Today we were blessed by another fantastic day. The winds were almost absent, and the seas were calm. On days like today, we have the freedom to visit whichever place we want, no matter which direction it is facing. Punta Colorada is one of those magnificent sites, which we can only visit during nearly perfect weather, since it is exposed towards the predominant winds. We had a wonderful morning full of activities, but yet relaxing. We enjoyed exploring Isla San Jose by foot, by kayak, paddleboard, and snorkeling.
One of the highlights of the day was the time spent inspecting the uplifted ocean floor deposits. Here we found numerous bones from ancient whales, dolphins, and even remains of long-gone sea cows, or manatees.
Later in the day, after a few hours of sailing southwards through flat calm seas, we arrived at Los Islotes. This California sea lion colony is the southernmost in the Gulf of California, and here we had the chance to get in the water and pay a visit to these interesting marine mammals. Not only are the sea lions a highlight, but also the multitude of fish that live here. Many Cortes chubs, yellow-tail surgeonfish, blue and yellow snappers, giant damsels and scissor tail damsels were seen, among many other species. Although the sea lions were not particularly interested in our presence today we enjoyed some close encounters with a few juvenile sea lions. The water temperature was quite mild, and we had a nice underwater experience in Los Islotes.
Later on, when the light was magical, we embarked our expedition landing craft to sail around the red islets. We had a very pleasant and interesting outing where we could get close to the sea lions and a number of seabirds that use the rocks as an ideal place to spend the night away from terrestrial predators.
