Espiritu Santo Island Complex, Baja California Sur
The western world has woven tales of longing and romance that reach fulfillment upon this day in what might otherwise be a dreary month. They say, and who knows if it is true, that if one gazes upon the sun as it is swallowed beneath the horizon and sees a flash of green, the observer will forever be lucky in the realm of love. Could that same fortune be true if, as the red of the morning sky parts to admit the rising sun, a sliver of blue and a wedge of green hang within its orb? If so, this day began with a positive omen indeed.
A cacophony of sounds abound at the tiny islets of Los Islotes. From the guano-frosted cliffs, high-pitched whistles of male blue-footed boobies echoed. Periodically the female’s deep moaning could be heard. A peak into their “bedrooms” showed courtship was well underway. Bright blue feet flashed in a boobie dance. Pointed heads and tails stretched skyward and wings gracefully arched, all the better to prove one’s worthiness to the opposite sex. Below, the gentle sea lapped at the edges around molded tumbled rocks where California sea lions draped their pliable forms. Bulls gruffly barked warnings at subordinate males. Turf was being claimed. Harems were being collected. Females, heavy with developing fetuses, still fed pups from last year. A few months from now, a new generation will join the frolicking young. Immediately afterwards, the males will be rewarded for their Valentine’s Day song. Yellow-footed gulls were vigorous and vocal, but they were still early in their annual cycle to pass their genes along. They seemed more intent upon staring out to sea. Frequently their chosen spot for constructing a feather-lined nest is the same that we might select for a happy honeymoon.
White sandy beaches embracing turquoise coves always seem to figure prominently in wedding magazines or novels or shows that evoke those passionate feelings that occur when boy meets girl and lives happily ever after. The island complex where we were today then ought to be an oasis of emotion, for its entire western edge is indented with fingering coves that seem to beckon one inward. We selected the southern end of the largest island in the complex, Espiritu Santo for our afternoon’s adventures. Couples and friends silently slipped from the white sandy beaches, pairs waltzing together with the rhythm of their kayak paddles. Behind the bermed shoreline others meandered, marveling at the rapid germination of tiny annual flowers that have only a blink in time to produce their seeds and at the dual methods of reproduction of the armored agave plants.
The end of a dreamy Valentine’s Day surely must include a bonfire on the beach following a feast with wine and beer. And it did!
The western world has woven tales of longing and romance that reach fulfillment upon this day in what might otherwise be a dreary month. They say, and who knows if it is true, that if one gazes upon the sun as it is swallowed beneath the horizon and sees a flash of green, the observer will forever be lucky in the realm of love. Could that same fortune be true if, as the red of the morning sky parts to admit the rising sun, a sliver of blue and a wedge of green hang within its orb? If so, this day began with a positive omen indeed.
A cacophony of sounds abound at the tiny islets of Los Islotes. From the guano-frosted cliffs, high-pitched whistles of male blue-footed boobies echoed. Periodically the female’s deep moaning could be heard. A peak into their “bedrooms” showed courtship was well underway. Bright blue feet flashed in a boobie dance. Pointed heads and tails stretched skyward and wings gracefully arched, all the better to prove one’s worthiness to the opposite sex. Below, the gentle sea lapped at the edges around molded tumbled rocks where California sea lions draped their pliable forms. Bulls gruffly barked warnings at subordinate males. Turf was being claimed. Harems were being collected. Females, heavy with developing fetuses, still fed pups from last year. A few months from now, a new generation will join the frolicking young. Immediately afterwards, the males will be rewarded for their Valentine’s Day song. Yellow-footed gulls were vigorous and vocal, but they were still early in their annual cycle to pass their genes along. They seemed more intent upon staring out to sea. Frequently their chosen spot for constructing a feather-lined nest is the same that we might select for a happy honeymoon.
White sandy beaches embracing turquoise coves always seem to figure prominently in wedding magazines or novels or shows that evoke those passionate feelings that occur when boy meets girl and lives happily ever after. The island complex where we were today then ought to be an oasis of emotion, for its entire western edge is indented with fingering coves that seem to beckon one inward. We selected the southern end of the largest island in the complex, Espiritu Santo for our afternoon’s adventures. Couples and friends silently slipped from the white sandy beaches, pairs waltzing together with the rhythm of their kayak paddles. Behind the bermed shoreline others meandered, marveling at the rapid germination of tiny annual flowers that have only a blink in time to produce their seeds and at the dual methods of reproduction of the armored agave plants.
The end of a dreamy Valentine’s Day surely must include a bonfire on the beach following a feast with wine and beer. And it did!
