Isla Magdalena
Zipped up sand dunes traversed by miniature bicycles ridden by miniscule rodents. What nonsense is this? The sands of Isla Magdalena this morning bore the marks of a bustling night of activity from a number of residents. Their respective footprints were everywhere. Various rodents had darted from protective clumps of vegetation, sprinted across dangerous exposed expanses of dunes and retreated into the safety of leafy clumps of sand verbena. Jackrabbits left their bounding prints across the landscape while coyotes criss-crossed the terrain in search of a meal, be it washed up on the shoreline or hidden within the safety of the vegetated dunes. We found a denizen of this arid environment busily making tracks, as we followed and encouraged a beetle while it trod up the steep slip face of a barchan dune. Its parallel comma footprints left an intriguing pattern in the powdery sands.
And the flowers! Huge brilliant clumps of radiant evening primrose, full spikes of purple loco weed, expansive mats of spurge and piles of milkweed twisted and piled upon itself with bundles of blossoms dangling told tale of abundant rainfall this past hurricane season.
Our afternoon held just as much wonder. With the call of “blubber on the bow” a group of bottlenose dolphins joined our ship in an activity referred to as “bow riding.” The pressure wave created by our movement through the water creates a zone for a free ride, which was delightfully taken advantage by this pod of dolphins. Reflected in two Haiku contributions (below) are the impressions these dolphins made on some of our younger travelers.
As we traversed the narrow channel of Hull Canal, we sighted a number of bird species including tricolored herons, little blue herons and ungodly beaked marbled godwits. The intricate network of mangrove roots offers a protective nursery for juvenile fish while also offering a dining room for a variety of impressively beaked bird species. Just before sunset we anchored south of Boca de Soledad and positioned ourselves for another full day of discovery.
Dolphins (A Haiku by Ryan Ferguson, age 10)
I like cool dolphins,
Dolphins play under the bow,
Dolphins are mammals.
Bottlenose Dolphins (A Haiku by Weston Ferguson, age 7)
Dolphins play and jump,
First time I’ve seen close dolphins,
Birds are not so fun.
