Puerto Alcatraz, Baja California, México
In a dry, rough desert, it is a miracle to find beauty like this. A short, stunted tree, in the sumac family, in bloom! In the middle of summer! No leaves. This is Baja in the summer. Marvel after marvel. The alluvial fan, created by the suddenly strong chubascos, is covered by desert-adapted plants, living perfectly spaced between each other. Short in supply, nutrients and water force each individual to use one strategy or another to not allow other plants to germinate in its vicinity, thus giving us this lovely “Japanese Garden” view of the flora.
Other plants here were the ocotillo, the Torote Colorado and Incense trees (Bursera spp.), as well as an incredible red-spined barrel cactus, with big, heavy spines so dense, it creates its own shadow over at least 70% of its body. Ooff! And birds and mammals are present also; we saw ‘scratches’ of male California jackrabbits, as well as gnatcatchers and hummingbirds. Yes! Hummingbirds in this harsh environment – a Costa hummingbird showed up to look at the strange group of big animals gawking in the desert!
Earlier we had hiked, swum, snorkeled and kayaked, as well as dove in Puerto Refugio, the northern end of Isla San Pedro Martir, way up in the Gulf of California, where we were the only travelers in sight.
In a dry, rough desert, it is a miracle to find beauty like this. A short, stunted tree, in the sumac family, in bloom! In the middle of summer! No leaves. This is Baja in the summer. Marvel after marvel. The alluvial fan, created by the suddenly strong chubascos, is covered by desert-adapted plants, living perfectly spaced between each other. Short in supply, nutrients and water force each individual to use one strategy or another to not allow other plants to germinate in its vicinity, thus giving us this lovely “Japanese Garden” view of the flora.
Other plants here were the ocotillo, the Torote Colorado and Incense trees (Bursera spp.), as well as an incredible red-spined barrel cactus, with big, heavy spines so dense, it creates its own shadow over at least 70% of its body. Ooff! And birds and mammals are present also; we saw ‘scratches’ of male California jackrabbits, as well as gnatcatchers and hummingbirds. Yes! Hummingbirds in this harsh environment – a Costa hummingbird showed up to look at the strange group of big animals gawking in the desert!
Earlier we had hiked, swum, snorkeled and kayaked, as well as dove in Puerto Refugio, the northern end of Isla San Pedro Martir, way up in the Gulf of California, where we were the only travelers in sight.
