The Sea Lion rides gently at anchor below the rugged volcanic rocks of Isla San Francisco in the Sea of Cortez. We spent our afternoon exploring this small island, both above and below the water. Some of us trekked across a narrow sandy isthmus to an area of excellent tide pools where we encountered crabs, sea cucumbers and a bright orange sipunculid worm, which was quickly voted one of the slimiest creatures on earth. Meanwhile a group of snorkelers prowled among the underwater boulders below one of the cliffs of pink volcanic rock lining the bay where we anchored. Coral growth was light, as expected in this temperate sea, but the waters were full of lovely, bright colored fish like Reef Coronetfish, King Angelfish and Cortex Rainbow Wrasse, whose outrageous, sex-changing life history we learned more about during the evening's recap.