BAJA BOUNCE
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GETTING THERE
Our long day of flying began at 4:45 AM when we arose to drive to JIA. All the flights were good and uneventful. We arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico, as expected around 11:00 AM and got through Customs and Immigration smoothly. We were met outside the airport by the Lindblad guides and bus-drivers. Lindblad really does run a good expedition from airport arrival to airport departure.
We were in Cabo about ½ hour (long enough to scope out the food court and find that these were a Subway, Krispy Kreme, and Pizza Hut real authentic Mexican cuisine) before the buses started the ride across the peninsula and over its central mountains to the port city of La Paz, about 3 hours away. We rode in a modern bus (though it had no potty) over a good road all the way. The intervening towns were poorer but not depressing and no one appeared hungry on the streets. The vegetation is all cactus except in the villages where the residents have planted bougainvillea, which thrives here in this hot and dry climate.
The tallest structures on the horizon were the Cardon Cactus plants which are close relatives of the saguaros in the USA Southwest. They are usually a single stalk while young and begin branching at about 4-5 years of age. Usually there are 2-3 “arms” on the older specimens. The weather was much better than we had anticipated with temps in the 80s. We sped along under brilliant blue but cloudless skies enjoying the Sonoran desert scenery.
At about the halfway mark of the drive, we stopped in a small town, Todos Santos, for beverages and a potty break. Los Adobes Restaurante was charming and the limeades were refreshing and thirst-quenching. Many desert and tropical flowers were blooming all around the grounds of the establishment & there were several little benches and tables tucked away among the foliage. It was really a very pleasant stop indeed. Bougainvillea, in several shades from dark purples to salmon to red, and huge hibiscus, were the flowers which seemed to “bloom in the desert” best. And, of course, they had several different species of cactus on display, many of which showed evidence of recent blooming.
The blue Pacific had been on our right-hand side as we approached Todos Santos, but after that little stop, we turned inland and headed over the dry, scorched red and black mountains composed mostly of boulders and arêtes. On the Cardon cacti were able to find footing on those parched shoulders. As the terrain grew more and more arid, the cacti became “leaner and meaner” and we even saw cactus skeletons, proving that even these hardy desert plants can die of thirst.
We reached La Paz about 5:30 p.m. and drove through this little capital of the Mexican state of Baja Sur, seeing several compounds of what we were told consisted of subsidized housing for the poor of the area. The houses were square, flat-roofed, and quite small, but plenty colorful. The local economy depends on fishing and tourism chiefly and the wharf area testified to both activities. It looked much livelier than the rest of the area and there were restaurants, shops, street entertainers, ice cream vendors and balloon men struggling to stay grounded they carried so many bright
floating colors. There were several boats and even ships moored in the harbor and the Sea Bird was among them giving us a blinding white welcome. She is a small expedition ship, only 140’ long, but she appears to be really shipshape and well-cared for. Around her bobbed fishing and shrimping boats of several sizes, none larger than the Sea Bird, and most of them much smaller called “Pangas” here, they are like little rowboats with an outboard motor attached. La Paz Bay is aptly named because the waters were calm and blue so the little boats were really just gently rocking.
ALL ABOARD
As we fell out of the bus and collected our gear to go aboard, we were immediately greeted by the friendly faces and hugs of Rikki and Jack Swenson (photography guides from the Galapagos trip) and Ralph Hopkins, our Expedition Leader here and, before, in the Arctic trip to the polar bears. It was reassuring and fun to see them all again so soon. Ralph must really like the warmer climes better than the Arctic because he seemed much happier and more outgoing all the way through this trip!
We found our rooms with only a little glitch Betsy was assigned to room with the folks in the room next to Kay & Lois in 217 and Sharon and Pat were on the upper deck in 100. The genial purser quickly straightened that out and Pat joined us in 217 (now set up for 3) and Betsy went upstairs with Sharon in a room for two. The rooms are small but compact & we had no problems with the arrangement. And the truth is that we spent very little time in the rooms except to shower and sleep. The Lounge, prow, and aft deck were all much more inviting.
