Ensenada Grande and Bahia San Gabriel, Isla Espiritu Santo
A following sea pushed us south from Isla San Francisco to a protected anchorage within a cove named Ensenada Grande. Isla Partida and the adjacent island are crossed by numerous fault lines that terminate on the northwest side in small picturesque beaches of light colored sand. Some are too shallow for our ship, but a few are perfect. Our view was of multiple layers of beige to reddish volcanic tuff laid down in explosive eruptions from 12 to 24 million years ago.
The hiking route is challenging and climbs about 600 feet up through a boulder strewn canyon. Many of the energetic hikers made their way to a saddle that looks out over the white-capped seas of the gulf. The wind whistled through the gap and down the canyon to make for perfect hiking weather. Those on shorter hikes stayed in the lower section of the canyon and had time to look at many of the cactus species and other vegetation. Probably the strangest cactus of all was the pencil-thin Peniocereus. It grows out from under other plants so is particularly difficult to find.
The Zodiacs' route explored the rugged shoreline. Volcanic layers were everywhere. Pieces of ejecta from violent explosive eruptions stuck out of the tuff where they landed in like the chunks in butter brikle ice cream during a meltdown. From a protected area of smooth water we watched big waves crash into a headland and were glad we didn’t have to cruise north.
We had grand plans for the afternoon, but the ocean swells gave us the opportunity to explore. In true expedition style we pulled into the shallow Bahia San Gabriel, a place none of us had been before. A low afternoon tide made this well protected anchorage a special challenge. Zodiacs full of hikers landed in a little cove within a few hundred feet of shore. The scenery was untouched and spectacular. We soon found a bottlenose dolphin skull partly buried on the sandy beach. We examined the amazing adaptations these cetaceans have gone through in the last 55 million years. We moved on in a series of discoveries that led us to mangroves that lined one side of the beach. The sandy intertidal area had intricate patterns of low wet and higher drying sand. This large cove was all ours. There was no trace of anyone ever having used it. Today’s photograph shows the mangroves surrounding a small lagoon, one of our hiking groups and the sandy intertidal area. There would have been room for you too. We wish you were here.
A following sea pushed us south from Isla San Francisco to a protected anchorage within a cove named Ensenada Grande. Isla Partida and the adjacent island are crossed by numerous fault lines that terminate on the northwest side in small picturesque beaches of light colored sand. Some are too shallow for our ship, but a few are perfect. Our view was of multiple layers of beige to reddish volcanic tuff laid down in explosive eruptions from 12 to 24 million years ago.
The hiking route is challenging and climbs about 600 feet up through a boulder strewn canyon. Many of the energetic hikers made their way to a saddle that looks out over the white-capped seas of the gulf. The wind whistled through the gap and down the canyon to make for perfect hiking weather. Those on shorter hikes stayed in the lower section of the canyon and had time to look at many of the cactus species and other vegetation. Probably the strangest cactus of all was the pencil-thin Peniocereus. It grows out from under other plants so is particularly difficult to find.
The Zodiacs' route explored the rugged shoreline. Volcanic layers were everywhere. Pieces of ejecta from violent explosive eruptions stuck out of the tuff where they landed in like the chunks in butter brikle ice cream during a meltdown. From a protected area of smooth water we watched big waves crash into a headland and were glad we didn’t have to cruise north.
We had grand plans for the afternoon, but the ocean swells gave us the opportunity to explore. In true expedition style we pulled into the shallow Bahia San Gabriel, a place none of us had been before. A low afternoon tide made this well protected anchorage a special challenge. Zodiacs full of hikers landed in a little cove within a few hundred feet of shore. The scenery was untouched and spectacular. We soon found a bottlenose dolphin skull partly buried on the sandy beach. We examined the amazing adaptations these cetaceans have gone through in the last 55 million years. We moved on in a series of discoveries that led us to mangroves that lined one side of the beach. The sandy intertidal area had intricate patterns of low wet and higher drying sand. This large cove was all ours. There was no trace of anyone ever having used it. Today’s photograph shows the mangroves surrounding a small lagoon, one of our hiking groups and the sandy intertidal area. There would have been room for you too. We wish you were here.
