Isla del Carmen
Once more, our trusty expedition leader’s voice woke up us through the Public Voice system announcing whales just after daybreak. Several sperm whales were spotted off the eastern coast of today’s destination, Carmen Island, in surprisingly shallow waters for such deep divers. After a while, we continued sailing in order to reach Arroyo Rojo in time for our morning hikes; however, a closer inspection at the big surf on the site convinced us to move farther south and into the western, more protected side of the island. Once there, the beautiful, white sandy beach at Punta Baja greeted us with calm waters, easy access to the desert plain above and a loggerhead turtle’s skeleton! Immediately we brave explorers divided to do different types of activities, including desert hiking and beach combing. However, our own Ged Caddick’s famous “stationary walk” ended with the biggest number of practitioners, who engaged into sunbathing, swimming and just plainly enjoying life…
Later on, the Sea Voyager sailed north along the island’s western coast on its way to Arroyo Blanco, a wonderful place with white cliffs on each side of a small, cozy beach. Once there, the aquatic activities resumed when almost everyone went snorkeling or SCUBA diving. King and Cortez angelfishes, scissor-tailed damselfishes, sergeant majors, leopard groupers and yellow snappers were seen in numbers on the shallows, while some other, more secretive creatures like spiny lobsters, giant electric rays and nudibranchs were spotted in deeper waters. Among those, the nudibranch Tambja abdere (see photo) was seen while slowly cruising along the reef at a depth of 40 ft. This species is known to secrete copious amount of mucus as a defensive strategy against its number one predator, the closely related sea tiger nudibranch. Once again, we were left with a sense of awe and with more questions than answers after the privilege that is enjoying the wonders of nature up close and personal. But our search for answers could wait, especially when a delicious barbecue dinner at the beach waits for us…
Once more, our trusty expedition leader’s voice woke up us through the Public Voice system announcing whales just after daybreak. Several sperm whales were spotted off the eastern coast of today’s destination, Carmen Island, in surprisingly shallow waters for such deep divers. After a while, we continued sailing in order to reach Arroyo Rojo in time for our morning hikes; however, a closer inspection at the big surf on the site convinced us to move farther south and into the western, more protected side of the island. Once there, the beautiful, white sandy beach at Punta Baja greeted us with calm waters, easy access to the desert plain above and a loggerhead turtle’s skeleton! Immediately we brave explorers divided to do different types of activities, including desert hiking and beach combing. However, our own Ged Caddick’s famous “stationary walk” ended with the biggest number of practitioners, who engaged into sunbathing, swimming and just plainly enjoying life…
Later on, the Sea Voyager sailed north along the island’s western coast on its way to Arroyo Blanco, a wonderful place with white cliffs on each side of a small, cozy beach. Once there, the aquatic activities resumed when almost everyone went snorkeling or SCUBA diving. King and Cortez angelfishes, scissor-tailed damselfishes, sergeant majors, leopard groupers and yellow snappers were seen in numbers on the shallows, while some other, more secretive creatures like spiny lobsters, giant electric rays and nudibranchs were spotted in deeper waters. Among those, the nudibranch Tambja abdere (see photo) was seen while slowly cruising along the reef at a depth of 40 ft. This species is known to secrete copious amount of mucus as a defensive strategy against its number one predator, the closely related sea tiger nudibranch. Once again, we were left with a sense of awe and with more questions than answers after the privilege that is enjoying the wonders of nature up close and personal. But our search for answers could wait, especially when a delicious barbecue dinner at the beach waits for us…
