Isla Tiburon, Midriff Islands, México
We traveled over smooth seas this morning on our way to Mexico’s largest island - Isla Tiburon. It is separated from the mainland by a narrow, shallow channel called ‘El Infiernillo” which is about one to three miles wide and twelve to fifteen feet deep in places. Strong currents and shifting sand bars make this a treacherous place to travel.
The Seri Indians occupied parts of this island, preferring to live mainly along the shores of the southwest and west coasts. They long resisted colonization and Isla Tiburon became their refuge from military expeditions sent to subjugate them. After a peaceful settlement was agreed upon in the mid 1900’s, most of the Seri settled on the coast of the mainland leaving the island uninhabited.
After a short hike up the very warm arroyo ashore, the surrounding clear water off the beach was very inviting. This was the perfect opportunity to try our snorkeling gear and the divers headed out for their first checkout dive. Below the surface, large colorful fleshy alga provided homes for the numerous leopard grouper, spotted sand bass and bullseye puffer. A California sea lion showed up and rapidly darted by. Cortez and reef stingrays exploded from their cover in the sand and went flying in different directions.
As we continued south along the west coast of Tiburon, we kept a watchful eye for marine mammals. Soon, we encountered a large group of common dolphins and watched in awe as they rapidly converged together and raced along at the surface in a rapid frantic pace. Few of us have ever witnessed this feeding behavior and it is thought that they use this strategy to corralbait fish such as sardines, anchovies or other pelagic species.
Dog Bay was our next stop on the southwest side of the island and conditions were again perfect to enjoy water sports. The kayaks went over to the side, swimmers and snorkelers hit the water and the rest of us set off for our own discoveries along the bay. While we later enjoyed a superb supper of steak, scallops and friendly conversation, the sun slipped quickly over the jagged tops of Isla Tiburon.
We traveled over smooth seas this morning on our way to Mexico’s largest island - Isla Tiburon. It is separated from the mainland by a narrow, shallow channel called ‘El Infiernillo” which is about one to three miles wide and twelve to fifteen feet deep in places. Strong currents and shifting sand bars make this a treacherous place to travel.
The Seri Indians occupied parts of this island, preferring to live mainly along the shores of the southwest and west coasts. They long resisted colonization and Isla Tiburon became their refuge from military expeditions sent to subjugate them. After a peaceful settlement was agreed upon in the mid 1900’s, most of the Seri settled on the coast of the mainland leaving the island uninhabited.
After a short hike up the very warm arroyo ashore, the surrounding clear water off the beach was very inviting. This was the perfect opportunity to try our snorkeling gear and the divers headed out for their first checkout dive. Below the surface, large colorful fleshy alga provided homes for the numerous leopard grouper, spotted sand bass and bullseye puffer. A California sea lion showed up and rapidly darted by. Cortez and reef stingrays exploded from their cover in the sand and went flying in different directions.
As we continued south along the west coast of Tiburon, we kept a watchful eye for marine mammals. Soon, we encountered a large group of common dolphins and watched in awe as they rapidly converged together and raced along at the surface in a rapid frantic pace. Few of us have ever witnessed this feeding behavior and it is thought that they use this strategy to corralbait fish such as sardines, anchovies or other pelagic species.
Dog Bay was our next stop on the southwest side of the island and conditions were again perfect to enjoy water sports. The kayaks went over to the side, swimmers and snorkelers hit the water and the rest of us set off for our own discoveries along the bay. While we later enjoyed a superb supper of steak, scallops and friendly conversation, the sun slipped quickly over the jagged tops of Isla Tiburon.
