Gulf of California: Near Isla Carmen, then Ashore at Isla Santa Catalina
When we awoke this morning, we were just south of Isla Carmen. Sunrise provided dramatic lighting for the impressive cliffs and mountains to our west on the Baja peninsula. We searched these waters during the morning for marine mammals, and our searching was rewarded with wonderful views of short-finned pilot whales! There were about 30 of them swimming slowly near the ship, periodically diving, perhaps hunting for food, then surfacing and swimming once again near the vessel. We were delighted with the close views as groups of male whales, and groups of smaller females swam near our ship. Conditions were ideal for viewing these small, toothed whales.
We cruised to the south to Isla Santa Catalina, a beautiful island that is home to several species that are found nowhere else, including the rattleless rattlesnake, and a giant barrel cactus. Many of us began our explorations next to aptly named Elephant Rock, where we slipped underwater with mask, snorkel, and swim fins, and found king angelfish, hogfish, sergeant majors, wrasses and many other species. Sally Lightfoot crabs scurried just above the water line, while yellow-footed gulls stood on rocks and laughed. We returned to the ship to change into dry clothes, and then we explored the land portion of this intriguing island.
The giant, branching cardon cacti were full of water, their accordion pleats seemed ready to burst! Giant barrel cacti towered 6 feet, some were as tall as 8 or 9 feet. Tiny purple-pink desert lupine flowers grew in the sand of the arroyo. Red flowers of mistletoe were hidden on larger shrubs. We paused at different plants to study their adaptations to this desert habitat, where rain is normally a very scarce resource. We occasionally heard birds, or found a nest, or woodpecker hole. As we looked more closely, we found more to explore.
