Los Islotes & Punta Dispensa
Sometime in the early morning the tranquil waters of the Gulf of California were transformed into rolling eight foot waves. We anchored in the relative calm waters south of Los Islotes, the small islets on the northern end of the Espiritu Santo Island complex. Formed by red volcanic ash and frosted with “Mexican snow” deposited by roosting blue-footed and brown boobies, these islets are home to the southernmost rookery of California sea lions in the Gulf of California. During our Zodiac cruise, we observed the thigmotactic behavior of the sea lions as they lounged on top of one another, resting their heads on their neighbor instead of the hard rock. Perched atop the rocks were yellow-footed gulls, endemic to the Gulf of California, and Sally Lightfoot crabs tenuously holding on as the waves crashed over them. Many of us were lured into the water by the playful juvenile sea lions. It was unclear whether the sea lions or snorkelers were more curious about the other mammal swimming with them. The sea lions gracefully flew under water, effortlessly changing direction while we giggled, unable to keep up.
After lifting the anchor, we made our way to the southern end of Espiritu Santo Island to Punta Dispensa where a white sand beach, turquoise bay, and desert wonderland awaited us. The islands of the Gulf of California have a high degree of endemism in plants, reptiles and mammals. Today, many of us were fortunate enough to see the black jackrabbit, endemic to Espiritu Santo Island, and lizards, great and small. Beachcombing along the beach revealed an abundance of balloon and porcupine fish as well as a skeleton of a young sperm whale. We returned to the National Geographic Sea Bird as the sun sank over the Gulf of California.
Sometime in the early morning the tranquil waters of the Gulf of California were transformed into rolling eight foot waves. We anchored in the relative calm waters south of Los Islotes, the small islets on the northern end of the Espiritu Santo Island complex. Formed by red volcanic ash and frosted with “Mexican snow” deposited by roosting blue-footed and brown boobies, these islets are home to the southernmost rookery of California sea lions in the Gulf of California. During our Zodiac cruise, we observed the thigmotactic behavior of the sea lions as they lounged on top of one another, resting their heads on their neighbor instead of the hard rock. Perched atop the rocks were yellow-footed gulls, endemic to the Gulf of California, and Sally Lightfoot crabs tenuously holding on as the waves crashed over them. Many of us were lured into the water by the playful juvenile sea lions. It was unclear whether the sea lions or snorkelers were more curious about the other mammal swimming with them. The sea lions gracefully flew under water, effortlessly changing direction while we giggled, unable to keep up.
After lifting the anchor, we made our way to the southern end of Espiritu Santo Island to Punta Dispensa where a white sand beach, turquoise bay, and desert wonderland awaited us. The islands of the Gulf of California have a high degree of endemism in plants, reptiles and mammals. Today, many of us were fortunate enough to see the black jackrabbit, endemic to Espiritu Santo Island, and lizards, great and small. Beachcombing along the beach revealed an abundance of balloon and porcupine fish as well as a skeleton of a young sperm whale. We returned to the National Geographic Sea Bird as the sun sank over the Gulf of California.
