Isla Danzante and Loreto, B.C.S.
Sunrise greeted us from behind the silhouette of Isla Danzante (“the dancer” island), one of the five main islands of the Bahia de Loreto Marine Park in Baja California Sur. Soon after breakfast we were ready to depart for a Zodiac cruise around the island. Our Zodiac cruises brought more bird sightings than we could have anticipated. An osprey carrying a large fish towards its nest was being chased by a yellow footed gull. Then we heard the call of a pair of American oystercatchers, beautiful birds that use their long bright orange beaks as a tool to open oysters and clams. Spotted sandpipers rapidly cruised along the surface of the water while we watched eared grebes diving in front of our boat; a great blue heron observed us from a cave by the shore as we photographed groups of brown pelicans resting on large rocks. Double-crested cormorants and snowy egrets found a little place amongst the pelicans; a peregrine falcon calling; the perfect glide of a magnificent frigate bird, a passing Bonaparte’s gull; a pair of beautiful Heermann’s gulls, and an elegant tern skimming the surface of the water for fish.
We exchanged stories over a delicious lunch, while our ship navigated towards Puerto Escondido, our port of disembarkation for the afternoon. We boarded mini-vans that drove us to the town of Loreto, “historical capital of the Californias”. At Loreto we found out that such title comes from being the first place where colonization by the Spaniards took off in this region of Mexico. The Jesuit priests Padre Kino and Padre Salvatierra built the first mission here in 1697. They continued their work expanding the missions in all the territory of the Californias. The missions were linked by a stone path, the “Camino Real” or “King’s Road”. Today, the missions in the main towns and cities of the peninsula are the main cathedrals, and several of the missions in the King’s road have been restored as historical monuments.
The present peoples of the peninsula are dedicated ranchers, fishers or entrepreneurs, and Loreto has bloomed as one of the main ports of departure for nature seekers. The locals claimed for the protection and conservation of the marine and island resources. A Marine Park was decreed in 1996. Scuba diving, sport fishing, kayaking, hiking and camping are offered, while only local fishermen are permitted to carry on with small scale fishing operations.
In the past three days, we have had the opportunity to explore the marine park as well as the town of Loreto. A dynamic discussion with the natural history staff at the end of the day filled up the gaps and enticed us to look forward to another exciting day here at the marvelous Gulf of California.
Sunrise greeted us from behind the silhouette of Isla Danzante (“the dancer” island), one of the five main islands of the Bahia de Loreto Marine Park in Baja California Sur. Soon after breakfast we were ready to depart for a Zodiac cruise around the island. Our Zodiac cruises brought more bird sightings than we could have anticipated. An osprey carrying a large fish towards its nest was being chased by a yellow footed gull. Then we heard the call of a pair of American oystercatchers, beautiful birds that use their long bright orange beaks as a tool to open oysters and clams. Spotted sandpipers rapidly cruised along the surface of the water while we watched eared grebes diving in front of our boat; a great blue heron observed us from a cave by the shore as we photographed groups of brown pelicans resting on large rocks. Double-crested cormorants and snowy egrets found a little place amongst the pelicans; a peregrine falcon calling; the perfect glide of a magnificent frigate bird, a passing Bonaparte’s gull; a pair of beautiful Heermann’s gulls, and an elegant tern skimming the surface of the water for fish.
We exchanged stories over a delicious lunch, while our ship navigated towards Puerto Escondido, our port of disembarkation for the afternoon. We boarded mini-vans that drove us to the town of Loreto, “historical capital of the Californias”. At Loreto we found out that such title comes from being the first place where colonization by the Spaniards took off in this region of Mexico. The Jesuit priests Padre Kino and Padre Salvatierra built the first mission here in 1697. They continued their work expanding the missions in all the territory of the Californias. The missions were linked by a stone path, the “Camino Real” or “King’s Road”. Today, the missions in the main towns and cities of the peninsula are the main cathedrals, and several of the missions in the King’s road have been restored as historical monuments.
The present peoples of the peninsula are dedicated ranchers, fishers or entrepreneurs, and Loreto has bloomed as one of the main ports of departure for nature seekers. The locals claimed for the protection and conservation of the marine and island resources. A Marine Park was decreed in 1996. Scuba diving, sport fishing, kayaking, hiking and camping are offered, while only local fishermen are permitted to carry on with small scale fishing operations.
In the past three days, we have had the opportunity to explore the marine park as well as the town of Loreto. A dynamic discussion with the natural history staff at the end of the day filled up the gaps and enticed us to look forward to another exciting day here at the marvelous Gulf of California.
