Isla San Pedro Mártir, Gulf of California
No doubt we are fortunate to have the opportunity to experience a place like San Pedro Mártir. This is a remote island in the middle of the Gulf of California, which, from a distance looks almost like a giant iceberg with large cacti growing on top. This white color is due to the thousands of birds that find sanctuary on this rock to nest and rear their young. Large amounts of guano are deposited year after year and generation after generation to cover the island almost entirely with a bright white coating. This guano was once collected for commercial purposes to obtain fertilizers and explosives. “Guaneros” built piles of rocks and walls to expand the guano collecting area on the steep island about a hundred years ago. After the islands of the Gulf were considered a reserve, the highly impacting guano collecting activities were banned. Today, this island, like many others are the perfect place for the marine birds of the Gulf of California.
This morning we kayaked in this pristine location. As part of the adventurous kayaking trip and using the Sea Voyager as a base camp, we deployed the kayaks from the fantail to explore the steep shores of San Pedro Martir. Thousands of blue-footed boobies, brown boobies, red-billed tropicbirds dashed through the sky as California sea lions approached our kayaks with a curious and playful attitude.
We spent the afternoon cruising, seeking for marine mammals. Our first sighting was a pair of fin whales, the second largest animal species in the world. To end the day, as we sailed into the horizon, a group of about thirty pilot whales was seen. We slowly approached and stopped the ship near the group of cetaceans. These odd looking marine mammals stayed with us for a long time. After dinner, shortly after sunset, a group of common dolphins appeared and gave us good looks until the light faded.
No doubt we are fortunate to have the opportunity to experience a place like San Pedro Mártir. This is a remote island in the middle of the Gulf of California, which, from a distance looks almost like a giant iceberg with large cacti growing on top. This white color is due to the thousands of birds that find sanctuary on this rock to nest and rear their young. Large amounts of guano are deposited year after year and generation after generation to cover the island almost entirely with a bright white coating. This guano was once collected for commercial purposes to obtain fertilizers and explosives. “Guaneros” built piles of rocks and walls to expand the guano collecting area on the steep island about a hundred years ago. After the islands of the Gulf were considered a reserve, the highly impacting guano collecting activities were banned. Today, this island, like many others are the perfect place for the marine birds of the Gulf of California.
This morning we kayaked in this pristine location. As part of the adventurous kayaking trip and using the Sea Voyager as a base camp, we deployed the kayaks from the fantail to explore the steep shores of San Pedro Martir. Thousands of blue-footed boobies, brown boobies, red-billed tropicbirds dashed through the sky as California sea lions approached our kayaks with a curious and playful attitude.
We spent the afternoon cruising, seeking for marine mammals. Our first sighting was a pair of fin whales, the second largest animal species in the world. To end the day, as we sailed into the horizon, a group of about thirty pilot whales was seen. We slowly approached and stopped the ship near the group of cetaceans. These odd looking marine mammals stayed with us for a long time. After dinner, shortly after sunset, a group of common dolphins appeared and gave us good looks until the light faded.
