Isla San Jose and Isla San Francisco, Baja California
Our wake up call came a little later this morning from our E.L. as he allowed us to sleep in a bit longer. After all, it is Christmas day. While we slept, the galley prepared a huge feast for us and first presented us with a festive continental breakfast served in the lounge. Cakes, sweet rolls and fresh fruit were presented on a table with streaming colorful ribbons and blinking lights. Gifts and salutations were exchanged as family members greeted each other. Stockings stuffed with goodies adorned the surfaces of the lounge chairs.
We set our anchor down on the sandy bottom of the Bay of Amortajata. This protected anchorage is located on the south end of Isla San Jose and this habitat is favorable for mangroves to exist. Mangrove swamp communities dominate the world’s tropical and subtropical coastlines. It was very unusual to see giant cardones rising up with spiny arms beyond the smooth waxy leaves of the red mangrove trees.
There was much to see here above and below the water line. White ibis and white-winged doves, little blue and black-crowned herons, and mangrove warblers and a whimberel were some of the birds seen here. Stingrays seemed to fly over the tops of the green algae, and pulsating upside-down jellyfish and a rare spotted snake eel could easily be seen through the clear waters from our Zodiacs.
Upon arriving back at the ship, we discovered that the galley crew had once more been hard at work. A brunch that was fit for three kings and Lindblad guests greeted us as we entered the dining room. Just when it seemed that we would eat all day, we repositioned the ship and arrived in the picturesque half moon-shaped bay of Isla San Francisco. Once ashore, we scattered into different directions or just sprawled out on the sparkling white sandy beach. The tide was falling and with a Christmas full moon conditions were exceptional for tidepooling.
The tide pools of this island are historically interesting; it is here that John Steinbeck collected many organisms for documentation in his famous book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez. We were not disappointed. The underside of the rocks produced a mass of varied organisms including spindly armed brittle stars, sticky sea cucumbers, spiny urchins, colorful sea stars, baby eels, orange peel nudibranch, scorpionfish, live murex and cowries, long stringy worms and other fascinating creatures for our wide-eyed guests.
As we took a moment from our explorations to recollect and gaze seaward, a mobula ray leaped from the water and was soon followed by many others. Back on the beach after a scrumptious Christmas dinner, we huddled close to a roaring fire and sang ballads and Christmas carols under the full moon.
Merry Christmas to everyone from the Sea Bird in the Sea of Cortez.
Our wake up call came a little later this morning from our E.L. as he allowed us to sleep in a bit longer. After all, it is Christmas day. While we slept, the galley prepared a huge feast for us and first presented us with a festive continental breakfast served in the lounge. Cakes, sweet rolls and fresh fruit were presented on a table with streaming colorful ribbons and blinking lights. Gifts and salutations were exchanged as family members greeted each other. Stockings stuffed with goodies adorned the surfaces of the lounge chairs.
We set our anchor down on the sandy bottom of the Bay of Amortajata. This protected anchorage is located on the south end of Isla San Jose and this habitat is favorable for mangroves to exist. Mangrove swamp communities dominate the world’s tropical and subtropical coastlines. It was very unusual to see giant cardones rising up with spiny arms beyond the smooth waxy leaves of the red mangrove trees.
There was much to see here above and below the water line. White ibis and white-winged doves, little blue and black-crowned herons, and mangrove warblers and a whimberel were some of the birds seen here. Stingrays seemed to fly over the tops of the green algae, and pulsating upside-down jellyfish and a rare spotted snake eel could easily be seen through the clear waters from our Zodiacs.
Upon arriving back at the ship, we discovered that the galley crew had once more been hard at work. A brunch that was fit for three kings and Lindblad guests greeted us as we entered the dining room. Just when it seemed that we would eat all day, we repositioned the ship and arrived in the picturesque half moon-shaped bay of Isla San Francisco. Once ashore, we scattered into different directions or just sprawled out on the sparkling white sandy beach. The tide was falling and with a Christmas full moon conditions were exceptional for tidepooling.
The tide pools of this island are historically interesting; it is here that John Steinbeck collected many organisms for documentation in his famous book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez. We were not disappointed. The underside of the rocks produced a mass of varied organisms including spindly armed brittle stars, sticky sea cucumbers, spiny urchins, colorful sea stars, baby eels, orange peel nudibranch, scorpionfish, live murex and cowries, long stringy worms and other fascinating creatures for our wide-eyed guests.
As we took a moment from our explorations to recollect and gaze seaward, a mobula ray leaped from the water and was soon followed by many others. Back on the beach after a scrumptious Christmas dinner, we huddled close to a roaring fire and sang ballads and Christmas carols under the full moon.
Merry Christmas to everyone from the Sea Bird in the Sea of Cortez.
