Puerto Refugio
After a quiet night at sea, we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise and a glassy calm sea near Isla Tiburón this morning. Early risers wandered out on deck with binoculars to find pomarine jaegers, Craveri’s murrelets, Heermann’s gulls, elegant terns and many other feeding sea birds. The Midriff region of the Gulf of California is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on the planet, and we certainly saw evidence of that productivity today. Diving pelicans and boobies indicated a school of small fish from a distance, but as we approached, we were amazed to find hundreds of small Humboldt squid feeding on those same fish! These fast-swimming, highly fecund members of the phylum Mollusca are relatively common in the Gulf, but are typically at the surface only at night, descending to the inky depth of 1000 meters during the day. These same productive waters yielded our first cetacean sighting of the voyage, with a mother and calf pair of fin whales circling near the north end of Isla Angel de la Guarda.
After lunch, we entered the beautiful, sheltered anchorage of Puerto Refugio and launched our kayaks for the first of many paddling opportunities on this sea kayaking voyage. Several energetic folks opted for the “long paddle” and circumnavigated the entire bay with a long pause to watch the frolicking sea lions and gawky young pelicans at Isla Granitos. Others chose a more leisurely paddle toward the arched volcanic rocks at the west entrance to the bay and the channel separating Isla Angel de la Guarda from the small, unnamed island to the northwest. A short walk up the arroyo followed, including the finding of several beautifully bleached whale vertebrae.
As we gathered in the lounge before dinner, all agreed it was indeed a “beautiful day in Baja California.”
After a quiet night at sea, we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise and a glassy calm sea near Isla Tiburón this morning. Early risers wandered out on deck with binoculars to find pomarine jaegers, Craveri’s murrelets, Heermann’s gulls, elegant terns and many other feeding sea birds. The Midriff region of the Gulf of California is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on the planet, and we certainly saw evidence of that productivity today. Diving pelicans and boobies indicated a school of small fish from a distance, but as we approached, we were amazed to find hundreds of small Humboldt squid feeding on those same fish! These fast-swimming, highly fecund members of the phylum Mollusca are relatively common in the Gulf, but are typically at the surface only at night, descending to the inky depth of 1000 meters during the day. These same productive waters yielded our first cetacean sighting of the voyage, with a mother and calf pair of fin whales circling near the north end of Isla Angel de la Guarda.
After lunch, we entered the beautiful, sheltered anchorage of Puerto Refugio and launched our kayaks for the first of many paddling opportunities on this sea kayaking voyage. Several energetic folks opted for the “long paddle” and circumnavigated the entire bay with a long pause to watch the frolicking sea lions and gawky young pelicans at Isla Granitos. Others chose a more leisurely paddle toward the arched volcanic rocks at the west entrance to the bay and the channel separating Isla Angel de la Guarda from the small, unnamed island to the northwest. A short walk up the arroyo followed, including the finding of several beautifully bleached whale vertebrae.
As we gathered in the lounge before dinner, all agreed it was indeed a “beautiful day in Baja California.”
