San Marcos
As we ventured from our cabins this morning, our eyes were greeted by the lovely marine pinnacles at San Marcos. This was truly a day where you could do it all. Our options for the morning included hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. The hikers made their way through a narrow, gravel-lined arroyo that was flanked on either side by gorgeous hills painted with red, green and tan. Thousands of years of erosion had sculpted modern art formations. Passing bursts of white passionflowers, fuzzy purple heads of Hofmeisteria and the bright purple stars of Houstonia, the hikers were rewarded with sights of a large whiptail lizard. The kayakers maneuvered through numerous rocky crags and peered down at sergeant majors and king angelfish swirling beneath them. Suddenly there was a loud exhalation and those on the water looked up in startled amazement as a large fin whale and her calf passed by in close proximity. The snorkelers also had beautiful visions swimming in front of their masks as huge Cortez angelfish, Panamic porgies and schools of king angelfish cruised past. Brilliantly colored juvenile Cortez damselfish were chased off by their dull-colored seniors. Nestled in the sand and gravel were many bullseye electric rays, some of them actively mating!
We lay down for a post-lunch siesta, but it was not long before we rushed to the bow to witness a fin whale feeding amongst a fleet of pangas (the local fishing boats). The fin whale was so close to the ship that the sound of its explosive exhalations easily traveled across the water to us. The whale itself was so large that at times it seemed impossible that the dorsal fin was attached to the head: too long a time period elapsed between the time the head emerged and the dorsal fin disappeared. We watched in amazement as the pangueros in their yellow rain slickers reeled in their single lines time and time again, each with a jumbo squid (also known as the Humboldt squid) attached. As the large red squid bodies with their thrashing arms came aboard, the reason for the rain slickers became obvious. In a final attempt to free itself and escape, each squid would spurt a stream of water eight to ten feet in the air as it broke the water-air interface. Although this powerful water pulse is an extremely effective defense for these animals in the open water (squid are the fastest of all aquatic invertebrates, some can travel as quickly as 40 km per hour!), it proved ineffective while ensnared in the pointy projections of the fisherman's jig. As soon as the fishermen reeled in one squid, they would set their line again and almost immediately begin tirelessly reeling in yet another catch.
Mixing history with nature, we docked in the sleepy town of Santa Rosalia and debarked, heading for the museum. This small town is very Mexican in culture, if not in architecture. Founded when copper ore was discovered here, the town itself was largely sculpted by a French mining company, which explains the majority of the architecture. Wandering through the museum and peering at the pictures of the miners in the caves, we were happy that a cold drink, rather than a hot, dusty mine shaft, was in our imminent future. Sauntering down the street, we mounted the steps of the elegant historic Hotel Frances. While sipping cervesas and margaritas and watching a variety of birds fly by, the quiet was suddenly ripped by the unmistakable drone of Harley Davidson engines. Road hogs? In Baja? Oh yes. The brilliant plumage of local birds was forgotten as we gawked at the black leather, bangles, beads and headbands of the bikers who were dressed in all their finery for a promotional photo shoot. Returning to the ship, our day of excitement was not yet over--not at all. The naturalists had obtained one of those jumbo squid while we were wandering through the streets of Santa Rosalia and we learned about these magnificent creatures up close and personal. Weighing in at approximately 7 kilograms, the eyeballs on the squid were each almost the size of an adult human's fist. The local fishery and feeding, defense and mating in these amazing cephalopods were discussed. After dinner, those of us who had strong stomachs and a penchant for the unusual, watched as the squid was dissected and its internal organs identified. Just as the dissection was terminated, the excited announcement came: there was LIVE Humboldt squid swimming just under the bow. Leaning over the side of the ship, we could see their brown, streamlined bodies jetting in small schools just under the surface of the water, fins flaring periodically. In addition to the squid, a bat wheeled through the air and another whale briefly came in to feed. We drifted back to our beds, minds swimming with the day's events.
