Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur
The scenery in Baja California can be as foreign to a first time visitor as if they had landed on a different planet. Welcome to planet Baja California Sur. We have had the opportunity to explore and become familiar with the inhabitants of the Sonoran desert and their amazing adaptations to not only survive but thrive in this harsh environment.
Today, we entered the protected waters of Magdalena Bay, sheltered by the sister barrier islands of Isla Margarita and Isla Magdalena, two different planets as well. Isla Magdalena stretches nearly 60 miles in a sinuous line of shifting sand dunes edged sporadically with frilly green mangrove skirts. This is quite other worldly in comparison to the cactus studded islands of the Gulf. Yet this environment also offers a diversity of life and lifestyles to fill every niche the food chain could possibly create.
From the ship, we counted gray whale cow/calf pairs and single adults, the mist from their blows directed our attentions in conflicting directions. Their watery realm another facet of this strange planet we don’t fully understand. On the dunes, we came across hummocks of vegetation; roots, vines, and stems clinging greedily to their mound of sand in stubborn resistance to the winds scattering influence. Flowers were perched atop the vines and from these flowers waited cryptically colored spiders crouched and ready to pounce upon a would be pollinator.
From the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean, from granite to sand dunes, from whales to cactus, the opportunity for discovery is endless. Let’s take off our shoes and explore a portion of this exceptional place, planet Baja California Sur.
The scenery in Baja California can be as foreign to a first time visitor as if they had landed on a different planet. Welcome to planet Baja California Sur. We have had the opportunity to explore and become familiar with the inhabitants of the Sonoran desert and their amazing adaptations to not only survive but thrive in this harsh environment.
Today, we entered the protected waters of Magdalena Bay, sheltered by the sister barrier islands of Isla Margarita and Isla Magdalena, two different planets as well. Isla Magdalena stretches nearly 60 miles in a sinuous line of shifting sand dunes edged sporadically with frilly green mangrove skirts. This is quite other worldly in comparison to the cactus studded islands of the Gulf. Yet this environment also offers a diversity of life and lifestyles to fill every niche the food chain could possibly create.
From the ship, we counted gray whale cow/calf pairs and single adults, the mist from their blows directed our attentions in conflicting directions. Their watery realm another facet of this strange planet we don’t fully understand. On the dunes, we came across hummocks of vegetation; roots, vines, and stems clinging greedily to their mound of sand in stubborn resistance to the winds scattering influence. Flowers were perched atop the vines and from these flowers waited cryptically colored spiders crouched and ready to pounce upon a would be pollinator.
From the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean, from granite to sand dunes, from whales to cactus, the opportunity for discovery is endless. Let’s take off our shoes and explore a portion of this exceptional place, planet Baja California Sur.
