Isla Santa Catalina
At dawn, we cruised along Isla Danzante accompanied by the sounds of blue whales blowing all around us. The Sierra de la Giganta was illuminated in vivid colors that highlighted the layered geology of the Peninsula and reflected colorfully across the morning’s perfectly calm waters.
Breakfast came and went and still we were surrounded by blue whales. Three in particular seemed to feed right around us while numerous others blew at various distances on the horizon. We leisurely floated in circles as these giant mammals repeatedly rose to breathe, dove back down, and surfaced again close by. Several times we saw them lift their tail flukes (top photo) as they dove and we responded with fitting gasps and cries.
At mid morning we spied a half-dozen bottlenose dolphins coming our way. Unhurried, they surfaced and dove into our midst and mingled with the blue whales. In his commentary about the scene, Jack Swenson said, “…this is why we came to Baja!” And indeed the setting was perfect. The water was perfectly calm, the craggy islands and the Sierra de la Giganta were sharply outlined by a cloudless sky and dolphins and blue whales moved freely around us.
After a full morning of taking in this spectacle by circling nearly in one place, we finally turned toward Isla Santa Catalina, our afternoon’s destination. As the ship cruised eastward, we carefully examined various blows that appeared around us, fully aware of the uncommon luxury of being able to say, “it’s just another blue whale.”
At mid-afternoon we snorkeled and explored the rich undersea world next to the famed elephant rock. This granite formation rises out of turquoise waters to stand on the shoreline like an elephant at a watering hole seeking refreshment from the desert heat. At its feet we discovered numerous colorful reef fish and beautiful corals.
Later in the afternoon, we went ashore for an arroyo hike through perhaps the most lush cactus garden in the region. An abundance of cardon cacti (bottom photo) and giant barrel cacti stand in defiance of the sun’s relentless rays. These cacti store tons of water and, given the abundance of these plants on the island, the arroyo, though dry, was a desert waterway of sorts today.
There were also lots of plants in bloom and evidence of ephemeral wildflowers, such as arroyo lupine, that had bloomed and were now in the process of dispersing their seeds. The year’s healthy rain has caused a burst of growth and a welcome recharge for the desert plants that have endured so heartily the drought of the past few years.
