Bahia Amortajada, Isla San Jose / Isla San Francisco
This morning we took our first glance of the Gulf of California as we sailed through the San Jose Channel, after traveling all night from the southernmost point of the peninsula. During breakfast, we sang the Mexican birthday song to celebrate a couple special dates. Soon after that, we disembarked in San Jose Island. Hiking, Zodiac cruising through the mangroves and kayaking were our morning activities. A remarkable difference between the gulf’s islands and Bahia Magdalena became evident. The magnificent cardon forests, the diverse bird life and the geology of the peninsula and the islands, gave us the opportunity to become part of the Sonoran desert landscape for a moment. This is a magical place capable of giving us satisfaction for the mind and the senses while at the same time makes us feel deep respect for it.
One of the highlights of this morning’s adventures was the diverse life forms that inhabit this complex mangrove ecosystem. We saw invertebrates like jellyfish, and a variety of different fish species, which complete their life cycles in this wetland. Mangroves also provide birds with roosting and nesting sites, because of this we could see a number of herons, egrets, pelicans and many other interesting sightings. Some of us could even see the elusive mangrove warblers, which are considered a sub-species of the yellow warbler. After lunch we continued our cruising, scanning the horizon for distant blows looking for marine mammals. During our short cruising to Isla San Francisco, a humpback whale was seen for several brief moments.
Once on Isla San Francisco, some of us experienced once again the undersea realm, while others explored the island. Another extraordinary day, which could not have had a better finale than a dinner at the beach. A cool breeze, bright stars and a bonfire accompanied my guitar to give ending to one more day of adventure.
This morning we took our first glance of the Gulf of California as we sailed through the San Jose Channel, after traveling all night from the southernmost point of the peninsula. During breakfast, we sang the Mexican birthday song to celebrate a couple special dates. Soon after that, we disembarked in San Jose Island. Hiking, Zodiac cruising through the mangroves and kayaking were our morning activities. A remarkable difference between the gulf’s islands and Bahia Magdalena became evident. The magnificent cardon forests, the diverse bird life and the geology of the peninsula and the islands, gave us the opportunity to become part of the Sonoran desert landscape for a moment. This is a magical place capable of giving us satisfaction for the mind and the senses while at the same time makes us feel deep respect for it.
One of the highlights of this morning’s adventures was the diverse life forms that inhabit this complex mangrove ecosystem. We saw invertebrates like jellyfish, and a variety of different fish species, which complete their life cycles in this wetland. Mangroves also provide birds with roosting and nesting sites, because of this we could see a number of herons, egrets, pelicans and many other interesting sightings. Some of us could even see the elusive mangrove warblers, which are considered a sub-species of the yellow warbler. After lunch we continued our cruising, scanning the horizon for distant blows looking for marine mammals. During our short cruising to Isla San Francisco, a humpback whale was seen for several brief moments.
Once on Isla San Francisco, some of us experienced once again the undersea realm, while others explored the island. Another extraordinary day, which could not have had a better finale than a dinner at the beach. A cool breeze, bright stars and a bonfire accompanied my guitar to give ending to one more day of adventure.
