Isla San Marcos
Quite a few dark and puffy clouds had gathered in the early morning sky but by the time we had started our walks in the arroyo of Isla San Marcos, they had vanished. We set off up the canyon, but before it got really hot, we found ourselves back at the beach ready for a little cool down time. We hastily donned flippers and masks and set off swimming among the shallow rocks paralleling the rugged shore. The water temperature was cool and the visibility very cloudy, possibly with the presence of phytoplankton, and it was difficult to see very far.
But we could easily spot the brilliant colors of the various species of sea stars adorning the algae covered surfaces of large rocks that had fallen from their perches long ago. One swim-through had its rock face smeared with a colorful assortment of branching soft corals and encrusting sponges. We brushed by nudibranchs, their external gills fluttering in the flow of water current.
After lunch, we cruised in between the islands of Isla San Marcos and Isla Tortuga on the lookout for marine mammals or anything else of interest. Earlier, some of our staff had spotted a pod of short-finned pilot whales and soon we caught up with them. To our delight, they allowed us to stay with them. They were joined by several bottlenose dolphins that playfully zigzagged in and out of their chorus line. As we peered around us, we could see that several pods of these large mammals completely surrounded the ship!
But ahead of the Sea Voyager, off in the distance, the waters seemed to froth with larger white caps than those around our ship. A long white line of breaking water stretched endlessly, for what seemed a considerable distance, across our bow. Common dolphins were exploding from the sea, moving rapidly across the surface, either pursuing or being pursued. Then in the excitement, several voices cried out from the bow deck, “Turtles, turtles!” Indeed, two large brown turtles that had been sunning on the surface quickly dived below to escape the chaos above. We fulfilled the dreams of many on board this afternoon and we all needed a break from the intensity of this moment. We headed back to Isla San Marcos and kayaked at our leisure in the calm waters of the west side. As the sun slid behind the jagged horizon of the peninsula, we returned to the beach once more to share stories of our day’s adventures over the tantalizing smell of barbecue.
Quite a few dark and puffy clouds had gathered in the early morning sky but by the time we had started our walks in the arroyo of Isla San Marcos, they had vanished. We set off up the canyon, but before it got really hot, we found ourselves back at the beach ready for a little cool down time. We hastily donned flippers and masks and set off swimming among the shallow rocks paralleling the rugged shore. The water temperature was cool and the visibility very cloudy, possibly with the presence of phytoplankton, and it was difficult to see very far.
But we could easily spot the brilliant colors of the various species of sea stars adorning the algae covered surfaces of large rocks that had fallen from their perches long ago. One swim-through had its rock face smeared with a colorful assortment of branching soft corals and encrusting sponges. We brushed by nudibranchs, their external gills fluttering in the flow of water current.
After lunch, we cruised in between the islands of Isla San Marcos and Isla Tortuga on the lookout for marine mammals or anything else of interest. Earlier, some of our staff had spotted a pod of short-finned pilot whales and soon we caught up with them. To our delight, they allowed us to stay with them. They were joined by several bottlenose dolphins that playfully zigzagged in and out of their chorus line. As we peered around us, we could see that several pods of these large mammals completely surrounded the ship!
But ahead of the Sea Voyager, off in the distance, the waters seemed to froth with larger white caps than those around our ship. A long white line of breaking water stretched endlessly, for what seemed a considerable distance, across our bow. Common dolphins were exploding from the sea, moving rapidly across the surface, either pursuing or being pursued. Then in the excitement, several voices cried out from the bow deck, “Turtles, turtles!” Indeed, two large brown turtles that had been sunning on the surface quickly dived below to escape the chaos above. We fulfilled the dreams of many on board this afternoon and we all needed a break from the intensity of this moment. We headed back to Isla San Marcos and kayaked at our leisure in the calm waters of the west side. As the sun slid behind the jagged horizon of the peninsula, we returned to the beach once more to share stories of our day’s adventures over the tantalizing smell of barbecue.
