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Daily Journal

ESSMY

Day 6

Our day started off with Stasia, our
esteemed naturalist, playing tricks on the cooks.

Ester got even!

When the trick was played on Norma,
her response was a little more forceful.

We headed out to Los Isolotes, the sea lion rocks, hoping
to snorkel with these amazing creatures. However, the winds
were picking up and it made it impossible for us to snorkel.

Enroute a couple of young sea lions were frolicking in the waves.

Once back at the anchorage we noticed a very large yacht had pulled
in. The name of the yacht is the Attessa and is owned by a billionaire,
Dennis Washington, whose fortune comes from the ownership of Seaspan.

The yacht is 225 ft. long and has all sorts of
toys such as the helicopter on the uppermost deck.

The hull was so shiny we could see our reflection in it.

After exploring the Attessa a few of us went hiking.

The group poses around a Cardon cactus.

Amelie discovers an Aguave cactus in bloom.

A lizard quietly looks on.

A view from the top of the ridge.

The Attessa with two other ships in the background.

The larger of the two boats, in the background, is the
Fiesta (left) the other ship is slightly smaller at about 65 ft.

As we made our way down an arroyo we spotted a chipmunk.

As we went in search of the chipmunk we
found a naturally eroded dugout in the sandstone.

After lunch we headed to the beach for a mid afternoon snorkel.

Once we donned our gear and hit the water in search of
marine life we had yet not encountered. We were not disappointed.

A Sharpnose Puffer

A Zebra Moray eel slithers by.

Just above the water line a Sally Lightfoot crab looks on.

Jesse and a few of the students join
the naturalists in search of an elusive eel.

Finally, we find the Cortez Garden eels.

Paolo, one of the crew, fishes for lunch and dinner.

By lunch he had caught four large
trigger fish. For lunch we had as fish tacos.

Paolo fishing was very successful and for supper
we had, baked fish, broccoli in cheese sauce, rice and salad.

The breakfast was most satisfying. Eggs, potatoes mixed with sausage. Of course with tortillas and beans! Our day was planned out and we spent part of the morning watching the wind. The boat started moving as we were on our way towards the sea lion rocks, to see if we would be snorkeling with them today. It’s not that long of a trip, but it took about an hour to get there. It seems the winds have created quite a stir in the ocean, as the waves began to grow in size. We ventured out onto the bow to obtain a better experience, and were not disappointed. The ‘Titanic thing’ was almost like a roller coaster, going up and down the many waves, some were big and splashed the side of the boat. We arrived at the rocks and the waves had gained size so no snorkeling with the sea lions today. We returned to the safety of the calm bay we left.

As an alternative, some of us went hiking in the mountains around where we anchored. We saw many cacti, and heard crickets or lizards, Lela was not sure exactly what was chirping. After throwing rocks in near bottomless chasms, we descended a dried riverbed and explored the carved sandstone. We spotted a chipmunk and followed it into a natural dugout in the sandstone. We waited our fair Panga driver to return us to the Fiesta.

For lunch we had fresh Fish tacos. Impressive. Caught by our fair Panga driver.

We ended up snorkeling, again, at Lela’s beach. There were more fish to encounter. We explored a bit of the island and saw hundreds of small skittering sand crabs. Back aboard the Fiesta, we lazed around until supper.

For supper our talented chefs Norm and Ester made a most delectable buffet of fish, vegetables, rice and salad.

We worked on our workbooks for a while. Boring. I grow tired of these green devils. A slide show was given to summarize the last three days. (Thumbs up) It seems that it is time to retire for the day. An early retreat is in order. I’m fairly exhausted from the days adventures.

Day 1 and 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 - part 1 | Day 4 - part 2 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 and 8

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