And I say unto thee bring me your...whales?

Two days of relaxation and nudity. The proper way of getting back in the swing of things. We contemplated blowing up kayaks during that time, but naps seemed a better idea. My back healed up over the two days of workout free days and so we decided to set sail for Ensenada Cardonal. It wasn't like it was some huge journey...it is the next bay up from Partida. It is maybe a mile away.

As we were sailing off I swore I heard a blow. Low and behold...two humpbacks were chilling in Partida! Of all the time we have spent in Partida (which is to say quite a bit) we have never seen such a sight. We see shy turtles on a daily basis, rays, fish, gulls, terns, frigates and even ospreys, but this was our first ever whale sighting. We sailed back to say hello and the whales met us halfway. They surfaced a couple boat lengths away and dove with a flash of white flippers and flukes. They seemed to be following us out of the mouth of Partida, but we said our goodbyes as they went south and we headed north.

Cardonal. Wow. It is beautiful. How we managed to skip this place so many times I am not sure, but now we are here and hope to make the best of it. The water is aquamarine with good visibility. A turtle makes its rounds trying to float under our radar. A family of the most adorable grebes swim around calling to one another. One head pops up from an underwater scavange and soon 26 more heads join the first on the surface. Ospreys, turkey vultures, frigates, pelicans and gulls all circle overhead.

Motivation to enjoy our surroundings finally caught up with us...or with David at least. He blew up the kayaks and we launched soon after. We paddled back into the lagoon before making our way ashore. The water was thick with spongy corals and grasses and as we approached our landing we were lucky enough to see a jackrabbit on the beach. Those guys have ridiculously long legs!

Once ashore we did some bird watching/photographing and hiked to the other side of the island. The hike was about a mile and not too tough on us. But seriously, I am sooooo done with all things bitey in bug form. Being back in the desert draws everything to sweaty tasty bodies apparently.