Sierra de la Giganta, the Baja California Peninsula
During the night, the Sea Lion moved northward in the Gulf of California to the vicinity of Isla San Jose. To the east of us, the sky turned magenta, then orange with the light of the impending sunrise. To the west, the morning light reflected off the volcanic layers of the imposing Sierra de la Giganta - the mountains of the Giantess - exposed in cross section when Baja California was ripped from the Mexican mainland. It is one of the most spectacular of the mountain ranges that form the spine of the Baja California Peninsula, and a fitting preamble to the lecture on the geological development of Baja California given later in the morning by geologist and Expedition Leader Jim Kelley.
Our morning destination was Bahia Encantada – the Enchanted Bay – on Isla San Jose for walks up a desert arroyo. Giant cardon cactus, the signature plant of the Southern Sonoran Desert and the largest of all cactus species, shared the slopes with ominous thickets of “galloping cactus” and multi-stemmed organpipes. The fruit of these cacti was important food for the Baja California Indians as they struggled to scratch their subsistence from the arid desert.
Lunch ended abruptly with the call that whale biologist Steve Zeff's sharp eyes on the bow had spotted some peculiar whale blows, not rising vertically as in most whales but squirting forward and off to the side. This is the signature of sperm whales, and so they were. These are the largest of toothed whales and the deepest-diving of all marine mammals, diving for forty minutes or more to capture large squid from the depths and then returning to the surface to restore the oxygen in their tissues before doing it all over again. Each sight of flukes rising into the air as the whales descended brought cheers and the clicking of cameras.
This full day closed with a visit to Puerto Gato on the Baja California Peninsula. Our fleet of kayaks was transported to the beach, and we were able to propel ourselves over the water of the protected bay. As we kayaked and walked to admire and learn about the diverse desert vegetation, our crew was busy preparing a barbecue dinner. It was served ashore in a beautiful red sandstone amphitheater that reflected the light of the setting sun, and thus brought full-circle this memorable day in the Gulf of California.
During the night, the Sea Lion moved northward in the Gulf of California to the vicinity of Isla San Jose. To the east of us, the sky turned magenta, then orange with the light of the impending sunrise. To the west, the morning light reflected off the volcanic layers of the imposing Sierra de la Giganta - the mountains of the Giantess - exposed in cross section when Baja California was ripped from the Mexican mainland. It is one of the most spectacular of the mountain ranges that form the spine of the Baja California Peninsula, and a fitting preamble to the lecture on the geological development of Baja California given later in the morning by geologist and Expedition Leader Jim Kelley.
Our morning destination was Bahia Encantada – the Enchanted Bay – on Isla San Jose for walks up a desert arroyo. Giant cardon cactus, the signature plant of the Southern Sonoran Desert and the largest of all cactus species, shared the slopes with ominous thickets of “galloping cactus” and multi-stemmed organpipes. The fruit of these cacti was important food for the Baja California Indians as they struggled to scratch their subsistence from the arid desert.
Lunch ended abruptly with the call that whale biologist Steve Zeff's sharp eyes on the bow had spotted some peculiar whale blows, not rising vertically as in most whales but squirting forward and off to the side. This is the signature of sperm whales, and so they were. These are the largest of toothed whales and the deepest-diving of all marine mammals, diving for forty minutes or more to capture large squid from the depths and then returning to the surface to restore the oxygen in their tissues before doing it all over again. Each sight of flukes rising into the air as the whales descended brought cheers and the clicking of cameras.
This full day closed with a visit to Puerto Gato on the Baja California Peninsula. Our fleet of kayaks was transported to the beach, and we were able to propel ourselves over the water of the protected bay. As we kayaked and walked to admire and learn about the diverse desert vegetation, our crew was busy preparing a barbecue dinner. It was served ashore in a beautiful red sandstone amphitheater that reflected the light of the setting sun, and thus brought full-circle this memorable day in the Gulf of California.
