Isla del Carmen and Isla Santa Catalina
We spent an amazing day exploring two islands off the coast of Baja California Sur. Isla de Carmen was our morning’s destination and we were welcomed there by a playful group of bottlenose dolphins. Right after breakfast, most of us went quickly ashore to enjoy a hike in the beautiful Arroya Rojo, which several guests claimed as their favorite shore place so far. The arroyos we find on these islands are perfect for us because they afford easy walking and have the greatest concentration of interesting flora and fauna. A south wind made conditions pleasantly cool for us ashore …so much so, that the ‘long hikers’ stayed out for four hours!
By mid-afternoon, the Sea Voyager had anchored off the western shore of Isla Santa Catalina (originally known as Isla Catalana on the early charts and maps). This island was isolated very early on when the Sea of Cortez began to form some twenty million years ago, and as a result it has the highest rate of endemism, or uniqueness, among the floral and faunal species found on any of Mexico’s islands. We could see this immediately, even before the ship was anchored, simply by observing the giant cardon cacti with their incredible concentrations of great arms reaching for the sky (see photo), as well as numerous gigantic barrel cacti covering the hillsides. Once we were ashore here, we were able to view many of the endemic species up close, including a couple small rattleless rattlesnakes hiding in the underbrush. This amazing little snake species has obviously evolved from the red diamond rattlesnake found on the peninsula, but has given up the use of rattles because it has existed so long on this isolated island where there are no hoofed grazing mammals that need to be warned away with a buzzing rattle sound. Energy-expensive body structures and/or abilities that are no longer needed for survival are often lost through successive generations…think of flightless birds, hairless whales, legless lizards, rattleless rattlesnakes, etc. This is truly an amazing place and has been referred to as the Galápagos of the Sea of Cortez due to its obvious evolutionary experiments. Unfortunately, the introduction of a few non-native species, especially cats and rats, has had serious deleterious effects on the native flora and the fauna. So Lindblad Expeditions has officially adopted this island with the intention of returning it to its natural state within a period of five years. The predatory feral cats are now gone and already many of the small ground animals (including 10 species of endemic reptiles) are showing signs of rapid population recoveries. The rats are next on the list.
Our day ended with a big barbecue on the beach complete with tables and chairs and a full bar where we watched the sunset, drank Margaritas, gnawed on barbecued ribs, and enjoyed some star-gazing after dark. It was hard convincing some of the guests and staff that they had to return to the ship so we could sail southward for tomorrow’s destination.
We spent an amazing day exploring two islands off the coast of Baja California Sur. Isla de Carmen was our morning’s destination and we were welcomed there by a playful group of bottlenose dolphins. Right after breakfast, most of us went quickly ashore to enjoy a hike in the beautiful Arroya Rojo, which several guests claimed as their favorite shore place so far. The arroyos we find on these islands are perfect for us because they afford easy walking and have the greatest concentration of interesting flora and fauna. A south wind made conditions pleasantly cool for us ashore …so much so, that the ‘long hikers’ stayed out for four hours!
By mid-afternoon, the Sea Voyager had anchored off the western shore of Isla Santa Catalina (originally known as Isla Catalana on the early charts and maps). This island was isolated very early on when the Sea of Cortez began to form some twenty million years ago, and as a result it has the highest rate of endemism, or uniqueness, among the floral and faunal species found on any of Mexico’s islands. We could see this immediately, even before the ship was anchored, simply by observing the giant cardon cacti with their incredible concentrations of great arms reaching for the sky (see photo), as well as numerous gigantic barrel cacti covering the hillsides. Once we were ashore here, we were able to view many of the endemic species up close, including a couple small rattleless rattlesnakes hiding in the underbrush. This amazing little snake species has obviously evolved from the red diamond rattlesnake found on the peninsula, but has given up the use of rattles because it has existed so long on this isolated island where there are no hoofed grazing mammals that need to be warned away with a buzzing rattle sound. Energy-expensive body structures and/or abilities that are no longer needed for survival are often lost through successive generations…think of flightless birds, hairless whales, legless lizards, rattleless rattlesnakes, etc. This is truly an amazing place and has been referred to as the Galápagos of the Sea of Cortez due to its obvious evolutionary experiments. Unfortunately, the introduction of a few non-native species, especially cats and rats, has had serious deleterious effects on the native flora and the fauna. So Lindblad Expeditions has officially adopted this island with the intention of returning it to its natural state within a period of five years. The predatory feral cats are now gone and already many of the small ground animals (including 10 species of endemic reptiles) are showing signs of rapid population recoveries. The rats are next on the list.
Our day ended with a big barbecue on the beach complete with tables and chairs and a full bar where we watched the sunset, drank Margaritas, gnawed on barbecued ribs, and enjoyed some star-gazing after dark. It was hard convincing some of the guests and staff that they had to return to the ship so we could sail southward for tomorrow’s destination.
