Gulf of California
This morning some skeptics became believers of the green flash. It was amazingly obvious and beautiful. The first edge of the sun that showed itself through the margin of the ocean was green with a slight hint of blue. After that, while sailing Southbound from Isla Carmen to Isla Santa Catalina looking for whales, we spotted blows in the horizon. As they were getting closer we were getting as much information as they could give us, in order to identify them. One of the characteristics of these leviathans was their evasive nature. We could see the shape of their dorsal fins, their color, and their blows. We finally came to the conclusion that they were Bryde’s whales, fast and shy as most of them are.
We dropped the anchor near Isla Santa Catalina, and took Zodiac shuttles to go snorkeling near “Elephant rock”. The water was refreshing and clear enough to let us see the amazing variety of life in this part of the Gulf of California. Some of us saw moray eels, a lobster, and many species of fish like wrasses, giant damselfish, king angels and sergeant majors. After this wonderful experience we took hikes through the arroyos of the island. We were surprised the way the desert can respond to rain. Vegetation was as green and healthy as it can get, flowers blooming in an explosion of color. The arroyo was literally covered in some parts by lupines, the fragrant and lovely flower shown in the picture above. “Lupine” is derived from the Latin word “Lupus”, meaning wolf. It is implied that this plant robs nutrients from the soil, but in fact, like most legumes, the roots harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria in nodules that convert nitrogen as a gas into nitrates that enrich the soil and can be used by other plants for synthesizing proteins.
This morning some skeptics became believers of the green flash. It was amazingly obvious and beautiful. The first edge of the sun that showed itself through the margin of the ocean was green with a slight hint of blue. After that, while sailing Southbound from Isla Carmen to Isla Santa Catalina looking for whales, we spotted blows in the horizon. As they were getting closer we were getting as much information as they could give us, in order to identify them. One of the characteristics of these leviathans was their evasive nature. We could see the shape of their dorsal fins, their color, and their blows. We finally came to the conclusion that they were Bryde’s whales, fast and shy as most of them are.
We dropped the anchor near Isla Santa Catalina, and took Zodiac shuttles to go snorkeling near “Elephant rock”. The water was refreshing and clear enough to let us see the amazing variety of life in this part of the Gulf of California. Some of us saw moray eels, a lobster, and many species of fish like wrasses, giant damselfish, king angels and sergeant majors. After this wonderful experience we took hikes through the arroyos of the island. We were surprised the way the desert can respond to rain. Vegetation was as green and healthy as it can get, flowers blooming in an explosion of color. The arroyo was literally covered in some parts by lupines, the fragrant and lovely flower shown in the picture above. “Lupine” is derived from the Latin word “Lupus”, meaning wolf. It is implied that this plant robs nutrients from the soil, but in fact, like most legumes, the roots harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria in nodules that convert nitrogen as a gas into nitrates that enrich the soil and can be used by other plants for synthesizing proteins.
