Puerto Refugio and Bahia Alcatraz
Today’s sunrise found the Sea Voyager on its way to Puerto Refugio, at the northernmost end of Isla Angel de la Guarda. Shortly after a hearty breakfast we brave explorers divided into several groups in order to enjoy different aspects of this beautiful, protected bay of calm waters. Some went hiking into the neighboring hills, listening to the songs of the northern mockingbird and learning about the marvelous adaptations of plants that enable them to survive in desert environments. Others among us preferred to keep their feet wet. And what a better way to do so than tide-pooling! Taking advantage of the exposed rocks during low tide, we found a lot of out-of-this-world creatures, including sea hares, brittle sea stars, porcelain crabs and even a small, elusive octopus! And then, as we marveled with the hardy condition of the intertidal citizens, who risk the loss of water and a wide range of salinity and temperature variations, we discovered a Humboldt’s squid mass stranding right next to us! A shoal of 20 or 30 young, 2 feet long squid were swimming in very shallow waters and some were already on the beach and being attacked by a large, mixed group of yellow-footed and Heermann’s gulls. Despite our initial surprise and sadness, we were privileged to have front-row seats for such natural drama.
It is known that most octopus and squid species die shortly after reproduction, but the causes of this particular mass stranding are unknown to us, as the individuals involved were too small to be sexually mature. As it often happens, we remained puzzled by the reasons that drove the squid into shore. However, the event gave us a new perspective and reminded us of how little we really know about nature’s ways…
We departed Puerto Refugio and sailed into the Canal de Ballenas on our way to Bahia Alcatraz, on Baja California peninsula. There, many of us snorkeled and SCUBA dove among the 15 feet tall algae forests. The cathedral-like ambiance of the forest, with sunlight rays shinning through the algae clumps, was the perfect place to watch schools of Gulf opaleyes, Mexican hogfishes and leopard groupers, while round stingrays and horn sharks rested on the bottom and slowly woke up to begin their nightly search of invertebrates. Another day lazily came to an end and our spirits soared high, motivated both by the new things we learned as well as by those that remained a mystery…
Today’s sunrise found the Sea Voyager on its way to Puerto Refugio, at the northernmost end of Isla Angel de la Guarda. Shortly after a hearty breakfast we brave explorers divided into several groups in order to enjoy different aspects of this beautiful, protected bay of calm waters. Some went hiking into the neighboring hills, listening to the songs of the northern mockingbird and learning about the marvelous adaptations of plants that enable them to survive in desert environments. Others among us preferred to keep their feet wet. And what a better way to do so than tide-pooling! Taking advantage of the exposed rocks during low tide, we found a lot of out-of-this-world creatures, including sea hares, brittle sea stars, porcelain crabs and even a small, elusive octopus! And then, as we marveled with the hardy condition of the intertidal citizens, who risk the loss of water and a wide range of salinity and temperature variations, we discovered a Humboldt’s squid mass stranding right next to us! A shoal of 20 or 30 young, 2 feet long squid were swimming in very shallow waters and some were already on the beach and being attacked by a large, mixed group of yellow-footed and Heermann’s gulls. Despite our initial surprise and sadness, we were privileged to have front-row seats for such natural drama.
It is known that most octopus and squid species die shortly after reproduction, but the causes of this particular mass stranding are unknown to us, as the individuals involved were too small to be sexually mature. As it often happens, we remained puzzled by the reasons that drove the squid into shore. However, the event gave us a new perspective and reminded us of how little we really know about nature’s ways…
We departed Puerto Refugio and sailed into the Canal de Ballenas on our way to Bahia Alcatraz, on Baja California peninsula. There, many of us snorkeled and SCUBA dove among the 15 feet tall algae forests. The cathedral-like ambiance of the forest, with sunlight rays shinning through the algae clumps, was the perfect place to watch schools of Gulf opaleyes, Mexican hogfishes and leopard groupers, while round stingrays and horn sharks rested on the bottom and slowly woke up to begin their nightly search of invertebrates. Another day lazily came to an end and our spirits soared high, motivated both by the new things we learned as well as by those that remained a mystery…
