If you walked to the bow at 7 a.m., you would have found twenty sun worshipers staring intently through binoculars, awaiting a chance to see the elusive green flash. Cries of excitement spread through the group as double green flash lines appeared on the horizon.
The sea was calm and windless when we found our first marine mammals. Hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins were scattered over an area of about a square mile. Flocks of pelicans, gulls, boobies and frigatebirds waited for fish to be driven to the surface. Occasionally a few dorsal fins emerged, followed by plunge-diving birds. Later we discovered two Bryde's whales, a mother and older calf. The younger animal seemed quite bold and circled the boat, then passed just below the surface allowing most of us to look directly down onto its sleek, streamlined body. We could see the three rostral ridges on the head as it passed slowly and quietly beneath the surface in the clear water. It then rose and blew within a few feet of the bow. As we continued to watch these two creatures, an adult pilot whale surfaced nearby. These "blackfish" are normally quite gregarious and rarely seen by themselves. This one appeared only briefly, all alone, and then was gone.
After lunch we anchored in Ballandra Bay on Isla del Carmen. Snorkeling after lunch provided great looks at scorpionfish, hogfish, and brightly colored parrotfish, to name a few. After snorkeling, some found the long beach to be a perfect place to stroll. Others walked across a broad plain, passing mangroves and other salt-tolerant plants and soon entered a tree-filled canyon. We passed near a profusion of deep purple rama parda flowers and delicate palo blanco trees.
The photograph above shows a few of us returning from the hike. Iodine bush clumps are in the foreground and palo verde and palo blanco trees fill the background. The setting sun casts a warm glow on the surrounding hills. Later in the evening we gathered on the beach for a barbecue followed by a magical ride through the bioluminescent waters of the Sea of Cortez.
