Isla Danzante, the Gulf of California
It was a relaxing day as the National Geographic Sea Bird moved southward in the Gulf of California. Our Naturalist and Undersea Specialist Carlos Navarro spoke with pride of the history of Baja California. Appropriately, we spent our day in the Loreto Bay National Marine Park, one of many conservation units that protect the islands and productive seas of the Gulf. As a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve, it is recognized as a global treasure and we applaud the government and people of Mexico for protecting it. After a technical stop to replenish our water supply, we reached Isla Danzante in the early afternoon for the full suite of island activities – snorkeling under or kayaking across the calm, jade-green waters of a well protected bay, and scrambling up the slope through sere desert vegetation to admire the vista. The desert agaves were in full flower, their tall stalks adorned with large, yellow-green clusters of flowers competing for the nighttime attention of pollinating bats. Agaves grow for many years, depending upon species and site conditions, then they invest their all in a coordinated burst of reproduction. The deserts of Baja California are home to a rich diversity of cactus species; many of them were in evidence here at Isla Danzante, from the tall, columnar cardons and organ pipes to small fishhook cacti. The spiniest of all was the strawberry cactus, a dense mass of short stems adorned with spines up to five inches long. During the summer it bears large and showy pink flowers, from which it gains its name. Now, with flowers not yet evident, it lay in ambush for an inattentive toe.
As the afternoon sun dropped toward the Baja California Peninsula to the west, we returned to the beach for a barbeque dinner presented by our hotel staff. Following the meal we gathered around the fading embers of a campfire, where a diversity of techniques for toasting marshmallows were displayed and debated.
It was a relaxing day as the National Geographic Sea Bird moved southward in the Gulf of California. Our Naturalist and Undersea Specialist Carlos Navarro spoke with pride of the history of Baja California. Appropriately, we spent our day in the Loreto Bay National Marine Park, one of many conservation units that protect the islands and productive seas of the Gulf. As a UNESCO Biosphere Preserve, it is recognized as a global treasure and we applaud the government and people of Mexico for protecting it. After a technical stop to replenish our water supply, we reached Isla Danzante in the early afternoon for the full suite of island activities – snorkeling under or kayaking across the calm, jade-green waters of a well protected bay, and scrambling up the slope through sere desert vegetation to admire the vista. The desert agaves were in full flower, their tall stalks adorned with large, yellow-green clusters of flowers competing for the nighttime attention of pollinating bats. Agaves grow for many years, depending upon species and site conditions, then they invest their all in a coordinated burst of reproduction. The deserts of Baja California are home to a rich diversity of cactus species; many of them were in evidence here at Isla Danzante, from the tall, columnar cardons and organ pipes to small fishhook cacti. The spiniest of all was the strawberry cactus, a dense mass of short stems adorned with spines up to five inches long. During the summer it bears large and showy pink flowers, from which it gains its name. Now, with flowers not yet evident, it lay in ambush for an inattentive toe.
As the afternoon sun dropped toward the Baja California Peninsula to the west, we returned to the beach for a barbeque dinner presented by our hotel staff. Following the meal we gathered around the fading embers of a campfire, where a diversity of techniques for toasting marshmallows were displayed and debated.
