Many of us chose to begin the day quite early with a dawn walk up a scenic red rock canyon on Isla Carmen, aptly named "Arroyo Rojo." Here we encountered a fascinating array of desert plants, including numerous flowering cacti. The most startling find of the morning, however, was an impromptu coffee bar set up in the arroyo by the ship's crew to greet the hikers as we returned to the landing site.
The remainder of the morning was spent cruising the waters along the eastern shore of Isla Carmen, where we found several large fin whales. One of these great creatures surfaced repeatedly so near to the ship that we could clearly hear its immense exhalations and inhalations.
Our afternoon was spent at Isla Catalina, where this photo was taken, one of the most beautiful of the gulf islands. Here many of us went snorkeling to view the undersea world. We also hiked ashore in the beautiful late afternoon light to look at birds, and to admire the splendid array of cacti that grow here in profusion.
