San Jose Island & Puerto Gato in the Peninsula
With the perfect weather conditions (a calm ocean, clear sky, a nice breeze) we initiated this day in the Gulf of California with Zodiac cruises in the mangroves of San Jose Island in a locality called Bahia Amortajada. The group of early risers had the chance to watch a red-orange colored sunrise, but everybody enjoyed views of many bird species (mangrove warblers, vermilion flycatchers, white ibises, whimbrels, among others) that winter or live in this fascinating salt-tolerant plant community. Also, on the peninsula, La Giganta mountain range showed its magnificent peaks (made of volcanic tuff) as a frame for our morning activities. As an additional bonus on the island, we observed dozens of turkey vultures perched atop the cardon cacti, heating up with their extended wings and waiting for the thermals to take off. They really looked mysterious, and we immediately considered those images as the inspiration for the totem poles.
Later, we sailed in search or marine mammals along the San Jose channel. In the distance, we found two pods of pilot whales composed of a big male and many females and young individuals. They were busy traveling and maybe looking for food, but they were curious enough as to come close to the National Geographic Sea Lion several times, to our delight. Some bottle-nose dolphins joined them as well in an interesting interaction that seemed more like a game than an agonistic behavior. An hour with them was not enough for our excitement, but again, we moved for the afternoon activities at Puerto Gato and Rancho Timbabichi, on the peninsula of Baja California.
In Puerto Gato we hiked on a beautiful arroyo with very lush vegetation and intense heat under the sun. Rugged and dramatic reddish cliffs surrounded us in the distance. The time seemed to vanish for moments, making us feel as though we were in a very primitive world, only disturbed by the presence of birds, jackrabbits and coyotes. When we got back to the beach we remembered again that we were in Baja California. After all these activities, we ended the day with a delicious dinner on shore, a bonfire and Aztec stories about creation.
With the perfect weather conditions (a calm ocean, clear sky, a nice breeze) we initiated this day in the Gulf of California with Zodiac cruises in the mangroves of San Jose Island in a locality called Bahia Amortajada. The group of early risers had the chance to watch a red-orange colored sunrise, but everybody enjoyed views of many bird species (mangrove warblers, vermilion flycatchers, white ibises, whimbrels, among others) that winter or live in this fascinating salt-tolerant plant community. Also, on the peninsula, La Giganta mountain range showed its magnificent peaks (made of volcanic tuff) as a frame for our morning activities. As an additional bonus on the island, we observed dozens of turkey vultures perched atop the cardon cacti, heating up with their extended wings and waiting for the thermals to take off. They really looked mysterious, and we immediately considered those images as the inspiration for the totem poles.
Later, we sailed in search or marine mammals along the San Jose channel. In the distance, we found two pods of pilot whales composed of a big male and many females and young individuals. They were busy traveling and maybe looking for food, but they were curious enough as to come close to the National Geographic Sea Lion several times, to our delight. Some bottle-nose dolphins joined them as well in an interesting interaction that seemed more like a game than an agonistic behavior. An hour with them was not enough for our excitement, but again, we moved for the afternoon activities at Puerto Gato and Rancho Timbabichi, on the peninsula of Baja California.
In Puerto Gato we hiked on a beautiful arroyo with very lush vegetation and intense heat under the sun. Rugged and dramatic reddish cliffs surrounded us in the distance. The time seemed to vanish for moments, making us feel as though we were in a very primitive world, only disturbed by the presence of birds, jackrabbits and coyotes. When we got back to the beach we remembered again that we were in Baja California. After all these activities, we ended the day with a delicious dinner on shore, a bonfire and Aztec stories about creation.
