Our second full day in the waters of the Sea of Cortez started with an amazing view of Los Islotes silhouetted against a multicolored sky: shortly before sunrise the entire eastern sky turned pink, then red and bright orange for a wonderful few minutes. Then we headed towards the southern side of the small islet known as Los Islotes to drop the anchor and get ready for a morning full of water activities.
Los Islotes is part of the Mexican protected areas system and the northernmost portion of the Espiritu Santo Island Biosphere Reserve. No fishing is allowed around the small rock and the marine life abounds. It is also home for a small colony of California sea lions, the only pinniped that breeds in the Sea of Cortez. We got the chance to watch them at leisure from our expedition landing craft as we circled the islet shortly after breakfast; numerous immature guys, almost a year old, were active swimming around us showing a very obvious curiosity towards the strange creatures making those funny clicking noises from the top of those strange black floating things. Calmer and sleepier mature females endured their pregnancy while resting on the rock, whereas a few sub-adult males made noisy calls trying to claim a territory. We also saw several different kinds of birds, including both brown and blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, brown pelicans, Brandt’s cormorants, and great blue herons. But the most surprising sighting of the day was a single sub-adult male Guadalupe fur seal, member of a species that lives off the Pacific coast of northern Baja. The species was heavily hunted during the 1700s and 1800s but now is recovering and some individuals show up inside the Sea of Cortez every year.
After cruising around Los Islotes, we went snorkeling with the sea lions; the clear waters were very tempting and many of us had a great time watching them. Their speed and agility underwater rivals that of any fish and we really understood how totally adapted they are to the marine realm. We also had the chance to watch the abundant fish life that lives there, from the occasional solitary giant hawkfish or bumphead parrotfish, to big schools of scissortail damselfishes, yellowtail surgeonfish, or blue-and-gold snapper.
During the afternoon we went ashore at Ensenada Grande, a beautiful long cove on the northwest side of Isla Partida Sur, not far from Los Islotes. There we divided into different groups and went snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding, which was followed by a delicious dinner ashore, including a bonfire and s’mores, ending another great day in Baja California.
