Gulf of California / Isla Santa Catalina
Today is Christmas Eve; our first day on the Sea Bird exploring the Vermillion Sea and its islands. Calm seas greeted us in the wee hours of the morning, and continued like that all day, letting us sail northbound to Isla Carmen and then back to Isla Santa Catalina as we looked for marine mammals. Soon after we started our search, we encountered small pods of bottlenose dolphins, which briefly but gracefully rode the bow. Common dolphins appeared on the horizon, probably numbering several hundred animals. We spent about forty-five minutes watching this multitude of playful marine mammals disturbing the surface of the water swimming in all directions, leaping and hitting the surface with their flukes. A humpback whale also made itself visible for a few moments, surfacing several times until it disappeared into the depths.
We arrived at Isla Santa Catalina, where snorkelers had the opportunity to submerge themselves into the undersea realm, while we hiked and enjoyed the unique ecosystem of Isla Santa Catalina. Long hikers made their way to the other side of the island, shorter walkers learned more about the natural history of this special place.
The endemic giant barrel cacti were the highlight of the day as seen in the picture. This species of cactus is the largest of its kind in the world. By the world, it is meant the Americas, since cacti are strictly New World plants, with only one known exception.
Today is Christmas Eve; our first day on the Sea Bird exploring the Vermillion Sea and its islands. Calm seas greeted us in the wee hours of the morning, and continued like that all day, letting us sail northbound to Isla Carmen and then back to Isla Santa Catalina as we looked for marine mammals. Soon after we started our search, we encountered small pods of bottlenose dolphins, which briefly but gracefully rode the bow. Common dolphins appeared on the horizon, probably numbering several hundred animals. We spent about forty-five minutes watching this multitude of playful marine mammals disturbing the surface of the water swimming in all directions, leaping and hitting the surface with their flukes. A humpback whale also made itself visible for a few moments, surfacing several times until it disappeared into the depths.
We arrived at Isla Santa Catalina, where snorkelers had the opportunity to submerge themselves into the undersea realm, while we hiked and enjoyed the unique ecosystem of Isla Santa Catalina. Long hikers made their way to the other side of the island, shorter walkers learned more about the natural history of this special place.
The endemic giant barrel cacti were the highlight of the day as seen in the picture. This species of cactus is the largest of its kind in the world. By the world, it is meant the Americas, since cacti are strictly New World plants, with only one known exception.
