fish darted below the bait light.

Day 11            Sunday 8th April

 Sea of Cortez – Espiritu Santu Island

We were up before the sun for a quick waffle breakfast and went ashore at Nopolo by 6:30. The Brown Pelicans were pounding the surface, diving from high above catching fish in the shallow cove.  Walking up the beach, we spotted a Sora stepping out onto the sand beneath the mangrove roots, along with several Spotted Sandpipers.  We headed up the arroyo and had great views of the Xantus’ Hummingbird.  This species is endemic to the southern half of the Baja peninsula.  Flying above, and sitting in the treetops, we could see the Phainopepla, a type of silky-flycatcher, as well as the colourful Western Tanager, Hooded Oriole and Northern Cardinal. 

Heading down the San Jose channel there were two Thresher Sharks, which jumped right in front of the boat.       

We headed to Los Islotes after a quick look at the roosting seabirds on the south end of San Jose Island.  There was a little chop on the way under overcast skies. Dean made Shrimp Louis Salad for lunch.  As soon as we arrived, we went for skiff rides, observing roosting Brown and Blue-footed Boobies, diving Brown Pelicans, Brandt's Cormorants and hundreds of California Sea Lions lying about.

The snorkellers had a thrill swimming with these graceful and playful swimmers.  Like an underwater ballet, these sea lions spin and whirl around at speeds that are hard to follow. There were many tiny sardines that attracted some larger fish like Yellowtail (jacks) and a few Golden Grouper, a beautiful fish found only in the Sea of Cortez.

Once the skiffs were loaded back on the boat, we were off heading south again. We came across a small group of Common Dolphins. In the distance, we spotted a group of Smooth-tailed Mobula.  They would jump here and there and then stop. Then dozens would start again all at once.  It was like a jumping competition, they looked so funny, as if they were trying to fly, only to land on the water with a flop! It was a good laugh that some of us could barely control.  The day ended with another beautiful sunset as the boat cruised into the night towards Cabo San Lucas.

A Prime Rib dinner was the last of many wonderful meals we enjoyed on the Spirit.  We toasted the day’s great adventures and the remarkable journey that would soon end.

Day 12         Monday 9th April

 Cabo San Lucas

We enjoyed calm seas at sunrise during our last morning on the Spirit.  Three large cruise ships in the Cabo San Lucas harbour reminded us of the unique adventures and incredible variety of wildlife we had just been privileged to see on our voyage 

The excellent visibility for our return flight over the Sea of Cortez allowed us to view the island-studded sea below.  We were able to retrace our voyage over the last few days, as Espiritu Santu, San Jose and Santa Catalina were all clearly visible in the aquamarine water below us.  At the San Francisco airport, David and Scot bid farewell as we separated for our journey home.