As we ventured from our cabins this morning, our eyes were greeted by the lovely marine pinnacles at San Marcos. This was truly a day where you could do it all. Our options for the morning included hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. The hikers made their way through a narrow, gravel-lined arroyo that was flanked on either side by gorgeous hills painted with red, green and tan. Thousands of years of erosion had sculpted modern art formations. Passing bursts of white passionflowers, fuzzy purple heads of Hofmeisteria and the bright purple stars of Houstonia, the hikers were rewarded with sights of a large whiptail lizard. The kayakers maneuvered through numerous rocky crags and peered down at sergeant majors and king angelfish swirling beneath them. Suddenly there was a loud exhalation and those on the water looked up in startled amazement as a large fin whale and her calf passed by in close proximity. The snorkelers also had beautiful visions swimming in front of their masks as huge Cortez angelfish, Panamic porgies and schools of king angelfish cruised past. Brilliantly colored juvenile Cortez damselfish were chased off by their dull-colored seniors. Nestled in the sand and gravel were many bullseye electric rays, some of them actively mating!
We lay down for a post-lunch siesta, but it was not long before we rushed to the bow to witness a fin whale feeding amongst a fleet of pangas (the local fishing boats). The fin whale was so close to the ship that the sound of its explosive exhalations easily traveled across the water to us. The whale itself was so large that at times it seemed impossible that the dorsal fin was attached to the head: too long a time period elapsed between the time the head emerged and the dorsal fin disappeared. We watched in amazement as the pangueros in their yellow rain slickers reeled in their single lines time and time again, each with a jumbo squid (also known as the Humboldt squid) attached. As the large red squid bodies with their thrashing arms came aboard, the reason for the rain slickers became obvious. In a final attempt to free itself and escape, each squid would spurt a stream of water eight to ten feet in the air as it broke the water-air interface. Although this powerful water pulse is an extremely effective defense for these animals in the open water (squid are the fastest of all aquatic invertebrates, some can travel as quickly as 40 km per hour!), it proved ineffective while ensnared in the pointy projections of the fisherman's jig. As soon as the fishermen reeled in one squid, they would set their line again and almost immediately begin tirelessly reeling in yet another catch.
Mixing history with nature, we docked in the sleepy town of Santa Rosalia and debarked, heading for the museum. This small town is very Mexican in culture, if not in architecture. Founded when copper ore was discovered here, the town itself was largely sculpted by a French mining company, which explains the majority of the architecture. Wandering through the museum and peering at the pictures of the miners in the caves, we were happy that a cold drink, rather than a hot, dusty mine shaft, was in our imminent future. Sauntering down the street, we mounted the steps of the elegant historic Hotel Frances. While sipping cervesas and margaritas and watching a variety of birds fly by, the quiet was suddenly ripped by the unmistakable drone of Harley Davidson engines. Road hogs? In Baja? Oh yes. The brilliant plumage of local birds was forgotten as we gawked at the black leather, bangles, beads and headbands of the bikers who were dressed in all their finery for a promotional photo shoot. Returning to the ship, our day of excitement was not yet over--not at all. The naturalists had obtained one of those jumbo squid while we were wandering through the streets of Santa Rosalia and we learned about these magnificent creatures up close and personal. Weighing in at approximately 7 kilograms, the eyeballs on the squid were each almost the size of an adult human's fist. The local fishery and feeding, defense and mating in these amazing cephalopods were discussed. After dinner, those of us who had strong stomachs and a penchant for the unusual, watched as the squid was dissected and its internal organs identified. Just as the dissection was terminated, the excited announcement came: there was LIVE Humboldt squid swimming just under the bow. Leaning over the side of the ship, we could see their brown, streamlined bodies jetting in small schools just under the surface of the water, fins flaring periodically. In addition to the squid, a bat wheeled through the air and another whale briefly came in to feed. We drifted back to our beds, minds swimming with the day's events.
