Islas San Jose and San Francisco
A fan of bright yellow rays silhouetting Isla San Francisco greeted us at dawn and opened our tired eyes to the beauty around us. And beautiful it was as we rode the breaking waves in our Zodiacs across Bahia Amortajada and into the protected and mysterious realm of the mangrove lagoon on the south end of Isla San Jose. Surrounded by walls of intense green leaves of the red mangrove, starkly contrasting with the nearby pastels of the desert scrub, we watched elegant snowy egrets and white ibis perched in the nearby shrubs. A flock of whimbrels on the wing swept by and small stingrays and puffer fish scuttled along the sandy bottom through the clear shallow water.
Mangroves are ecologically important worldwide and provide crucial habitats for crustaceans, juvenile fish, nesting and feeding areas for shorebirds and protection along fragile shorelines.
The protecting arms of the glorious sand beach at Half Moon Bay on Isla San Francisco offered us brilliant opportunities to explore above and below the waters of Baja California. Snorkelers encountered reef cornetfish, king angels, schools of Mexican goatfish and giant damselfishes protecting their territories while kayakers revelled in watching Sally Lightfoot crabs grazing on algae and the always amusing antics of brown pelicans. In the beautiful late afternoon light, we hiked across the island or down the beach and up to the ridge to learn about some of the unusual adaptations of desert plants and to take in the breathtaking views. The last pink bits of twilight were fading as we reluctantly left the beach to head home to our ship riding at anchor in this lovely bay.
A fan of bright yellow rays silhouetting Isla San Francisco greeted us at dawn and opened our tired eyes to the beauty around us. And beautiful it was as we rode the breaking waves in our Zodiacs across Bahia Amortajada and into the protected and mysterious realm of the mangrove lagoon on the south end of Isla San Jose. Surrounded by walls of intense green leaves of the red mangrove, starkly contrasting with the nearby pastels of the desert scrub, we watched elegant snowy egrets and white ibis perched in the nearby shrubs. A flock of whimbrels on the wing swept by and small stingrays and puffer fish scuttled along the sandy bottom through the clear shallow water.
Mangroves are ecologically important worldwide and provide crucial habitats for crustaceans, juvenile fish, nesting and feeding areas for shorebirds and protection along fragile shorelines.
The protecting arms of the glorious sand beach at Half Moon Bay on Isla San Francisco offered us brilliant opportunities to explore above and below the waters of Baja California. Snorkelers encountered reef cornetfish, king angels, schools of Mexican goatfish and giant damselfishes protecting their territories while kayakers revelled in watching Sally Lightfoot crabs grazing on algae and the always amusing antics of brown pelicans. In the beautiful late afternoon light, we hiked across the island or down the beach and up to the ridge to learn about some of the unusual adaptations of desert plants and to take in the breathtaking views. The last pink bits of twilight were fading as we reluctantly left the beach to head home to our ship riding at anchor in this lovely bay.