The first activity of the evening was a “Meet and Greet” in the Lounge on the 3rd level where we enjoyed too much champagne and some tasty treats. The naturalists and ship’s officers were introduced and the 59 guests began the tentative getting to know you rituals, usually starting with questions about whether or not you had ever taken another Lindblad cruise. But that’s all right, because whatever your own answer, you soon see that you are now among pretty traveled and mostly interesting folks. Before any of us became obnoxious with champagne “on board,” we were invited into the dining room just across a passageway from the Lounge. The food was delicious, a salad, fish or chicken choice, and chayote for a veggie. We had chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert. Everything certainly looked promising for a happy and well-fed trip and we even found several tables for five. Ah, the joys of expedition travel. Pat, Sharon and Betsy are already learning what a wonderful experience this will be!
Following dinner, we were invited to leave the ship and head for the Malecon (beach boardwalk) to observe the Mexicans at play and do a little shopping, stargazing because even with the town’s lights on, the lights were pretty vivid, and strolling in the balmy tropical air. Kay tried some night pics of people, especially the charming little kids. Then we went back on board, fell into our beds, and prepared for a good night’s sleep after our very long first day. We had been warned at supper that the ship would begin moving around midnight and that we would most definitely hear “anchoring” sounds in the wee small hours. However, we were all too tired to care. So we fell asleep on the M.V. Sea Bird floating on the Sea of Cortez in La Paz Baia.
FIRST ZODIAC RIDES
Like the old song says, “what a difference a day makes!” Seas are swelling and folks are sick including three of our party: Betsy, Pat and Kay. Betsy “lost” her Fosamax before the 6 AM photo zodiac ride to the sea lion colony on Los Islotes, but she went anyway. Pat was completely flattened by the bouncy seas and Sharon took pictures from the deck as we jitterbugged across the waves. Then she was felled and headed to her room and the bed.
Kay huddled on the steps. Betsy zoning. Sharon and Pat smiling. This will change.
The early morning Zodiac ride was a decided improvement over the plunging decks of the Sea Bird and most folks were grateful to be in the smaller craft. The air was fresh and there were so many things angling for attention: sea lions babies, brown boobies with their frizzy white chicks, some blue-footed boobies (not tame like the Galapagos variety though), and even an endemic species, the yellow-legged gull. The cliffs were lava rough and guano splattered but the Sally Lightfoots didn’t seem daunted at all. They clung to the crevices and didn’t let go even when really big waves splashed over them. They are not as bright red-orange as in the Galapagos. However, we could certainly see why the desert islands in the Sea of Cortez can legitimately be called the “mini-Galapagos.”
The tiny islets are composed of ragged reddish rocks and cliff faces split by vertical cracks like columnar basalt. There are fingers of eroded lava pointing sharply into the overcast skies. There is also an “arch” formation where huge waves come crashing through the opening in thunderous rolls producing spectacular clouds of spume. The water is light green and quite transparent when not disturbed by the waves and white caps.
On returning to the Sea Bird, we found both Pat and Sharon “down and out” for the count with the mal de mer. Neither “arfing sea lions” nor Brown Boobie babies held any charms for them. We managed to get Pat to eat a bagel and some Coke and she began to improve enough to emerge from the darkened cabin to see what was happening topside. Sharon began to feel well enough to go on the later “civilized hour” Zodiac cruise to the sea lion colony. Betsy, Kay and Lois all went for the 2nd ride as well even though by now Kay was feeling a “taddy bit” sickly.
The second ride produced a wonderful show for us: a young sea lion cub demonstrated his rock climbing skills by using a crack in a rock to pull and push his way up on top of a big boulder where he wanted to sun himself alongside his mother. He would shoulder into one side of the crack and then hoist his rear up the opposite side, rather like a human rock climber doing the same thing. At one point, he fell back into the surf but it may have been deliberate since he appeared to be repositioning himself for another attempt, this time using his back against the wall and squirming with his front & back flippers until he actually got up on the ledge with Mom.
