Isla Santa Catalina, Baja California Sur, México
After cruising and looking for marine life along the passage between the lower Gulf of California Islands and the peninsula, we came upon a unique landing of the Island of Santa Catalina. This geologically-old island has a surface of approximately 20 square miles. It is composed primarily of granodiorite. We landed with Zodiacs on Elephant Rock Beach, where a great rock thrust out of the land into the ocean bears a resemblance of an elephant. We immediately organized a series of hikes and Zodiac tours along the coast. The hikes followed a dry arroyo bed, along which we had the opportunity of seeing numerous desert plants, especially cacti. Many small plants were in bloom, as it had rained just a few weeks ago. Some of the hikers made it to the other side of the island, where they had a wonderful view of the open Gulf of California, from a high vantage point.
Other hikes went slower with the intention of watching birds and enjoying the views of the living desert. We were all back by 11:30am, and shortly thereafter had lunch. Later in the afternoon, a group of guests went snorkeling in the fantastically clear waters. Numerous species of fish were seen swimming along the coral and submerged rocks. After snorkeling, another small group ventured back to the island to birdwatch and study the plants at leisure.
The populations of wild mice, land birds and lizards of Santa Catalina are heavily predated upon by the large population of feral domestic cats; and the vegetation suffers from the attack of a good number of feral domestic goats on the island. Despite this, we had the good fortune of seeing hummingbirds, cardinals, gnatcatchers, shrikes and ravens.
After cruising and looking for marine life along the passage between the lower Gulf of California Islands and the peninsula, we came upon a unique landing of the Island of Santa Catalina. This geologically-old island has a surface of approximately 20 square miles. It is composed primarily of granodiorite. We landed with Zodiacs on Elephant Rock Beach, where a great rock thrust out of the land into the ocean bears a resemblance of an elephant. We immediately organized a series of hikes and Zodiac tours along the coast. The hikes followed a dry arroyo bed, along which we had the opportunity of seeing numerous desert plants, especially cacti. Many small plants were in bloom, as it had rained just a few weeks ago. Some of the hikers made it to the other side of the island, where they had a wonderful view of the open Gulf of California, from a high vantage point.
Other hikes went slower with the intention of watching birds and enjoying the views of the living desert. We were all back by 11:30am, and shortly thereafter had lunch. Later in the afternoon, a group of guests went snorkeling in the fantastically clear waters. Numerous species of fish were seen swimming along the coral and submerged rocks. After snorkeling, another small group ventured back to the island to birdwatch and study the plants at leisure.
The populations of wild mice, land birds and lizards of Santa Catalina are heavily predated upon by the large population of feral domestic cats; and the vegetation suffers from the attack of a good number of feral domestic goats on the island. Despite this, we had the good fortune of seeing hummingbirds, cardinals, gnatcatchers, shrikes and ravens.
