San Esteban and San Pedro Martir Islands
The pleasurable weather that characterizes the Gulf of California was felt today. The wind brought nice breezes, and it was sunny and warm. With that we disembarked this morning in the beautiful island of San Esteban, home of one extraordinary but vanished branch of the Seri Indians. It is also the evolutionary laboratory where the largest of the North America-native lizards known as chuckwallas live, the variety called “giant’ or “piedbald”. Indeed, the island itself was called Iftecol by the Seris, meaning “the island of the lizards” in relation to these fascinating creatures. As we explored the arroyo, we observed many chuckwallas (some males, and females probably with eggs into their bodies) as well as a close relative: the spiny tailed iguana, also endemic to San Esteban. These lizards were seen at various stages of development, and most of them were just basking under the sun trying to reach the optimal body temperature to initiate their daily foraging. Their expressive heads made us think of living dinosaurs (photo).Endemic nipple and hedgehog cacti and agave, and desert lavender, ragweed, iron wood in flower, cardon with fruits, desert mallows and galloping cacti were among the interesting plants seen during our hikes.
Later, while navigating to the south, a whale shark, three fin whales (second largest creature on Earth) and a pod of common dolphins were observed. Our Undersea Specialist took his camera and dove with the whale shark, showing us (once edited) a spectacular underwater video (photo). Another midriff island visited by us in the afternoon was San Pedro Martir, the most important breeding site for brown pelicans, blue-footed and brown boobies, and red-billed tropic birds (the first bird species seen by Christopher Columbus before arriving to America) . Through journeys around, we penetrated the intimacy of these flying temporal inhabitants. Also, one of the largest colonies of California sea lions is present there, and most of us were delighted by the constant barking and arguing of individual sea lions.
This day full of emotions was closed with the watching of several sperm whales that were just logging at the surface of the endless ocean. When the Sea Voyager approached, they weren't bothered and continued their lazy floating. Tiny calves were observed, with their protective moms swimming alert next to them. The Gulf of California, once again, was kind to us.
The pleasurable weather that characterizes the Gulf of California was felt today. The wind brought nice breezes, and it was sunny and warm. With that we disembarked this morning in the beautiful island of San Esteban, home of one extraordinary but vanished branch of the Seri Indians. It is also the evolutionary laboratory where the largest of the North America-native lizards known as chuckwallas live, the variety called “giant’ or “piedbald”. Indeed, the island itself was called Iftecol by the Seris, meaning “the island of the lizards” in relation to these fascinating creatures. As we explored the arroyo, we observed many chuckwallas (some males, and females probably with eggs into their bodies) as well as a close relative: the spiny tailed iguana, also endemic to San Esteban. These lizards were seen at various stages of development, and most of them were just basking under the sun trying to reach the optimal body temperature to initiate their daily foraging. Their expressive heads made us think of living dinosaurs (photo).Endemic nipple and hedgehog cacti and agave, and desert lavender, ragweed, iron wood in flower, cardon with fruits, desert mallows and galloping cacti were among the interesting plants seen during our hikes.
Later, while navigating to the south, a whale shark, three fin whales (second largest creature on Earth) and a pod of common dolphins were observed. Our Undersea Specialist took his camera and dove with the whale shark, showing us (once edited) a spectacular underwater video (photo). Another midriff island visited by us in the afternoon was San Pedro Martir, the most important breeding site for brown pelicans, blue-footed and brown boobies, and red-billed tropic birds (the first bird species seen by Christopher Columbus before arriving to America) . Through journeys around, we penetrated the intimacy of these flying temporal inhabitants. Also, one of the largest colonies of California sea lions is present there, and most of us were delighted by the constant barking and arguing of individual sea lions.
This day full of emotions was closed with the watching of several sperm whales that were just logging at the surface of the endless ocean. When the Sea Voyager approached, they weren't bothered and continued their lazy floating. Tiny calves were observed, with their protective moms swimming alert next to them. The Gulf of California, once again, was kind to us.
