At Sea and Isla Santa Catalina, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Our first morning found us inside the Gulf of California, in the vicinity of Isla del Carmen and Isla Monserrate. After a lovely sunrise we slowly sailed along these waters, and immediately began seeing those monstrous behemoths, the largest of all whales! Yes, Blue Whales! The most massive animal to live on our planet! After some time, we were surrounded by up to seven of them, some visible to us at a very short distance from our ship, the Sea Lion. Later in the morning we added to our list the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. But that wasn't all! As we began our trip south to Isla Santa Catalina, we encountered a big bull sperm whale. It remained on the surface for a very short time, and then dove and was not seen again.
After lunch we boarded Zodiacs at Santa Catalina Island, where most of us snorkeled to our hearts' content and to our tolerance of the cool water! Afterwards we returned to the ship and dressed for hiking on this granitic island. The energetic long distance hikers trekked upward to the other side of the island and, looking down from the lofty crags of the east side, spotted another blue whale, this one surfacing far below them.
The more leisurely hikers were content to take their time and seek out the songbirds and examine the unique vegetation of this Sonoran Desert habitat. Among the most interesting plants are the cacti. The cardones - the giants of Baja California - are currently saturated with water, as this winter has brought to the desert plants welcome volumes of this vital fluid. The other cacti, such as the chollas and pincushions are indeed healthy, and the sour pitahayas had produced a small crop of fruit! But the cactus that most attracted our attention was the largest known barrel cactus, limited to a few islands in the gulf. Some specimens of Ferocactus diguetii can attain a height of over four meters, with a diameter of 60 centimeters! Carmen Island, which neighbors Santa Catalina Island, supports a subspecies that attains a height of only one meter.
Our first morning found us inside the Gulf of California, in the vicinity of Isla del Carmen and Isla Monserrate. After a lovely sunrise we slowly sailed along these waters, and immediately began seeing those monstrous behemoths, the largest of all whales! Yes, Blue Whales! The most massive animal to live on our planet! After some time, we were surrounded by up to seven of them, some visible to us at a very short distance from our ship, the Sea Lion. Later in the morning we added to our list the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. But that wasn't all! As we began our trip south to Isla Santa Catalina, we encountered a big bull sperm whale. It remained on the surface for a very short time, and then dove and was not seen again.
After lunch we boarded Zodiacs at Santa Catalina Island, where most of us snorkeled to our hearts' content and to our tolerance of the cool water! Afterwards we returned to the ship and dressed for hiking on this granitic island. The energetic long distance hikers trekked upward to the other side of the island and, looking down from the lofty crags of the east side, spotted another blue whale, this one surfacing far below them.
The more leisurely hikers were content to take their time and seek out the songbirds and examine the unique vegetation of this Sonoran Desert habitat. Among the most interesting plants are the cacti. The cardones - the giants of Baja California - are currently saturated with water, as this winter has brought to the desert plants welcome volumes of this vital fluid. The other cacti, such as the chollas and pincushions are indeed healthy, and the sour pitahayas had produced a small crop of fruit! But the cactus that most attracted our attention was the largest known barrel cactus, limited to a few islands in the gulf. Some specimens of Ferocactus diguetii can attain a height of over four meters, with a diameter of 60 centimeters! Carmen Island, which neighbors Santa Catalina Island, supports a subspecies that attains a height of only one meter.
