Punta Colorada, Isla San Jose
Images of bottlenose dolphins leaping to greet a stunning sunrise, and the peaks of the Baja peninsula lit by a five-alarm sunset were burned into our minds today, with countless colors in between. We began this miraculously full day just east of Isla San Jose, in the midst of a large pod of bottlenose dolphins, with a solitary Bryde’s whale zigzagging through. The sun fairly burst over the horizon, and lit the sea’s surface on fire. That is, until the clouds rolled in, the rain began to fall and the fire was temporarily quenched.
After breakfast we went ashore at Punta Colorada, and hiked up a virtually tropical arroyo. Abundant rainfall has greened this desert, almost beyond recognition. Tender foliage and moist flowers surprised us at every turn, along with their entourage of caterpillars, hummingbirds, butterflies, and box-elder bugs. Returning to the beach, we went looking for whale fossils and found Sally Lightfoot crabs exploring the sandstone shore.
We came back aboard the Sea Bird for lunch and siesta, while she moved to our afternoon anchorage at Isla San Francisco. There, we launched our fleet of kayaks and ventured out to explore Half Moon Bay under paddle power. Long walks on the beach, more photographing desert flowers and watching brown pelicans plunge dive filled out the afternoon. Our day was completed with a delicious barbecue on the beach, an amazing scarlet sunset and a mesquite bonfire – complete with tales of Aztec gods, sticky s’mores and folk tunes.
Images of bottlenose dolphins leaping to greet a stunning sunrise, and the peaks of the Baja peninsula lit by a five-alarm sunset were burned into our minds today, with countless colors in between. We began this miraculously full day just east of Isla San Jose, in the midst of a large pod of bottlenose dolphins, with a solitary Bryde’s whale zigzagging through. The sun fairly burst over the horizon, and lit the sea’s surface on fire. That is, until the clouds rolled in, the rain began to fall and the fire was temporarily quenched.
After breakfast we went ashore at Punta Colorada, and hiked up a virtually tropical arroyo. Abundant rainfall has greened this desert, almost beyond recognition. Tender foliage and moist flowers surprised us at every turn, along with their entourage of caterpillars, hummingbirds, butterflies, and box-elder bugs. Returning to the beach, we went looking for whale fossils and found Sally Lightfoot crabs exploring the sandstone shore.
We came back aboard the Sea Bird for lunch and siesta, while she moved to our afternoon anchorage at Isla San Francisco. There, we launched our fleet of kayaks and ventured out to explore Half Moon Bay under paddle power. Long walks on the beach, more photographing desert flowers and watching brown pelicans plunge dive filled out the afternoon. Our day was completed with a delicious barbecue on the beach, an amazing scarlet sunset and a mesquite bonfire – complete with tales of Aztec gods, sticky s’mores and folk tunes.
