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Daily Journal

Spirit River Regional Academy

Day 7 (part 1)

The morning started with one of the most
beautiful sunrises a person could lay their eyes on.

A sunrise shot from the bow.

Stephen takes it in on the upper deck.

Our morning adventure was off to explore the mangroves.

As we entered the mouth of the mangrove lagoon Snowy Egrets,
a Great White Egret, Pelicans and seagulls feed from the shoreline.

As we meandered through the mangrove
we found a few birds hidden in or on the trees.

A Curlew watches as we pass by.

One of the channels leading out of the lagoon.

A Snowy Egret looks on.

As we headed across the strait we encountered
Common dolphins and Pelicans feeding on a very large shoal of sardines.

Once they finished feeding they started to play.

They jumped and splashed ...

... and glided alongside the boat.

An hour later Blue whales were spotted.
They didn't mind we were close by.

So we hopped in the pangas for a closer look.

One whale surfaces for air.

And then dives back down. We hung with them for about a half hour.

Naturalist Notes

Day 7

Finally the winds died down and we had a perfect day. It started with a cruise through the mangroves into a lagoon. It was high tide (the only time to access the lagoon) and not many of the wading birds were around. However, we did see a few.

From there we departed heading back across the strait slowly making our way back to La Paz. Along the way we encountered a large pod of Common Dolphins. As we neared the last island we finally saw whales. Not just whales but the biggest mammal on earth. They were two blue whales. The water was calm and the conditions safe so we hopped into the pangas and headed out hoping for a close encounter with these huge and amazing leviathans. Sure enough we had a close enough encounter. One panga felt the water from the blow and some of the students were able to look right down the blow hole when the whale, alongside them, exhaled. Not many people in the world can say they have experienced this. The blue whale encounter was the blessing of the trip.

continued on Day 7 (part 2) and Day 8

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 (part 1)

Day 7 (part 2) and Day 8 | Baja Gifts Program | Back To Main Page

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