RESCUE AT SEA
Never let it be said that Lindblad lets these trips become routine. Our afternoon “entertainment” consisted of participating in a real life rescue of a stranded, swamped solo kayaker who radioed for help. He was in a white rental kayak with a nylon skirting (instead of the much better neoprene type) and wore no wet suit. Luckily for him, he had both a radio and a GPS device or he would never have been located. The seas were pretty high and the white caps made it nigh on to impossible to see his kayak as it wallowed low in the water. When he called for help, he was about 6 miles north of our position. The captain immediately dispatched two Zodiacs with two crewmen each to dash forward through really heavy seas to find him. The ship had to switch course and take the waves broadside which made most of the passengers and crew quite ill. However, no one would have wanted the captain to do anything less than whatever it took to rescue the young man.
Locating the fellow took about 45 minutes and he was pretty hypothermic when he was brought aboard the Sea Bird. The ship’s doctor put him immediately in a hot shower for almost an hour to warm him up. The Zodiac crews rescued both young David, the readyto-graduate medical student, and his rental kayak. He was a grateful person but he seemed a little too euphoric about his near disaster. He had started out on his 20-mile open sea “paddle” in flat calm seas, but the storm quickly came up and got him into really big trouble. He was an experienced kayaker with 60 solo trips before this one, but it just goes to prove that the unexpected can come up and surprise even the experienced outdoor person. Later that evening, the ship put the young man ashore at a small Baja city with roads to and communication with the outside world.
After the ship was able to resume a more comfortable course, Pat and Sharon began to feel as good as I did; however, Betsy and Kay were not interested in lunch regardless of the more stable conditions. So the other three of us sipped at some very good clam chowder, ate pastrami sandwiches, and enjoyed peanut butter cookies for dessert. Our lunch conversation centered on the pilot whale Lois and Pat saw during the rescue and on all the fun we were having watching the hundreds of common dolphins cavorting all around us to the horizon.
ESPIRITU SANTO ISLAND
Later in the afternoon, we were able to land on Espiritu Santo Island about 4 p.m. Kay, Pat, Sharon and Betsy joined the “photography walk” and Lois went on the botany walk with Linda Burback. The photographers were lucky enough to see a very speedy black jackrabbit which is the only endemic mammal on this particular island. All of us saw its scat, so even Lois and the other botany walkers knew the critter was here. However, he was too quick for the photographers to capture.
The island has been purchased by the World Wildlife Fund in order to preserve it and to rid it of any exotic species. Because of its position in the Sea of Cortez, it acts has a “catchment” area for all the detritus, flotsam and jetsam (polite terms for garbage) from the city of La Paz. The volunteers and scientists have their work cut out for them here. But the island is definitely worth the effort.
It is covered by low hills with enormous boulders moving down their gently subsiding shoulders. Cardon cacti and century plants are the dominant forms of flora and lizards seem to be the most numerous fauna. Several century plants were blooming and we were amazed at the complexity of their large blossoms. The plants are quite sophisticated as well, causing their male and female parts to become receptive at different times to avoid “incest.” Bats, birds and insects can be the pollinators for century plants. The Giant Cardons are thickly clustered all over the island like a forest of sentinels reaching for the skies. These amazing relatives of our saguaros can live 200300 years in this arid desert which is surrounded by the waters of the Sea of Cortez!
Everyone was grateful in the evening for a relatively calm anchorage for the night and so a nice supper was enjoyed by most of the ship’s passengers after the exhilarating events of this special day: sea lion rock climbers, rescued kayaker, heroic crew and staff, a wonderful desert island walk with spectacular scenery, flora and fauna. All that, and a restful night’s sleep to anticipate.
SAN FRANCISCO ISLAND - HALF MOON BAY
And it turned out just right! We had a calm night with no reason to get up early since we knew that we would be cruising through the morning to make up the distance we had lost in our rescue operations. However, fairly early in the day, Ralph the EL was able to go to Plan C and we anchored in a peaceful bay for landings at Half Moon Bay on San Francisco Island (the same island from which our intrepid, unlucky and yet very lucky, kayaker had started on his aborted 20 mile trip).
First, however, Ralph gave a photography lecture in the Lounge, covering a review of the basics and then some tips on how to make more memorable shots of your travels.
We all joined the photography walk on this island because the leaders were going to climb to the top of a ridge, visit a cactus “garden,” and cross some salt pans. It all sounded too tempting to miss.
