This morning our expedition would take us to an enchanted island called Santa Catalina. This island which is farther east in the Gulf of California than most was never connected to the Baja California peninsula by a land bridge. This isolation means the animals and plants are unique in amazing ways. The cactus are huge, both the cardons and the giant barrel variety. There is also a rattlesnake that has no rattle, a silent slithering serpent. There were chances to see birds, plants, rocks, and the fore mentioned snake as we split up into groups for walks and hikes.

Our further plan was to snorkel and swim, but the large numbers of large lion’s mane jellyfish dissuaded us from that activity. Instead we had a chance to ride in Zodiacs with bottlenose dolphins that came by our anchorage for a look. Many of them swam very close and leaped clear of the water for our amusement (and we think theirs as well).

Later in the afternoon, we encountered a good sized group of pilot whales as they made impressive dives right near the ship in the clear blue waters of the gulf. There were a number of times the whales swam very close to the stern of the ship.

The day was capped off with a barbeque on a nice beach at the northern end of Isla Carmen. It was a great end to a great day.