We awoke this morning in the beautiful bay of Ensenada Grande on Isla Espiritu Santo. An unusual west wind had been blowing all night and left the outer bay a little choppy, but the inner bay was calm for our morning kayak outing. After a briefing, we slipped into the turquoise water of the bay and explored along the strikingly-sculptured, brick-red walls that line this beautiful inlet. After hikes in the arroyo that empties into the bay we reboarded our little ship and the Sea Lion shifted anchorage north to the dramatic little island of Los Islotes.

Los Islotes is the year-round home of a colony of California Sea Lions and the spot on our itinerary where we often snorkel with these acrobats of the sea. The overnight west wind abated during the morning and left us with perfect conditions for our snorkel adventure-and the sea lions were there, active and playful. Snorkeling with these incredible animals is a miraculous experience, but our naturalists were taken by a more unusual experience-the presence of courting magnificent frigate birds on the rocks of the island. This is truly an incredible sight. The all-black males inflate their brilliant red gular pouch while the white-breasted females fly overhead choosing the most impressive male as a possible mate and the white-headed juveniles look on in wonder (or is it confusion?). Although there has been no nesting observed on the island, this courting behavior was only first observed last December and the hope is that they may take up breeding here some day. It is just these kinds of dramatic wildlife sightings that have led many to describe the islands of the Gulf of California as the Galapagos Islands of the Northern Hemisphere.