Isla Carmen
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing in the Sea of Cortez? Last night some of us were wondering as we nursed sore shutter-release fingers after an afternoon of breathtaking displays by fin whales, sperm whales, mobula rays, and dolphins. So today, breakfast was mercifully scheduled an hour later. But while some of us slept in, the early risers were back on deck for the gorgeous sunrise and balmy breeze as we steamed south to Isla Carmen, our day’s destination.
By mid-morning we anchored in a snug cove called Arroyo Blanco for the dazzling white sand dunes that lie behind the beach. Snorkelers and divers were treated to balloon fish, stone scorpionfish, a king angelfish, and even an argus moray eel while those on shore saw no less than nine of the island’s endemic chuckwallas. These eighteen-inch lizards are found nowhere else in the world except Isla Carmen and two neighboring islands. One put on a head-bobbing threat display while another made a valiant attempt to feast on a flower that was just a little too far up a stem that was just a little too skinny to support its weight.
After a fine lunch the ship repositioned to Puerto Balandra, a beautiful bay on the west side of the island with a mangrove-lined tidal basin behind a long sandy beach. Mangroves have mechanisms for removing salt from sea water, and the leaves of the black mangroves around the basin glistened in the afternoon sun from the salt exuded onto their leaf surfaces. Kayakers had the run of the bay, snorkelers cruised the shallow waters off the ship’s fantail, and the divers explored a rocky point at the mouth of the bay. In the cool of the late afternoon, several hearty souls hiked into the interior of this interesting island as far as the ruins of some old buildings that may date from the nineteenth century. Alas, although we kept a weather eye out for the desert bighorn sheep that roam the island, we were not rewarded with a sighting.
As the sun dropped low in the sky, the galley staff came ashore and set up a sumptious sit-down barbeque on the beach featuring wahoo, a delicious local fish, spare ribs, and all the trimmings. The sun set over the shimmering bay, stars emerged in a velvet black sky unsullied by urban lights, and another magnificent day on the Sea of Cortez gradually drew to a close.
Too much of a good thing? Naw, I don’t think so….
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing in the Sea of Cortez? Last night some of us were wondering as we nursed sore shutter-release fingers after an afternoon of breathtaking displays by fin whales, sperm whales, mobula rays, and dolphins. So today, breakfast was mercifully scheduled an hour later. But while some of us slept in, the early risers were back on deck for the gorgeous sunrise and balmy breeze as we steamed south to Isla Carmen, our day’s destination.
By mid-morning we anchored in a snug cove called Arroyo Blanco for the dazzling white sand dunes that lie behind the beach. Snorkelers and divers were treated to balloon fish, stone scorpionfish, a king angelfish, and even an argus moray eel while those on shore saw no less than nine of the island’s endemic chuckwallas. These eighteen-inch lizards are found nowhere else in the world except Isla Carmen and two neighboring islands. One put on a head-bobbing threat display while another made a valiant attempt to feast on a flower that was just a little too far up a stem that was just a little too skinny to support its weight.
After a fine lunch the ship repositioned to Puerto Balandra, a beautiful bay on the west side of the island with a mangrove-lined tidal basin behind a long sandy beach. Mangroves have mechanisms for removing salt from sea water, and the leaves of the black mangroves around the basin glistened in the afternoon sun from the salt exuded onto their leaf surfaces. Kayakers had the run of the bay, snorkelers cruised the shallow waters off the ship’s fantail, and the divers explored a rocky point at the mouth of the bay. In the cool of the late afternoon, several hearty souls hiked into the interior of this interesting island as far as the ruins of some old buildings that may date from the nineteenth century. Alas, although we kept a weather eye out for the desert bighorn sheep that roam the island, we were not rewarded with a sighting.
As the sun dropped low in the sky, the galley staff came ashore and set up a sumptious sit-down barbeque on the beach featuring wahoo, a delicious local fish, spare ribs, and all the trimmings. The sun set over the shimmering bay, stars emerged in a velvet black sky unsullied by urban lights, and another magnificent day on the Sea of Cortez gradually drew to a close.
Too much of a good thing? Naw, I don’t think so….