The botany walk was to stay basically on the beach area with some forays into the flats behind the beach and the long walkers were going to cover as much ground as possible with no chances to linger over the sights.
The ridge walk was easy and very rewarding because at the top we could see 3 different beaches at the same time. All were dramatic because of the high red cliffs providing the backdrop for the stony and shell-filled golden sands and aquamarine waters. I’m sure the “Camera Cult” was enthralled as were the rest of us. Three beaches in a single panorama is pretty magical anywhere.
The salt pans are actually mined by the locals even today, as evidenced by one sparkling little cone of salt beside the flat pans themselves. We all tasted the salt and it was deeply salty, just as sea salt is reputed to be. The area was absolutely void of any vegetation which was not surprising at all. But after we crossed the pans, we entered an entirely different zone where many tiny, single shafts of plants were thrusting up through the dry and cracked sand flats. Truly astounding proof of the insistence of life on earth even in the most inhospitable of environments. All around was just aridity, tortured and scorched, with these little green exclamation points of life!
Pat looks into the distance of the salt flats
The “cactus garden” contained Sweet Mangrove (which is not a mangrove at all), Salt Bush, Totores (like tiny bonsai plants), both kinds of chollo jumping and galloping as well as desert hollyhocks with whitish purple blooms, and many more improbable little flowers of several colors but mostly purple and white. The surrounding red ridges were also full of cacti, some with flowers on them, and with the bizarre Palo Adan Trees which look like they are kin to Baobab Trees in Africa such fat and swollen trunk and limbs and such tiny and sparse leaves.
Back on board, everyone tried out her own relaxation technique until the cry of “Dolphins!” crackled from the PA system. The sea around us was suddenly teeming with hundreds of these marine athletes, racing the ship, bow-riding, leaping and doing flips out of the sheer joy of life! Interspersed among the waves of “rolling” dolphins were Bryde’s Whales, Sea Lions, and boobies. These dolphins were labelled the long-beaked common type. Many of the dolphins came in pairs, mothers and babies swimming in synchronized formations. When we thought we had seen it all, the show increased in complexity and intensity with these marvelous dolphins leaping, belly-flopping,
breeching, and performing virtual “airs above the sea” like Michael Jordan or the Lipizzaner horses, they could hang in the air so long. Above the churning seas, the birds flew under the tent of the bluest sky decorated with wispy, attenuated clouds. What a sublime experience!
Then lo and behold, we got a repeat performance later on in the afternoon when we were treated to a “feeding frenzy” among the dolphins and their companions. Then we watched as the spontaneous behaviors exhibited earlier today returned but this time with a purpose herding schools of fish into circular formations for easier feeding for the members of the pod, not to mention the pelicans and boobies diving from above.
Now the tail flapping, and slapping of the waters, the leaps, and the speedy swimming spurts made perfectly good sense. The fish were frightened, harassed, and crowded into the spaces the dolphins formed with their circles in the sea.
And what an end to the day brilliant sunset over the scene and then the bursting of the stars into and through the black “big top” enclosing whole dolphin circus!
ISLA SANTA CATALINA
We were onshore at 7:45 AM today and what a shore it was! Geologists call such spots “high energy beaches” because the waves crash so powerfully and relentlessly on them that huge boulders are washed ashore and all sand in bulldozed away. The beach is actually a boulder field rather than a sand pile. This special place is called Isla Santa Catalina and it has been recently adopted by Lindblad Expeditions to help clear it of exotic species and protect its natural ecology. Santa Catalina is an “old” island, meaning that it has not been connected to the mainland in millions of years. That means the flora and fauna have evolved with some differences from others we have seen.
Our exploratory hike took us up an arroyo wash so the hiking was very easy, except that it was hard to keep moving because there was so much to photograph every step of the way. A fresh ocean breeze kept us cool even as the sun rose higher and higher in the cloud free sky. Without that “gift from the sea,” it would have been really HOT on the island.
