Isla San Marcos & Santa Rosalia
Dolphins again greeted us this morning on their way to work. They seem to be mainly chasing after fish with an occasional break to leap for joy and be pushed along by our ship’s bow wave. But we soon became distracted by a swirling mass of birds. Yellow-footed gulls, immature Heermann’s gulls, and brown pelicans wheeled around slowly counter clockwise while peering into the ocean for a meal. Suddenly one pelican at first and then many more folded their wings and plunged headlong into the sea. Bobbing up with gular pouches full of fish and water streaming out of their bills, the pelicans gulped down breakfast. But after just a few minutes of this frenzied feeding, the feast seemed to end. The birds came to rest on the surface; the dolphins slowly dispersed; and the Sea Bird guests drifted to their own breakfasts.
Later in the morning, water sports were on tap. Some of us snorkeled along the colorful, volcanic and marine sedimentary cliffs that make up Isla San Marcos. A sea arch invited exploration. The wild scenery belied the fact that on another part of this small island, heavy equipment was shoveling gypsum out of the earth to become plaster board in some far away building. Others traded snorkels for sea kayaks and enjoyed a pleasant paddle along the coast.
In the afternoon, we docked at the old mining town of Santa Rosalia. Back in 1868, Jose Villavivencio was riding along on his horse when the animal kicked up a colorful mineral ball. This blue and green boleo turned out to be azurite and malachite, copper carbonates. He sold his find for a mere 16 pesos…perhaps a fortune to Jose.
Eventually, a French company, Compagnie Boleo, developed the copper deposit. The ore was dug out of the soft volcanic tuffs and then smelted in blast furnaces. The resulting copper matte was shipped to Guaymas, then by rail to New Orleans, and finally as ballast in steamers to France. In 1922, the blast furnaces were replaced with more efficient ones. The copper was then shipped to Tacoma, Washington in company steamers, which returned to Santa Rosalia with fuel, petroleum coke, lumber, and mine timbers. The ore was mostly depleted by the 1950s and the mine closed.
In the heart of town stands a metal church designed by Gustav Eiffel, architect of the famous Parisian tower. The church was on display at the 1889 World’s Fair and later purchased by the Compagnie Boleo and brought to Baja.
That night, as we left Santa Rosalia, tiny lights out at sea marked the location of many local fishermen in their pangas hunting for Humboldt’s squid. The ship drifted toward the pangas then turned on its outside lights, too. Soon the water was alive with small fish drawn to the light and reddish squid jetting through and grabbing the hapless prey.
Dolphins again greeted us this morning on their way to work. They seem to be mainly chasing after fish with an occasional break to leap for joy and be pushed along by our ship’s bow wave. But we soon became distracted by a swirling mass of birds. Yellow-footed gulls, immature Heermann’s gulls, and brown pelicans wheeled around slowly counter clockwise while peering into the ocean for a meal. Suddenly one pelican at first and then many more folded their wings and plunged headlong into the sea. Bobbing up with gular pouches full of fish and water streaming out of their bills, the pelicans gulped down breakfast. But after just a few minutes of this frenzied feeding, the feast seemed to end. The birds came to rest on the surface; the dolphins slowly dispersed; and the Sea Bird guests drifted to their own breakfasts.
Later in the morning, water sports were on tap. Some of us snorkeled along the colorful, volcanic and marine sedimentary cliffs that make up Isla San Marcos. A sea arch invited exploration. The wild scenery belied the fact that on another part of this small island, heavy equipment was shoveling gypsum out of the earth to become plaster board in some far away building. Others traded snorkels for sea kayaks and enjoyed a pleasant paddle along the coast.
In the afternoon, we docked at the old mining town of Santa Rosalia. Back in 1868, Jose Villavivencio was riding along on his horse when the animal kicked up a colorful mineral ball. This blue and green boleo turned out to be azurite and malachite, copper carbonates. He sold his find for a mere 16 pesos…perhaps a fortune to Jose.
Eventually, a French company, Compagnie Boleo, developed the copper deposit. The ore was dug out of the soft volcanic tuffs and then smelted in blast furnaces. The resulting copper matte was shipped to Guaymas, then by rail to New Orleans, and finally as ballast in steamers to France. In 1922, the blast furnaces were replaced with more efficient ones. The copper was then shipped to Tacoma, Washington in company steamers, which returned to Santa Rosalia with fuel, petroleum coke, lumber, and mine timbers. The ore was mostly depleted by the 1950s and the mine closed.
In the heart of town stands a metal church designed by Gustav Eiffel, architect of the famous Parisian tower. The church was on display at the 1889 World’s Fair and later purchased by the Compagnie Boleo and brought to Baja.
That night, as we left Santa Rosalia, tiny lights out at sea marked the location of many local fishermen in their pangas hunting for Humboldt’s squid. The ship drifted toward the pangas then turned on its outside lights, too. Soon the water was alive with small fish drawn to the light and reddish squid jetting through and grabbing the hapless prey.
