Cabeza Mechudo, Baja Peninsula
We awoke this morning on the ship sailing just off the colorful cliffs of the Sierra de la Giganta on the Baja Peninsula. The color reached its peak of saturation in the earliest morning light even before shadows broadened with the rising of the sun. Choosing from a dozen photographs of today’s picturesque start wasn’t easy, but the color in the layered and faulted volcanic ash seemed like a painting to me; the painting I never seem to have time to finish.
The theme of this expedition is “never a dull moment”, and as soon as we had admired colorful rock formations our attention turned to whale-watching again with a fin whale. After breakfast cruising north through San Jose Channel we saw a distant streak of white horizon foam and put out the “dolphins ahead!” word throughout the ship. On close approach hundreds of long-nosed common dolphins raced, quite possibly corralling fish, producing a froth of white water. Suddenly they reversed direction suggesting some kind of instantaneous communication in the group. Whether it was a vocalization or some other signal, it was remarkable how they all picked up on it simultaneously, like shorebirds in their “confetti” flight shifts when evading a falcon. The dolphins kept us occupied the rest of the morning, with Luis barely squeaking in time for a presentation on Baja’s geologic past.
Afternoon found us at Punta Gato, one of those shorelines that resemble American Southwest red rock canyonlands thrown to the edge of the sea. Snorkelers enjoyed clear temperate waters, some bright sea stars and other invertebrates. Meanwhile hikers found their way between the thorns of many species of cacti, flowering Palo Adan trees and other lovely desert shrubs while listening to the shrill chatter of white-throated swifts careening in the air overhead.
Our day ended on the beach in the warm red sandstone with a barbecue dinner. The day’s breeze calmed down to a still evening and we shared a meal everyone agreed was “tooooo good”.
We awoke this morning on the ship sailing just off the colorful cliffs of the Sierra de la Giganta on the Baja Peninsula. The color reached its peak of saturation in the earliest morning light even before shadows broadened with the rising of the sun. Choosing from a dozen photographs of today’s picturesque start wasn’t easy, but the color in the layered and faulted volcanic ash seemed like a painting to me; the painting I never seem to have time to finish.
The theme of this expedition is “never a dull moment”, and as soon as we had admired colorful rock formations our attention turned to whale-watching again with a fin whale. After breakfast cruising north through San Jose Channel we saw a distant streak of white horizon foam and put out the “dolphins ahead!” word throughout the ship. On close approach hundreds of long-nosed common dolphins raced, quite possibly corralling fish, producing a froth of white water. Suddenly they reversed direction suggesting some kind of instantaneous communication in the group. Whether it was a vocalization or some other signal, it was remarkable how they all picked up on it simultaneously, like shorebirds in their “confetti” flight shifts when evading a falcon. The dolphins kept us occupied the rest of the morning, with Luis barely squeaking in time for a presentation on Baja’s geologic past.
Afternoon found us at Punta Gato, one of those shorelines that resemble American Southwest red rock canyonlands thrown to the edge of the sea. Snorkelers enjoyed clear temperate waters, some bright sea stars and other invertebrates. Meanwhile hikers found their way between the thorns of many species of cacti, flowering Palo Adan trees and other lovely desert shrubs while listening to the shrill chatter of white-throated swifts careening in the air overhead.
Our day ended on the beach in the warm red sandstone with a barbecue dinner. The day’s breeze calmed down to a still evening and we shared a meal everyone agreed was “tooooo good”.
