Isla San Esteban
Today we enjoyed a beautiful calm day at sea. A big group of people woke up early and practiced light yoga at the sun deck. Later in the morning we went visit Isla San Esteban, chuckwalla residents happily welcomed Sea Voyager guests to the island.
We explored underwater habitats near the southeast point of the island. In the shallow reef we found a variety of sea life such as sea fans, clams, urchins, reef fishes and rays. To our amaze water was warm and visibility was great! Not too deep, about 10 meters down, we found a small colony of jaw fish. This particular specie (Opistognathus rosemblatti) lives in small holes that they build themselves. Males have a vivid coloration pattern that differs from the females. Big clouds of small shrimp covered large areas across the bottom and served as buffet for the jaw fish. They were not very afraid to smile for the camera and we got some incredible shots.
Later in the afternoon we got to visit Isla Rasa where guest got to see the amazing colony of sea birds living on the island. Again, we skipped nap time to watch a typical feeding frenzy of dolphins and sea birds. We decided to explore Salsipuedes Island reefs just next to Isla Rasa. There we encountered the black coral habitat just below 50 feet deep. To our dismay a shrimp boat trawler left a big portion of net stuck in the reef not too long ago. But the reef is still doing ok. Besides the black coral we found a large number of groupers, sheephead fishes and a many species of clams. The light and the colors of the marine life make this habitat a very special place to dive, very unique in the Gulf of California. We closed the day by sitting around the deck for a little chatting and to enjoy watching the amazing sunset just behind Isla Angel de la Guarda. I hope we come back soon.
Today we enjoyed a beautiful calm day at sea. A big group of people woke up early and practiced light yoga at the sun deck. Later in the morning we went visit Isla San Esteban, chuckwalla residents happily welcomed Sea Voyager guests to the island.
We explored underwater habitats near the southeast point of the island. In the shallow reef we found a variety of sea life such as sea fans, clams, urchins, reef fishes and rays. To our amaze water was warm and visibility was great! Not too deep, about 10 meters down, we found a small colony of jaw fish. This particular specie (Opistognathus rosemblatti) lives in small holes that they build themselves. Males have a vivid coloration pattern that differs from the females. Big clouds of small shrimp covered large areas across the bottom and served as buffet for the jaw fish. They were not very afraid to smile for the camera and we got some incredible shots.
Later in the afternoon we got to visit Isla Rasa where guest got to see the amazing colony of sea birds living on the island. Again, we skipped nap time to watch a typical feeding frenzy of dolphins and sea birds. We decided to explore Salsipuedes Island reefs just next to Isla Rasa. There we encountered the black coral habitat just below 50 feet deep. To our dismay a shrimp boat trawler left a big portion of net stuck in the reef not too long ago. But the reef is still doing ok. Besides the black coral we found a large number of groupers, sheephead fishes and a many species of clams. The light and the colors of the marine life make this habitat a very special place to dive, very unique in the Gulf of California. We closed the day by sitting around the deck for a little chatting and to enjoy watching the amazing sunset just behind Isla Angel de la Guarda. I hope we come back soon.