Among the fascinating creatures we saw were: Emerald-Tailed Lizards (dragging an iridescent green appendage that shimmered in the sunlight), Desert Iguanas (small but very proud and territorial), Side-Blotched Lizards (adorned with lovely green tiny spots on a dark body), Common Chuckwallas (a really large iguana of a dark complexion), Rattleless Rattlesnakes (pink and pretty but pretty deadly even without the warning sounds), Cardinals (just like at home), Doves, Ravens, Ash-Throated Gnatcatchers, Vedrins, Loggerhead Shrikes, and even Kestrels. What a bounty of animal life thriving in such inimical conditions.
Plants too were everywhere on this island: the Palo Verde with bounteous yellow blooms and humming with bees, the Palo Adans, Cardon Cactus and Barrel Cactus, both varieties of Chollo, Sweet Mangrove again, as well as lots of little nameless plants, many with dazzling tiny flowers.
We were back on board by 11:30 AM and then we were treated to another dolphin extravaganza, this time starring a humpback whale who performed a solo for us as well, showing his flukes fairly often and actually leaping completely out of the water for some to see (none of us were among that part of the lucky audience). It must have been a thrilling sight for the privileged because they all looked pretty awestruck.
ISLA SAN MARCOS
Another amazing Baja day! And this was also the night during which we actually experienced bioluminescence even in our toilets!
Our landing site today was Isla San Marcos a geologic specimen of layered rocks like a Joseph’s coat in coloration. The early morning light picked out the detail in the rock formations as well as the amazing variety of hues presented in the rocks. The cliffs are high and rise straight out of the Sea of Cortez, rather forbiddingly, as if they would prefer to hide the secrets of this marvelous desert island. However, Ralph and Capt. Kay know the secret weaknesses in the fortress walls and found us a perfect landing site.
The terrain was familiar in appearance. The desert islands are all volcanic in origin and similar in color. Most of them boast high cliffs as backdrops and boulder strewn shoulders. But this one is decidedly more colorful and more interesting in the hills and cliffs shapes
Our first exciting sighting was a nesting pair of ospreys soaring over the desert how incongruous they seemed since we think of them as fishing in fresh water and there certainly was none of that anywhere nearby. Then, while we were digesting that surprise, we saw a pair of nesting great blue herons. That seemed more outlandish still,
but there they were and seemed to be doing a good parenting job at that. As if that were not strange enough, we actually sighted a ground squirrel which has not been seen on this island before and is not mentioned in any of the guides to the life on this island! The naturalists were pretty shook up at this finding. The unexpected continued to unsettle us as we came upon a feral goat giving birth before our startled eyes. Some new birds were added to our life lists; the saucy Phainopepla. Ladderback Woodpeckers were in evidence both aurally and visually. We saw chuckwallas, lizards, and even a rattlesnake! We enjoyed an afternoon of whale-watching as Sperm Whales and Fin Whales swam about the boat.
Thar She Blows
Fin whales do not show much of themselves above the water, even though they are the second largest whale on the planet. However, they ride low in the water and only their distinctive small dorsal fin way back on their bodies makes us sure we are seeing that species. The sperm whales are more obliging and reveal much more of their big bodies, especially those wonderful flukes which they seem to enjoy displaying to the “ooohs and aaaahs” of the peculiar creatures on the ships that pursue them now with cameras rather than harpoons.
As the evening slowly darkened, we were treated to two more marvels of nature. First, we watched the sea, the backs of the whales and dolphins, the rims of the cliffs on the islands surrounding our little ship all silvering in the last rays of the sun! How could this be when just yesterday, the sunset had rained down golden light on everything. Now the world appeared silver and platinum. What a magician this Baja California sun has proved to be.
In the sudden full darkness, we were further amazed to see ghostly shapes rushing under the water towards to the bow of the ship. These “holographic” apparitions were amorphous but glowing steadily. Occasionally, we would see the moon of a jellyfish in the water as well. But the naturalists assured us that the shapeless patterns of light in the water was real bioluminescence the result of the disturbance of microscopic creatures of the sea who give off light in their perturbed states. To us, it looked like the ghostly dancers in the “Haunted Mansion” at Disneyworld. We were told to flush our toilets in the darkness when we returned to our rooms for another show.
