San Marcos Island and offshore waters
Sunrise found the Sea Voyager just off the northern side of San Marcos Island, its protected waters a perfect place for us to drop the anchor. Immediately after breakfast we went exploring to the upper reaches of the island by hiking up a dry arroyo and groups divided for longer and shorter hikes. The dramatic landscape, with its arid rock formations and scattered plant life provided a wonderful scene where we could think about the myriad of adaptations required for the tough plants and animals that live in the desert. Every now and then we stopped to slowly caress the soft spines of the old-man cactus, watch the occasional black-throated sparrow or smell the sweet fragrance of the desert lavender. We even got the opportunity to admire a beautiful whipsnake, whose gentle disposition allowed us to get a very close view of it. This non-venomous member of the Colubridae family is one of the several reptile species that thrive on San Marcos Island, like the rosy boa, the whiptail lizard and the desert iguana.
After hiking, with the sun high above us, it was time for more refreshing activities and we brave explorers engaged in water sports. Kayakers explored the multiple coves and beaches along the coast, watching ospreys, ravens and even the conspicuous king angelfishes! Snorkelers also saw their share of fish species, including reef cornetfishes, sergeant majors and Mexican goatfishes.
Later on, after a well-deserved lunch, we sailed into the deep, offshore waters between San Marcos and the sleepy town of Santa Rosalía on the peninsula. Clumps of floating seaweed were escorted by numerous brown pelicans and the occasional Mobula ray jumping high out of the water. Then, our patience was rewarded with three magnificent fin whales, the second largest animals on the planet! With their enormous bodies shining bright under the late afternoon sun, they traveled slowly allowing us to admire their majestic forms. After a while we left the whales and attended a very interesting talk on board by Mark Thorpe from National Geographic’s “Critter-cam” team. His exposition about their efforts to deploy one of the instruments on a live sperm whale provided us with insight and ignited our imaginations. As the Sea Voyager turned south, the sun settled behind Baja’s mountainous silhouette as another wonderful day came to an end…
Sunrise found the Sea Voyager just off the northern side of San Marcos Island, its protected waters a perfect place for us to drop the anchor. Immediately after breakfast we went exploring to the upper reaches of the island by hiking up a dry arroyo and groups divided for longer and shorter hikes. The dramatic landscape, with its arid rock formations and scattered plant life provided a wonderful scene where we could think about the myriad of adaptations required for the tough plants and animals that live in the desert. Every now and then we stopped to slowly caress the soft spines of the old-man cactus, watch the occasional black-throated sparrow or smell the sweet fragrance of the desert lavender. We even got the opportunity to admire a beautiful whipsnake, whose gentle disposition allowed us to get a very close view of it. This non-venomous member of the Colubridae family is one of the several reptile species that thrive on San Marcos Island, like the rosy boa, the whiptail lizard and the desert iguana.
After hiking, with the sun high above us, it was time for more refreshing activities and we brave explorers engaged in water sports. Kayakers explored the multiple coves and beaches along the coast, watching ospreys, ravens and even the conspicuous king angelfishes! Snorkelers also saw their share of fish species, including reef cornetfishes, sergeant majors and Mexican goatfishes.
Later on, after a well-deserved lunch, we sailed into the deep, offshore waters between San Marcos and the sleepy town of Santa Rosalía on the peninsula. Clumps of floating seaweed were escorted by numerous brown pelicans and the occasional Mobula ray jumping high out of the water. Then, our patience was rewarded with three magnificent fin whales, the second largest animals on the planet! With their enormous bodies shining bright under the late afternoon sun, they traveled slowly allowing us to admire their majestic forms. After a while we left the whales and attended a very interesting talk on board by Mark Thorpe from National Geographic’s “Critter-cam” team. His exposition about their efforts to deploy one of the instruments on a live sperm whale provided us with insight and ignited our imaginations. As the Sea Voyager turned south, the sun settled behind Baja’s mountainous silhouette as another wonderful day came to an end…
