Cedros Island, Baja California, Mexico
Off the western side of the northern state of Baja California, we can find a series of islands, quite unknown by tourism, and therefore interesting to us. We are the only visitors on them. One of them is the large island of Cedros (Cedars), a misnomer, as there are no cedars on the island. But the old Spanish explorers saw the pines and gave the island a different name. Today, it is the home for around seven thousand fishermen and workers in the small cannery there, and their families, as well as a dozen of Navy personnel. Most of the fish caught in the neighboring islands of San Benitos make its way here, as well as the valuable lobsters and abalone. The triangular -formed island is quite large, with a length of 23 miles.
A series of hikes were organized, and off we set along what is called the “Grand Canyon” to see and enjoy the native vegetation and geology. The dominant plants were probably agaves or also called century plants, of two species. Their dry flowering stalks gave the island an eerie view, as they looked like dwarf trees. Some cacti were in bloom, as well as some relatives of the daisy, with yellow flowers. And one group found a Cedros Island rattlesnake, which was extensively photographed and admired. Of course, the snake didn’t think the big number of tourists that were gawking at it was such a neat idea.
Very few birds were seen despite the size of the island. But as we all returned to our ship and sailed off south, we passed the town and the port where barges loaded with salt from the largest salt works in the world at Guerrero Negro arrive and are unloaded. From here, the salt is loaded unto large ships which take it to Japan.
Off the western side of the northern state of Baja California, we can find a series of islands, quite unknown by tourism, and therefore interesting to us. We are the only visitors on them. One of them is the large island of Cedros (Cedars), a misnomer, as there are no cedars on the island. But the old Spanish explorers saw the pines and gave the island a different name. Today, it is the home for around seven thousand fishermen and workers in the small cannery there, and their families, as well as a dozen of Navy personnel. Most of the fish caught in the neighboring islands of San Benitos make its way here, as well as the valuable lobsters and abalone. The triangular -formed island is quite large, with a length of 23 miles.
A series of hikes were organized, and off we set along what is called the “Grand Canyon” to see and enjoy the native vegetation and geology. The dominant plants were probably agaves or also called century plants, of two species. Their dry flowering stalks gave the island an eerie view, as they looked like dwarf trees. Some cacti were in bloom, as well as some relatives of the daisy, with yellow flowers. And one group found a Cedros Island rattlesnake, which was extensively photographed and admired. Of course, the snake didn’t think the big number of tourists that were gawking at it was such a neat idea.
Very few birds were seen despite the size of the island. But as we all returned to our ship and sailed off south, we passed the town and the port where barges loaded with salt from the largest salt works in the world at Guerrero Negro arrive and are unloaded. From here, the salt is loaded unto large ships which take it to Japan.