Obedient passengers that we are, of course we did just that. The water in the toilet bowl glowed with numerous clumps of green bioluminescence because the ship uses seawater for its wastewater like that in the toilets! What a pretty sight in such an unpretty site.
ISLA ANGEL DE LA GUARDA
Sunrise landing again, but the sky was not particularly cooperative our scenes were pretty but not overwhelming how quickly we get used to the spectacular and are disappointed at the merely “pretty.” However, the great rock faces that reared up at our approach to Isla Angel de la Guarda were fascinating in their geologic varieties of patterning, faulting, layering, contorting. The geology demonstration grew more & more dramatic as the sun rose and pointed out all the textures and angles. The naturalists were amazed to see what appeared to be palm trees at the higher elevations of the cliffs. There were even some apparent palm trees on the horizon line. So the naturalists became very interested in staging an impromptu landing here to check out the accuracy of their eyes and identifications. None of them had ever landed on this island before!
So around 8 AM we began loading the Zodiacs for a short excursion and exploration. And sure enough, the island contained many specimens of the Mexican Blue Palm! All looked healthy and thriving in this inhospitable spot. Many other plant species were present as well and we were all really enchanted with the flora here against the background of multicolored bluffs and buttes in the island’s interior. We went as far as
one particularly “kodachromic” amphitheater type formation. Then reluctantly, we turned back towards the ship and our sail towards the very special Isla Rasa.
ISLA RASA
After lunch, we were privileged to land on this preserve which is the rookery for 90% of the world’s Heerman’s Gulls and something like 90% of the world population of Elegant Terns. This island is “governed” by a very special lady (Dr. Enriqueta Velarde) who has been working with the birds here for 25 years, monitoring the populations, protecting the habitat, and fiercely guarding the birds from human predation during the nesting season. Not only did we have to secure her permission for the landing, but the tides had to be “high” enough for us to navigate the lagoon leading to the landing spot. Luck was with us and the Zodiacs floated free in the shallow waters right up to where the “guardian angel” was awaiting us.
We were given instructions on how to visit this wonderful “flat” volcanic island without negatively impacting the nesting birds. We had to walk single file, observe the ground closely for eggs on or near the pathway, avoid any behaviors which might drive a bird from its nest or prevent it from returning to the nest, and stay close together. The only admonition we were NOT given was to maintain silence. The sound of birds was so deafening we humans could not have really added anything significant to the constant cacophony.
The Heerman’s gulls are handsome birds with dramatic black and white markings and red beaks. They seemed unafraid of us and would stay on their nests as we passed. They did yell us often howsoever; perhaps they really didn’t appreciate our visit. It is truly bewildering to see so many birds nesting so closely together half a million of these gulls cover the island. Their eggs are a beige color with speckles which closely imitate the rocky ground on which they are laid excellent camouflage.
If the Heerman’s Gull was amazing, the elegant terns nesting together in a central rift in the island were staggering. They are even closer together than the gulls and are in constant motion with some birds heading out to sea and others returning to feed chicks who are screaming all the time. How the parents can find their own particular babies is an unsolved and consuming mystery! The whole bleached-white rift floor on which they nested was turned grey by the enormous numbers of these terns. It was deafening and blinding to look at their rookery.
We did get to do some shopping before we left Rasa because the volunteer biologists run a little shop where you can purchase T-shirts, etc., with Isla Rasa printed on them to help support the research carried on here every year. The World Wildlife Fund and the Mexican Fund for Nature also support the work.
A little Zodiac ride around the small island showed us the galloping chollo which create an effective barrier to landing on this protected spot. Anyone who managed to climb up the boulders at the seashore would be “clawed bloody” by the intimidating cactus fencing. During the ride, we saw peregrine falcons, eared grebes, cormorants, royal terns, and Sally Lightfoot crabs all living their lives on this strange and special island.
ISLA SAN ESTEBAN
Once again, we were up early (5 AM) for a 5:30 Zodiac ride to Isla San Esteban for sunrise views, with backlighting, of the cardon cacti silhouetted against the blazing sun as it arose and decorated with yellow-legged gulls on top.
