Santa Catalina Island and Puerto Gatos
As the sun rose behind Santa Catalina, the silhouettes of large cardón and giant barrel cacti gave the island an ethereal atmosphere. We quickly organized ourselves and went hiking along the dry arroyo. As we walked through the abundant vegetation (among which the giant barrel cactus deserved special attention due to its status as the world’s tallest member of its genus), our eyes scanned the ground ahead and under the bushes looking for some of the endemic reptiles that call this island home. While exploring around, we eventually saw several interesting species like the desert iguana, the Santa Catalina chuckwalla and the green side-blotched lizard. Even one rattle-less rattlesnake was spotted! Back on the beach, we enjoyed the submarine realm by snorkeling or scuba diving and saw a variety of creatures, including Cortez garden eels, king angelfishes, crown-of-thorns sea stars, sea cucumbers, Mexican goatfishes and Panamic green moray eels.
Early in the afternoon, we landed in beautiful Puerto Gatos, a sandy beach with gorgeous sandstone formations located on the Baja California peninsula. The magnificent scenery provided the perfect location for some kayaking, with the impressive Sierra de la Giganta on the background. Snorkeling, swimming and beach-combing made the joys of everyone, and for those younger and more adventurous ones the banana-boat proved to be a lot of fun! Once again, the day came slowly to an end, and we all felt privileged for being able to enjoy another wonderful day in the Sea of Cortez.
As the sun rose behind Santa Catalina, the silhouettes of large cardón and giant barrel cacti gave the island an ethereal atmosphere. We quickly organized ourselves and went hiking along the dry arroyo. As we walked through the abundant vegetation (among which the giant barrel cactus deserved special attention due to its status as the world’s tallest member of its genus), our eyes scanned the ground ahead and under the bushes looking for some of the endemic reptiles that call this island home. While exploring around, we eventually saw several interesting species like the desert iguana, the Santa Catalina chuckwalla and the green side-blotched lizard. Even one rattle-less rattlesnake was spotted! Back on the beach, we enjoyed the submarine realm by snorkeling or scuba diving and saw a variety of creatures, including Cortez garden eels, king angelfishes, crown-of-thorns sea stars, sea cucumbers, Mexican goatfishes and Panamic green moray eels.
Early in the afternoon, we landed in beautiful Puerto Gatos, a sandy beach with gorgeous sandstone formations located on the Baja California peninsula. The magnificent scenery provided the perfect location for some kayaking, with the impressive Sierra de la Giganta on the background. Snorkeling, swimming and beach-combing made the joys of everyone, and for those younger and more adventurous ones the banana-boat proved to be a lot of fun! Once again, the day came slowly to an end, and we all felt privileged for being able to enjoy another wonderful day in the Sea of Cortez.
