Exploring the Sea of Cortez
When we woke up this morning the strong wind of the day before had become a delightful breeze that allowed us to organize Zodiac cruises to the interesting plant community known as “mangrove” in the southwestern portion of San Jose Island – Bahia Amortajada. In fact, as we sailed along the channels and penetrated the almost impenetrable thickets of large, dark green leaves and long, aerial roots of the red mangrove or mangle rojo, we began to discover the fascinating wildlife hidden in the foliage, ranging from the beautiful little mangrove warbler to the green herons and other interesting birds, fishes and plants. At one point we suddenly decided to conduct hikes to our stretch legs. This decision was very rewarding as we discovered more birds, such as a red-tailed hawk, plus several cactus species with juicy and colorful fruits and flowers. A taste of the Sonoran Desert’s “green” look was given by the plants that were dressed with leaves due to the last September-October rains.
After enjoying these natural treasures we headed south – to San Francisco Island. In the meantime, we perched ourselves at the bow searching for marine mammals and birds. The ocean then showed us why the Gulf of California was once referred as the “Vermilion Sea”: we passed across dense red-looking “clouds” of plankton, the marine soup of different organisms that sustain life here and everywhere in the sea, including the largest baleen whales. Going out from this soup we anchored at Half-Moon Bay in San Francisco Island. Still onboard we had lunch and delicious ice cream sundaes on deck just to gain calories for more snorkeling and kayaking in this beautiful and emerald-colored bay. As we progressed into these activities, we were able to kayak some distance from the ship and have some time for reflections on the wonders that are part of Baja California and that we have captured into our hearts.
When we woke up this morning the strong wind of the day before had become a delightful breeze that allowed us to organize Zodiac cruises to the interesting plant community known as “mangrove” in the southwestern portion of San Jose Island – Bahia Amortajada. In fact, as we sailed along the channels and penetrated the almost impenetrable thickets of large, dark green leaves and long, aerial roots of the red mangrove or mangle rojo, we began to discover the fascinating wildlife hidden in the foliage, ranging from the beautiful little mangrove warbler to the green herons and other interesting birds, fishes and plants. At one point we suddenly decided to conduct hikes to our stretch legs. This decision was very rewarding as we discovered more birds, such as a red-tailed hawk, plus several cactus species with juicy and colorful fruits and flowers. A taste of the Sonoran Desert’s “green” look was given by the plants that were dressed with leaves due to the last September-October rains.
After enjoying these natural treasures we headed south – to San Francisco Island. In the meantime, we perched ourselves at the bow searching for marine mammals and birds. The ocean then showed us why the Gulf of California was once referred as the “Vermilion Sea”: we passed across dense red-looking “clouds” of plankton, the marine soup of different organisms that sustain life here and everywhere in the sea, including the largest baleen whales. Going out from this soup we anchored at Half-Moon Bay in San Francisco Island. Still onboard we had lunch and delicious ice cream sundaes on deck just to gain calories for more snorkeling and kayaking in this beautiful and emerald-colored bay. As we progressed into these activities, we were able to kayak some distance from the ship and have some time for reflections on the wonders that are part of Baja California and that we have captured into our hearts.
