Cruising, Snorkeling & Hiking at Isla Santa Catalina
The National Geographic Sea Lion left the dock in the city of La Paz, capitol of Southern Baja, one of the 31 states in the country of Mexico, at approximately 7:30pm. As dinner was being served, our floating home made her way out of the large city harbor heading north. The NG Sea Lion gently rocked us to sleep, our dreams filled with anticipation of the next days exploring the Gulf of California.
At sunrise, as several of us made our way to the bow, NG Sea Lion was cruising north off of Isla Montserrat. The Loreto Marine Park lay just ahead of us, a rich area for upwelling of nutrients. Possibilities of finding marine mammals were extremely good!
Just after breakfast radio chatter on our ship began in earnest. The bridge crew had spotted a large pod of dolphins and our ship turned sharply and made her way towards what appeared to be a very large group of Common dolphins. We were located off of the northeast corner of Isla Carmen. We were cruising south and, due to unusual westerly winds, we were able to get around sections of this large island searching in areas of the surrounding seas that can be hard to navigate due to more common winds coming out of the north. In a short time the waters around the NG Sea Lion were boiling with Common dolphins. They appeared to be milling about, as one of the naturalists described their behavior, and if NG Sea Lion increased her speed a little, several animals would come in and ride the pressure wave created by the bow of the ship, while other dolphins would surf the waves created by the sides and stern of the ship. For more than an hour the bridge officers maneuvered, making a series of figure eights in and around this large pod of Common dolphins.
Announcements were soon made about the remainder of our morning’s activities and the necessity to move on towards our afternoon destination, which was visible in the distance. The backlit shadow of Isla Santa Catalina was some two hours to the south of the NG Sea Lion’s present location, and it was time to get underway moving towards new adventures in the sea and on land.
During lunch, several of our natural history staff and deck crew anchored a snorkel boat in preparation for our first opportunity to see and experience the underwater world of the Gulf of California. From wetsuits to good walking shoes, we moved from the sea to the desert and took our first hikes in the unique world that is the Southern Sonoran desert.
Santa Catalina is particularly interesting, being the most outside of the southern Gulf islands, largely granitic, and home to one of the most unusual, healthy cactus forests found in the Sonoran desert. The giant barrel cactus, which is endemic to Santa Catalina stands anywhere from three to nine feet in height and is often nestled in and around Cardon cacti over 30 feet tall.
We spent our afternoon exploring the lush growth created by late fall storms and marveling at this strange combination of vines, cacti, small drought deciduous trees and the occasional burst of color added to the landscape by the winter ephemerals.
All too soon it was time to return to the National Geographic Sea Lion for our evening activities. As the last Zodiacs were being stowed on board our ship, the sky began to move towards sunset. The mountains of the Baja peninsula were silhouetted by the westerly setting sun as a red to pink sky spread out over the Gulf of California, bathing everything in its presence in a warm glow just before slipping under the darkness of night and a blanket of stars.
The National Geographic Sea Lion left the dock in the city of La Paz, capitol of Southern Baja, one of the 31 states in the country of Mexico, at approximately 7:30pm. As dinner was being served, our floating home made her way out of the large city harbor heading north. The NG Sea Lion gently rocked us to sleep, our dreams filled with anticipation of the next days exploring the Gulf of California.
At sunrise, as several of us made our way to the bow, NG Sea Lion was cruising north off of Isla Montserrat. The Loreto Marine Park lay just ahead of us, a rich area for upwelling of nutrients. Possibilities of finding marine mammals were extremely good!
Just after breakfast radio chatter on our ship began in earnest. The bridge crew had spotted a large pod of dolphins and our ship turned sharply and made her way towards what appeared to be a very large group of Common dolphins. We were located off of the northeast corner of Isla Carmen. We were cruising south and, due to unusual westerly winds, we were able to get around sections of this large island searching in areas of the surrounding seas that can be hard to navigate due to more common winds coming out of the north. In a short time the waters around the NG Sea Lion were boiling with Common dolphins. They appeared to be milling about, as one of the naturalists described their behavior, and if NG Sea Lion increased her speed a little, several animals would come in and ride the pressure wave created by the bow of the ship, while other dolphins would surf the waves created by the sides and stern of the ship. For more than an hour the bridge officers maneuvered, making a series of figure eights in and around this large pod of Common dolphins.
Announcements were soon made about the remainder of our morning’s activities and the necessity to move on towards our afternoon destination, which was visible in the distance. The backlit shadow of Isla Santa Catalina was some two hours to the south of the NG Sea Lion’s present location, and it was time to get underway moving towards new adventures in the sea and on land.
During lunch, several of our natural history staff and deck crew anchored a snorkel boat in preparation for our first opportunity to see and experience the underwater world of the Gulf of California. From wetsuits to good walking shoes, we moved from the sea to the desert and took our first hikes in the unique world that is the Southern Sonoran desert.
Santa Catalina is particularly interesting, being the most outside of the southern Gulf islands, largely granitic, and home to one of the most unusual, healthy cactus forests found in the Sonoran desert. The giant barrel cactus, which is endemic to Santa Catalina stands anywhere from three to nine feet in height and is often nestled in and around Cardon cacti over 30 feet tall.
We spent our afternoon exploring the lush growth created by late fall storms and marveling at this strange combination of vines, cacti, small drought deciduous trees and the occasional burst of color added to the landscape by the winter ephemerals.
All too soon it was time to return to the National Geographic Sea Lion for our evening activities. As the last Zodiacs were being stowed on board our ship, the sky began to move towards sunset. The mountains of the Baja peninsula were silhouetted by the westerly setting sun as a red to pink sky spread out over the Gulf of California, bathing everything in its presence in a warm glow just before slipping under the darkness of night and a blanket of stars.
