Cruising & Isla Santa Catalina
Silhouetted mountains and delicately outlined cacti against a peach colored sky guided us as we left Puerto Escondido as the sun came up. The morning was dedicated to search for marine mammals. This area around Isla del Carmen on the vicinity of the town of Loreto is a known area for being a feeding ground of several species of whales. Bottlenose dolphins were seen around a raft of brown pelicans.
Awhile later, as we headed towards Isla Santa Catalina, we had a special encounter, the largest animal to ever inhabit the planet: a blue whale. This giant of the depths seemed to be feeding, since the surface intervals were quite short and dives would take between 13 and 20 minutes. Everyone could get really good looks at this beautiful animal, which raised its flukes a couple times before disappearing into the deep.
Santa Catalina is one of the most interesting islands of the Gulf of California. Unique species of animals have been isolated for such a long time, taking different evolutionary paths from their ancestors radiating into new ones. Santa Catalina also offers a great opportunity for exploring the underwater realm of the Gulf of California. The abundance of life in this body of water is amazing. Upwelling currents that transport nutrients from the bottom to the surface of the ocean fertilize the phytoplankton that fuels a food web, which as a result becomes one of the most productive marine environments in the world.
A very unusual and exciting find, which most of the snorkelers were fortunate to see, was a hawksbill turtle. Very calm and unconcerned, the small turtle would lie on the bottom and swim just beneath the snorkelers, who were in awe.
By hiking through Santa Catalina, we can see why this place is so special. Cardón cacti grow bigger and healthier than in other places, and its endemic reptiles tell us stories of survival and adaptation.
A surprise for everyone was a Mexican piñata, songs, champagne and fireworks on the beach to celebrate the New Year. There could hardly be a better way to close the last day of 2008.
Silhouetted mountains and delicately outlined cacti against a peach colored sky guided us as we left Puerto Escondido as the sun came up. The morning was dedicated to search for marine mammals. This area around Isla del Carmen on the vicinity of the town of Loreto is a known area for being a feeding ground of several species of whales. Bottlenose dolphins were seen around a raft of brown pelicans.
Awhile later, as we headed towards Isla Santa Catalina, we had a special encounter, the largest animal to ever inhabit the planet: a blue whale. This giant of the depths seemed to be feeding, since the surface intervals were quite short and dives would take between 13 and 20 minutes. Everyone could get really good looks at this beautiful animal, which raised its flukes a couple times before disappearing into the deep.
Santa Catalina is one of the most interesting islands of the Gulf of California. Unique species of animals have been isolated for such a long time, taking different evolutionary paths from their ancestors radiating into new ones. Santa Catalina also offers a great opportunity for exploring the underwater realm of the Gulf of California. The abundance of life in this body of water is amazing. Upwelling currents that transport nutrients from the bottom to the surface of the ocean fertilize the phytoplankton that fuels a food web, which as a result becomes one of the most productive marine environments in the world.
A very unusual and exciting find, which most of the snorkelers were fortunate to see, was a hawksbill turtle. Very calm and unconcerned, the small turtle would lie on the bottom and swim just beneath the snorkelers, who were in awe.
By hiking through Santa Catalina, we can see why this place is so special. Cardón cacti grow bigger and healthier than in other places, and its endemic reptiles tell us stories of survival and adaptation.
A surprise for everyone was a Mexican piñata, songs, champagne and fireworks on the beach to celebrate the New Year. There could hardly be a better way to close the last day of 2008.
