UnCruise Sea of Cortes Trip Report - part 3

Day 4 - Magdalena Bay
   Today is all about the Gray Whales.   We had to be up early and ready to go as we needed to board vans that would take us over to the Pacific side of the peninsula.   It was about a 3 hour ride over to the other side but we did make a pit stop to use bathrooms and have a snack.   This time of the year mother gray whales come to Magdalena Bay to give birth so we are excited about the possibility of getting to see the babies.   UnCruise only does this excursion during the birthing season.   When we got to the bay we got into a panga boat with a local captain that took us out in search of the whales.    The bay is pretty well protected so you can see why the momma whales like it.   After just a few minutes we saw a spout and headed right towards it.  Did you know that the spout from a Gray Whale is heart shaped?   I didn't know that but I did get to see up close that it is true.   We ended up getting to see quite a few whales and could tell some where pairs of mother and baby by how close they were together.   We thought that at least one was having fun playing with us as she would spy-hop (vertically pokes its head out of the water).   Then there was a pair that seemed to just be relaxing and would come up to float for a bit.   It was a great 2 hours out on the water.  After our whale watch adventure was over it was time for lunch at a local seafood restaurant.  They served us a huge plate of food with shrimp, lobster, fish, rice, and salads.   Then it was time to head back to Sea of Cortes side so that was nap time in the vans.   We got back to port and boarded the ship for happy hour.    Captain Shep came down to let us know that once we were out of “the waiting room” that we would be hitting a little bit of rough water so he was waiting until after dinner was over to leave port.   We have been on many cruises with rough weather so we were not too worried.   Turns out that to us it just seemed like some gentle waves which were nice to lull you to sleep.   Since we were up so early I was ready for bed by 8 pm!   Our brief time with wi-fi seemed to be coming to an end so we are guessing we not get wifi again until we return to LaPaz.

Day 5 – Bahia of San Francisco
This morning we woke up find us anchored out by a lovely crescent moon shaped beach.   It was a bit windy but we had signed up for the morning hike.  We grabbed some breakfast and then headed to the aft to board our skiff to shore.   It was a really nice hike to a ridge that ran along most of the island so we got a lot of amazing views.   Then we walked down in another spot where we were able to walk over and check out the salt flat.   Our guide, Jenny, explained to us how the locals harvest the salt to use for the fish they catch and then they can trade.   It was then back to the boat for lunch.    After lunch the crew had set up a beach party back on shore for us so we were able to go back over and snorkel, kayak, paddle board and just enjoy the beach.    We had fun exploring the beach but it was a bit too chilly for getting in the water.  Tonight's Happy Hour was a little different since we had already signed up for Friday's adventures the day before.  I guess they really needed to get an idea how many boats they would need for going over to the sea lions so they asked us to decide on that one early.   Jess gave plenty of fair warnings about how the swimming with the sea lions might not be easy so they wanted to set the right expectations before anyone signed up.   I was doing it no matter what.  I figured that if even what she was saying was worst case scenario I could handle that.   All of our desserts each day have been delicious but tonight's wasn't only delicious it was like a piece of art.  Chase our server told us dessert was apple strudel but it was going to be a bit different than what we are used to.  When it came out I think everyone ohhhed and ahhhed and of course took photos.   It was almost too perfect to eat but it really did taste as good at it looked!  

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