Today we woke just north of Isla San Marcos and soon after breakfast went ashore. In the cool of the morning many of us walked up an arroyo sharply cut into Marcos’ steep side. While sandy bottomed, this arroyo was much tighter than the one we saw on Isla Santa Catalina, so the life was very different. Gone were the comparatively luxuriant cardón forests and barrel cactus clusters. Instead we saw naught but a few cactuses, mostly bristly topped, old man cactus. This cactus seems to thrive on rocky slopes. It is unusual in having its own special pollenating moth, which feeds on it alone—a rare case of obligate mutualistic symbiosis. The steep sides of the arroyo were cloaked in wild cotton and many other flowering shrubs.
Later in the morning, we enjoyed water sports. Some went snorkeling, others strode across the sea on paddleboards or tooled about in kayaks. On the way back from the snorkel beach, we spotted whales. Our boats neared them and found a cow and calf grey whale. These whales should be on their way north to the Bearing Sea; these might have been lost, or perhaps were taking the long way home.
Late in the afternoon we docked at Santa Rosalia, a very unusual Mexican town in that it has a strong French flavor. Copper was discovered here in the late 1800s, and a French company mined it. Walking through town we saw buildings with a French colonial style crafted from Douglas fir brought from the Pacific Northwest. Near the center of town is a church designed by Gustav Eiffel—what could be more French than that?! This iron structure was designed as a pre-fab building intended for remote parts of the French colonial world. We saw the church, then walked up the street to the well-known bakery, which is still French in name, if otherwise entirely Mexican. At last we climbed the mesa standing above the town to the Hotel Francis. The hotel, like much of the town, has a certain worn-down, disheveled elegance, and charm. There, in the cool shade of its generous veranda, we sipped margaritas and admired a splendid oceanic vista.
The Gulf of California has rarely-seen delights, both natural and cultural. Many we see only on late-season, Gulf-only trips. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here now.
