Los Islotes & Isla Espiritu Santo
True expeditions set out with a plan to get from point A to point B, but throughout the course of a journey, how one reaches that final destination can take many convoluted routes. For the last week we, the guests of Sea Voyager, have taken a voyage which started at the very northern end of the Gulf of California and wound its way south down the coasts of the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico. We have explored island after island probing deeply, not until they surrendered all their secrets, but rather until we were happily exhausted with the knowledge we had extracted. Although it is our last day, today would be no different, and most were up at sunrise, eagerly awaiting what the day would bring.
From its top to the base below the waves, the volcanic rocks of the tiny island of Los Islotes are a habitat for a variety bird, mammal, and fish species. Brown and blue-footed boobies, great blue herons, and even the peregrine (reportedly the fastest bird in the world) all use these elevated cliffs as nests. Following the guano covered slopes as they descend into the blue-green water, hundreds of fish species can be found amongst the large boulders lining the coast, perhaps the most striking of which is the King Angelfish. Its bright orange tail trailing, this fish is one of the few who make a regular diet of sponges (many sponges have toxic substances which help protect them from predators), and help to control the sponge species diversity and their potential to monopolize the reef surface.
Sponges aside, the real reason we have come to Los Islotes is not in the boulder reef, nor the cliffs above, but rather the rocky ledges and outcroppings lying close to shore, because here is where the California Sea Lions rest and play. The California Sea Lion is the circus performer of seals. Incredibly agile as well as intelligent, they have a habit of being curious and rambunctious with each other as well as visitors to their play pen. We found this out first hand, as we jumped into the water with hopes of merely catching a glimpse of these animals underwater, receiving a whole lot more. The displays were amazing, as one minute the seals showed us their elegance, holding poses mid water-column, gracefully twisting and turning (sometimes upside down) performing an underwater ballet. But certainly they wouldn’t let us leave without a display of their incredible speed and nimbleness, rising and falling from the bottom to the surface, making high speed passes within inches, but never touching us. Inherently curious, a few others wanted a closer encounter with the funny visitors in masks, testing to see exactly what kind of creature we were with gentle nips and soul-searching looks into the eyes.
With a morning like that, one would think we deserved a leisurely afternoon, and we did have one – of sorts. This afternoon we visited the southeastern point of Isla Espiritu Santo and the exquisite white sand beach of Bahia Bonanza. A welcomed breeze blew softly in from the sea, as we set off on hikes across the sand dunes in search of lizards, nesting birds, and the many plant species which cover the island. Many of us decided to be truly decadent and stayed on the beach where we “rested” while snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, and beach-combing. We did occasionally need a natural history ‘fix,’ and were able to get one without expending too much energy, as small fish visited us in the shallows, and sea birds roamed the beach and the sky around us.
As with the explorers who have come before us, all great expeditions must come to an end, and as the moon rises over the Baja Peninsula this last evening on Sea Voyager, we can’t help feeling a bit melancholy as we gaze out upon the water we have come to know so personally over the last week.
True expeditions set out with a plan to get from point A to point B, but throughout the course of a journey, how one reaches that final destination can take many convoluted routes. For the last week we, the guests of Sea Voyager, have taken a voyage which started at the very northern end of the Gulf of California and wound its way south down the coasts of the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico. We have explored island after island probing deeply, not until they surrendered all their secrets, but rather until we were happily exhausted with the knowledge we had extracted. Although it is our last day, today would be no different, and most were up at sunrise, eagerly awaiting what the day would bring.
From its top to the base below the waves, the volcanic rocks of the tiny island of Los Islotes are a habitat for a variety bird, mammal, and fish species. Brown and blue-footed boobies, great blue herons, and even the peregrine (reportedly the fastest bird in the world) all use these elevated cliffs as nests. Following the guano covered slopes as they descend into the blue-green water, hundreds of fish species can be found amongst the large boulders lining the coast, perhaps the most striking of which is the King Angelfish. Its bright orange tail trailing, this fish is one of the few who make a regular diet of sponges (many sponges have toxic substances which help protect them from predators), and help to control the sponge species diversity and their potential to monopolize the reef surface.
Sponges aside, the real reason we have come to Los Islotes is not in the boulder reef, nor the cliffs above, but rather the rocky ledges and outcroppings lying close to shore, because here is where the California Sea Lions rest and play. The California Sea Lion is the circus performer of seals. Incredibly agile as well as intelligent, they have a habit of being curious and rambunctious with each other as well as visitors to their play pen. We found this out first hand, as we jumped into the water with hopes of merely catching a glimpse of these animals underwater, receiving a whole lot more. The displays were amazing, as one minute the seals showed us their elegance, holding poses mid water-column, gracefully twisting and turning (sometimes upside down) performing an underwater ballet. But certainly they wouldn’t let us leave without a display of their incredible speed and nimbleness, rising and falling from the bottom to the surface, making high speed passes within inches, but never touching us. Inherently curious, a few others wanted a closer encounter with the funny visitors in masks, testing to see exactly what kind of creature we were with gentle nips and soul-searching looks into the eyes.
With a morning like that, one would think we deserved a leisurely afternoon, and we did have one – of sorts. This afternoon we visited the southeastern point of Isla Espiritu Santo and the exquisite white sand beach of Bahia Bonanza. A welcomed breeze blew softly in from the sea, as we set off on hikes across the sand dunes in search of lizards, nesting birds, and the many plant species which cover the island. Many of us decided to be truly decadent and stayed on the beach where we “rested” while snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, and beach-combing. We did occasionally need a natural history ‘fix,’ and were able to get one without expending too much energy, as small fish visited us in the shallows, and sea birds roamed the beach and the sky around us.
As with the explorers who have come before us, all great expeditions must come to an end, and as the moon rises over the Baja Peninsula this last evening on Sea Voyager, we can’t help feeling a bit melancholy as we gaze out upon the water we have come to know so personally over the last week.
