Isla Angel de la Guarda and Baja Peninsula
When we woke up, the Sea Voyager was in front of Angel de la Guarda Island, (the second largest island after Tiburon Island on the Sea of Cortez) and for the first time in days of cruising we saw a sail boat and a couple of sport fishing boats, contrasting with the beautiful desert landscape of the island.
But what is a desert? The common denominator of all deserts is extreme aridity – water is freely available only for short periods following rains, less than ten inches (250 mm) of annual average rainfall. So it is a place where water is severely limiting to life most of the time. Though desert plants and animals must cope with scarce water, the common perception that they are struggling to survive is grossly inaccurate. The native animals and plants are adapted to and usually thrive under these conditions; in fact, most of them require an arid environment for survival. North America has four major deserts: Great Basin, Mojave, Chihuahua, and Sonora, the one that we are exploring on the Sea Voyager.
If you are a tropical biologist from the rain forest of Costa Rica on vacation like me, and searching for a place to go, what can be more attractive than to come up here and live a desert experience? Especially when back home only 3 weeks ago heavy showers of rain were falling for several days.
By 8:30am we all went ashore, and some of the guests decided to climb a slope on their own while the rest of us went on the nature walks lead by the naturalists. One of these walks, led by Steve Engel, focused on the interpretation of tracks left by the wildlife last night. We heard about a snake that came to check the beach out, where an osprey landed, and also ravens that were here among the gull prints. While we were figuring all this out, some one came with wonderful news: Humboldt squids where stuck on the beach, and they where still alive. By some reason that still we don’t understand, these squids have been coming ashore to strand themselves. We pushed some of them away, but they came back. It was amazing to see, not only their big size – about 2 feet long – but also how fast their colors changed when they felt our presence. When we got there, they looked white, and in a matter of 10 seconds they turned to a red color, matching the rock colors that surrounded them. Several activities were organized: sea kayaking, and snorkeling with the juveniles of the California sea lions swimming very gracefully on the water.
During lunch the Sea Voyager started to cruise south through the Canal de Ballenas, with beautiful scenery of red rocks and the parched desert. The anchor was dropped and our afternoon exploration began on Alcatraz beach, which is on the mainland of the Peninsula of Baja California. Some guests decided to do more snorkeling while others went for a land exploration on their own or with the naturalists. Just to finish the day, we enjoyed seeing the desert sunset with cocktails and ceviche. Nothing can compare with this, after a day like today.
When we woke up, the Sea Voyager was in front of Angel de la Guarda Island, (the second largest island after Tiburon Island on the Sea of Cortez) and for the first time in days of cruising we saw a sail boat and a couple of sport fishing boats, contrasting with the beautiful desert landscape of the island.
But what is a desert? The common denominator of all deserts is extreme aridity – water is freely available only for short periods following rains, less than ten inches (250 mm) of annual average rainfall. So it is a place where water is severely limiting to life most of the time. Though desert plants and animals must cope with scarce water, the common perception that they are struggling to survive is grossly inaccurate. The native animals and plants are adapted to and usually thrive under these conditions; in fact, most of them require an arid environment for survival. North America has four major deserts: Great Basin, Mojave, Chihuahua, and Sonora, the one that we are exploring on the Sea Voyager.
If you are a tropical biologist from the rain forest of Costa Rica on vacation like me, and searching for a place to go, what can be more attractive than to come up here and live a desert experience? Especially when back home only 3 weeks ago heavy showers of rain were falling for several days.
By 8:30am we all went ashore, and some of the guests decided to climb a slope on their own while the rest of us went on the nature walks lead by the naturalists. One of these walks, led by Steve Engel, focused on the interpretation of tracks left by the wildlife last night. We heard about a snake that came to check the beach out, where an osprey landed, and also ravens that were here among the gull prints. While we were figuring all this out, some one came with wonderful news: Humboldt squids where stuck on the beach, and they where still alive. By some reason that still we don’t understand, these squids have been coming ashore to strand themselves. We pushed some of them away, but they came back. It was amazing to see, not only their big size – about 2 feet long – but also how fast their colors changed when they felt our presence. When we got there, they looked white, and in a matter of 10 seconds they turned to a red color, matching the rock colors that surrounded them. Several activities were organized: sea kayaking, and snorkeling with the juveniles of the California sea lions swimming very gracefully on the water.
During lunch the Sea Voyager started to cruise south through the Canal de Ballenas, with beautiful scenery of red rocks and the parched desert. The anchor was dropped and our afternoon exploration began on Alcatraz beach, which is on the mainland of the Peninsula of Baja California. Some guests decided to do more snorkeling while others went for a land exploration on their own or with the naturalists. Just to finish the day, we enjoyed seeing the desert sunset with cocktails and ceviche. Nothing can compare with this, after a day like today.
