Isla San Esteban and Isla San Pedro Martir
The air was still cool and a gentle breeze was beginning to stir as we started our morning hike up the gravelly arroyo of Isla San Esteban. A dark inert mass on top of a cardon cactus moved and we were staring at a rather handsome spiny tail iguana . This might seem like an odd place for an iguana to sit but they climb up the cactus to eat the fruit found growing out of the top. Another endemic lizard, the pinto chuckwalla, was considered a staple for the Seri Indians who occupied this island in the late seventeen hundreds.
While the hikers were ashore learning about the flora and fauna, a Zodiac, full of eager explorers, sped away from the stern of the Sea Voyager. There were several small sandy beaches occupied by a number of California sea lion females with their pups, who were probably about a month old now. We were soon joined by a group of playful and energetic bottlenose dolphins and they kept our company for almost an hour. They were “riding” the pressure wave at the bow and were so close that their tails splashed water onto our smiling faces.
Back on board, we relaxed and cooled down in the lounge as we heard Adrian Cerda, one of our natural history staff, talk about his Mexico with a delightful presentation in the lounge.
Immediately following lunch, we found ourselves back out on the water in Zodiacs as we circled the island of San Pedro Martir. This volcanic island is home to thousands of seabirds such as the blue-footed and brown booby birds. Several chicks with their fuzzy white downy feathers were spotted precariously perched on the ledges of the steeply sloped mountainside.
But our day wasn’t over yet because soon after we were back on Sea Voyager, our Expedition Leader announced that we had whales up ahead. The sharply angled blows of these leviathans gave away their identity as sperm whales. The water in this area is extremely deep and it has been documented that the Humboldt squid also occupy this deep water, which happens to be the main food source for this deep diver. Soon, we could see that we were surrounded by whales. With the careful driving skills of our captain, we were able to get very close to several animals.
Today is the summer solstice and we celebrated its beginning with an exuberance of life in the productive waters of the Gulf of California.
The air was still cool and a gentle breeze was beginning to stir as we started our morning hike up the gravelly arroyo of Isla San Esteban. A dark inert mass on top of a cardon cactus moved and we were staring at a rather handsome spiny tail iguana . This might seem like an odd place for an iguana to sit but they climb up the cactus to eat the fruit found growing out of the top. Another endemic lizard, the pinto chuckwalla, was considered a staple for the Seri Indians who occupied this island in the late seventeen hundreds.
While the hikers were ashore learning about the flora and fauna, a Zodiac, full of eager explorers, sped away from the stern of the Sea Voyager. There were several small sandy beaches occupied by a number of California sea lion females with their pups, who were probably about a month old now. We were soon joined by a group of playful and energetic bottlenose dolphins and they kept our company for almost an hour. They were “riding” the pressure wave at the bow and were so close that their tails splashed water onto our smiling faces.
Back on board, we relaxed and cooled down in the lounge as we heard Adrian Cerda, one of our natural history staff, talk about his Mexico with a delightful presentation in the lounge.
Immediately following lunch, we found ourselves back out on the water in Zodiacs as we circled the island of San Pedro Martir. This volcanic island is home to thousands of seabirds such as the blue-footed and brown booby birds. Several chicks with their fuzzy white downy feathers were spotted precariously perched on the ledges of the steeply sloped mountainside.
But our day wasn’t over yet because soon after we were back on Sea Voyager, our Expedition Leader announced that we had whales up ahead. The sharply angled blows of these leviathans gave away their identity as sperm whales. The water in this area is extremely deep and it has been documented that the Humboldt squid also occupy this deep water, which happens to be the main food source for this deep diver. Soon, we could see that we were surrounded by whales. With the careful driving skills of our captain, we were able to get very close to several animals.
Today is the summer solstice and we celebrated its beginning with an exuberance of life in the productive waters of the Gulf of California.