The true photographers really enjoyed the challenge of capturing the lighting, the atmosphere, and the beauty of this early morning show, but others of us just stared and appreciated the magic of sunrise. No creatures were stirring this early in the morning, but some humans were taking strange postures and doing little pain dances if they happened to back into the jumping chollo or many other prickly growths they were walking among. Betsy fell while taking an “art shot” and got a cactus spine in her knee. Someone else had a closer encounter with one of the vicious plants and needed the doctor to help tweeze the spines out of her hand.
The sunrise crew returned to the Sea Bird for breakfast and then Zodiacs began to take everyone back to shore at 9 AM We stayed on the island until noon and saw an amazing number of birds, reptiles, and plants. But the special quarry for this visit had to be the “Christopher Wren-tailed chuckwalla”. There were many of them on the island and everyone got good shots. This large iguana is mostly white with black on its shoulder area. Its lengthy tail really does resemble the “wedding cake” effect of many of the 17th century British architect’s church steeples and spires. This large reptile is adept at running up the cardon cacti and eating their blossoms which are in full bloom at present. They also hunt for delicate vegetation on the ground and in scree slopes like pika.
This island is dryer and less colorful than others we have visited but it had its charms nonetheless because of the chuckwalla hunt. We sailed by Isla San Pedro Martir to see the Red-Billed Tropic Birds and we were happy to count so many of these snow-white birds with the vivid red beaks and long, streaming tail feathers.
This island is a Biosphere Reserve and humans are not allowed to land on it and fisher-folk are discouraged from plying their trade in the waters around the island. Therefore, the tropicbirds, phalaropes, and brown boobies who chiefly “own” this place seem to be thriving there. We took aboard a couple of scientists who are in the process of educating the local peoples about the important of the marine reserve portion of the Biosphere to their continued fishing livelihoods.
The afternoon was spent searching for marine mammals and we definitely hit the “mother lode” of sperm whales, in the form of two sessions of interactions with nursery pods mothers and babies. The whales were most cooperative in showing their flukes often and in swimming both near and far from us. They remain on the surface of the sea longer & more consistently than other whales so we were able to observe lots of behaviors “logging”, spouting, diving, fluking, etc. It was wonderful and the photographers were happy to have contests trying to see who could get shots of the most flukes in one frame.
Five seemed to be the record! The whole ship’s passenger list must have been out on deck for this last day of “whale-watching” and the relief on the faces of Ralph and Captain Kay proved how happy they were to finally have “produced” a whale extravaganza!
We had a Captains Farewell Dinner which was quite good, but Pat did not partake because she had gotten seasick again sitting in the Lounge. The videographer showed his partially complete chronicle of the trip to encourage everyone to buy the DVD and we all “bit” of course (the FF group only got one among us). It will be a good souvenir of this happy expedition.
HERMOSILLA AND HOME
On Sharon’s birthday, we had to leave the lovely M.V. Sea Bird and end our short love affair with Baja California. We docked at Guaymas on the west coast of the mainland of Mexico and some folks started their flights home from that old port city. Others of us had to be transported by bus again, this time to Hermosilla, a more inland city. The ride took a couple of hours and the bus driver was kind enough to drop us at the Holiday Inn where we had reservations for the night rather than make us find a taxi for 5 people from the airport where most people were headed. Our flight didn’t leave until 7 AM on the twenty-fifth.
First, though, the bus driver had to fix the clutch on the bus because he could not get it to go into gear. Apparently, he was an old hand at this process because he soon had it working properly and took us the very long way to the Holiday Inn.
We found a nice little restaurant (The Broadway Café improbable name) for our lunch and then went back to our rooms at the very nice hotel.
Some of us went down by the pool to read, others napped in a non-rocking beds, and still others watched TV after the long “drought.”
We had arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport at 5:30 AM for our 7 AM flight, so after dinner at the hotel, we all went to bed fairly early.
The airport was filled with uniformed young girls who were returning from a tournament of some sort of handball. Our airplane was also full of these athletes. Our flight to Monterrey was smooth and they even fed us. Later, we caught our American Airlines flight from Monterrey to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Then to Jacksonville on American. All flights were uneventful and we got home safe and sound and tired around 11 p.m. EST.
We all enjoyed “bouncing” around Baja!
