Where the Desert Meets the Sea
This morning we headed out in search of the two lizards endemic to San Esteban Island, the San Esteban chuckwalla and the spiny-tailed iguana. Among the cardons, chollas and galloping cactus, these lizards were just coming out to warm in the morning sun. We spotted our first chuckwalla, well camouflaged with the soil beneath a cactus. Simultaneously, a red-tail hawk, one of the lizard’s predators, was seen circling over head.
Naturalist Carlos Navarro made several attempts to catch a beautiful coachwhip snake, but it slithered to and fro, just out of reach. As we walked back towards the landing, numerous spiny-tailed iguanas were found climbing the cardons for a late morning cactus flower snack.
In the afternoon we took to the Zodiacs to observe the thousands of blue and brown-footed boobies nesting on San Pedro Martir Island. The male blue-footed boobies lift and display their brightly colored feet as part of their mating dance, possibly as an indicator of their health and suitability for breeding. The island is also home to California sea lions, who swam in for a close look at us fascinating humans. Their playfulness and curiosity was highly entertaining.
Back on the ship we had a spectacular afternoon of marine mammal sightings. We first found a pod of pilot whales gracefully maneuvering through the water. Next, we witnessed bottlenose dolphins bow riding in front of the ship and jumping 20 feet or more with agile strength. Finally, we shared time with sperm whales, the largest of the tooth whales. There were several mother and calf pairs gently floating at the surface. The males are less frequently seen in these water. We were fortunate to be near one of these huge creatures as we enjoyed cocktail hour on the aft deck.
Baja California is truly a place where the desert meets the sea.
