Isla Monserrat
Calm seas set a happy tone for the day. In places, the glassy water allowed us to see fish jump, devil rays perform flips and sea lions stare curiously at us as they swam by. We cruised along Isla del Carmen and then out to sea. Here the ocean floor drops abruptly to over 2000 feet and continues eastward to over a mile deep. Pairs of Craveri’s murrelets flew past. We passed small groups of Bonaparte’s gulls floating here and there as pelicans glided by, their wing tips just millimeters from the water. These odd-looking birds ride on a cushion of air to extend their glide much farther than flying higher above the water’s surface. We saw a distant blow from a large whale, but it never reappeared.
Our afternoon adventures were at Isla Monserrat. Kayaking was superb along an interesting shoreline of partly submerged rocky reefs that extended out from a sandy beach. Large sandstone boulders, recently separated from adjacent bluffs, lined the shore. The flat terraces above the shoreline were uplifted segments of an old seafloor. Those on hikes passed fossil scallop shells that were either sticking out of beige rocks or were stacked and sorted into layers alternating with sandstone deposited within an ancient sea.
The hurricane that hit Loreto in October dropped 120 centimeters of rain in 24 hours, and its effects were striking here. Hikes led into the island’s interior and wound through a verdant desert garden. Algodon or desert cotton seemed to gush with green leaves, the cardon cacti had been fattened with water and every palo blanco offered enough shade to make us want to linger there.
Snorkelers departed from the beach, so we all had plenty of time to get as much fish watching as we wanted. The water was clear, and boulders gave plenty of places for fish to be seen or to hide. Large Cortez angelfish were the highlight for many.
What kind of an outdoor place would you want to spend New Years Eve? A warm night would be good, possibly on a sandy shore. A spectacular sunset that slowly unfolded might be too much to ask for. If that were possible then you’d want a comfortable place to watch it from. Good food with family and friends would help. When it became dark a campfire would be cheery with maybe a quiet guitar, some singing and s’mores. I’d want clear skies and no light pollution with so many stars you couldn’t count them all. And most of all, I’d want not a care in the world.
Calm seas set a happy tone for the day. In places, the glassy water allowed us to see fish jump, devil rays perform flips and sea lions stare curiously at us as they swam by. We cruised along Isla del Carmen and then out to sea. Here the ocean floor drops abruptly to over 2000 feet and continues eastward to over a mile deep. Pairs of Craveri’s murrelets flew past. We passed small groups of Bonaparte’s gulls floating here and there as pelicans glided by, their wing tips just millimeters from the water. These odd-looking birds ride on a cushion of air to extend their glide much farther than flying higher above the water’s surface. We saw a distant blow from a large whale, but it never reappeared.
Our afternoon adventures were at Isla Monserrat. Kayaking was superb along an interesting shoreline of partly submerged rocky reefs that extended out from a sandy beach. Large sandstone boulders, recently separated from adjacent bluffs, lined the shore. The flat terraces above the shoreline were uplifted segments of an old seafloor. Those on hikes passed fossil scallop shells that were either sticking out of beige rocks or were stacked and sorted into layers alternating with sandstone deposited within an ancient sea.
The hurricane that hit Loreto in October dropped 120 centimeters of rain in 24 hours, and its effects were striking here. Hikes led into the island’s interior and wound through a verdant desert garden. Algodon or desert cotton seemed to gush with green leaves, the cardon cacti had been fattened with water and every palo blanco offered enough shade to make us want to linger there.
Snorkelers departed from the beach, so we all had plenty of time to get as much fish watching as we wanted. The water was clear, and boulders gave plenty of places for fish to be seen or to hide. Large Cortez angelfish were the highlight for many.
What kind of an outdoor place would you want to spend New Years Eve? A warm night would be good, possibly on a sandy shore. A spectacular sunset that slowly unfolded might be too much to ask for. If that were possible then you’d want a comfortable place to watch it from. Good food with family and friends would help. When it became dark a campfire would be cheery with maybe a quiet guitar, some singing and s’mores. I’d want clear skies and no light pollution with so many stars you couldn’t count them all. And most of all, I’d want not a care in the world.
