Not quite live Explorer Mazlatan to Vancouver.

[drron29]

We picked up a hitchhiker on our way to Isla San Pedro.

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But we were missing the usual zodiac conditions-

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We have never had such smooth conditions.

[drron29]

The activity was a zodiac cruise around the Island.It was pretty easy to see why a landing was not on.

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A lot of cacti growing on top.Well fertilised by the guano.

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Many sea lions would be seen.

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But looking behind you also revealed a lot.

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[HappyCamper777]

We picked up a hitchhiker on our way to Isla San Pedro.

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Is that Kate Winslet on the bow and pray tell, do I hear Celine Dion singing "My Heart Will Go On" too?

[Stumblefoot]

But we were missing the usual zodiac conditions-

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We have never had such smooth conditions.

My o' my, what a dream it would be to see those conditions in South Georgia and Antarctica in 2020.

[drron29]

The Sea of Cortez is very young in Geological terms being roughly 5.3 million years old.It is the youngest of seas and one of the most diverse.The San Andreas fault runs down the middle and this is the origin of the sea.It is a rift valley that the sea has filled.Many of the islands show evidence of their volcanic origin in the rocks.

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The bird life is amazing.

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We head for some rocks just off the main island.

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[drron29]

These rocks also host wildlife who are interested to see you.

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We head back to the island.

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[drron29]

Back to those reliable rocks.They dont move so you can always get a good picture.

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But then one of those moments where you are in the right place at the right time.We were the only zodiac to see this.

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[drron29]

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[drron29]

Rocks also form a nice platform for wildlife.

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[drron29]

We meet up with other zodiacs to admire the rocks.

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[drron29]

Birds everywhere.

 

 

And where there are lots of birds there is lots of guano.In the early years of last century this brought many of the locals to this island to harvest it.Here is how they did it.

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These walls were built across places of water run off.the guano was washed down the hill and collected behind the wall.The people came back and collected it.A very labour intensive method so ceased when fertilisers became cheaper.

[drron29]

More guano traps.

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Then back to looking at the rocks.

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[drron29]

Now when you see rocks and water there could be something on them.

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But these are cuter.

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Blue boobies.

But back to rocks.

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[drron29]

Now for ships and pelicans.And rocks.

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[drron29]

There were 5 brown pelicans standing on a rock-

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and if 1 brown pelican should accidentally fly away there'd be 4 brown pelicans standing on a rock-

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Time to head back to the Explorer.

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[drron29]

But the pelicans wanted to make sure we left-

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Safely back.

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[Unibok]

There were 5 brown pelicans standing on a rock-

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and if 1 brown pelican should accidentally fly away there'd be 4 brown pelicans standing on a rock-

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Nice one! You could have a new career in writing children's books ;p

[Stumblefoot]

Nice one! You could have a new career in writing children's books ;p

Ha! And, here I was thinking for a doctor he’s a pretty good mathematician.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drron29]

The next day it was another zodiac cruise.This time Isla San PedroMartir.Our first views of the island.

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A little different as this time-

The zodiacs went in two by two.

Hurrah,Hurrah.

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And soon we were seeing pelicans.

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[drron29]

But back to the rocks.

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But those sea lions kept photo bombing my rocks!

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[jpalbny]

Ha! And, here I was thinking for a doctor he’s a pretty good mathematician.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey now!

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[drron29]

The sea lions wouldn't give up so I gave in.

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[drron29]

Just in time bomber command arrives.

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See how they wheel in over those pesky sea lions beside the other zodiac.

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[drron29]

Finished the day with a hot rocks meal and a wonderful sunset.

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[drron29]

A small break in transmission with a few observations.

First US officialdom.The turn around day in San Diego was horrendous for the staff.We were fine as we went out for a walk,some shopping and a nice seafood lunch.Reboarded ~ 1.30pm and the dining room was still closed as the US authorities had not finished their galley inspection.Those who returned to the ship for lunch had to wait until after 2.30pm for lunch.Those boarding for the cruise to Vancouver had to wait until about 2pm to be able to board.again due to US officialdom/arrogance.

Next on the 3 days to San Francisco virtually no fruit,certainly no berries.Also no grilled tomatoes for breakfast.Last night found out that it was due to the US quarantine officials making the ship throw out fruit and some vegetables that had been loaded in Mexico.

 

Next is the subtle reduction in services.At night instead of having petit fours with one of each for every guest at the table it is now only 1 piece for each guest.At lunch most dishes are very simple-a daily version of a Shepherd's pie and 2-3 stir fries with little animal protein.We are often amongst the last few for breakfast.I am cutting down on the amount of food so generally a small plate of fruit followed by a small plate of cold cuts.,The last 3 days the smoked salmon has been removed before I get back to the buffet.

 

Next is a problem not entirely due to Silverseas.talking to a few onboard who have done several SS Expedition cruises.We all think that the organisation of the various activities is not of the former standard.A lot is due to the explosion of expedition cruising.We are told that at least 24 new builds of expedition ships coming on line in the next 2-3 years.SS is losing experienced staff to these new entrants to this field.Kara Weller for example has now gone to Scenic for their expedition ship Eclipse which is due to launch in August this year.She was of great value and has been followed by other SS staff.

We are lucky on this cruise to have Robin Aiello as one of the expedition team along with Travis who has just rejoined and Chris Habard the birder who is great value.But you do notice little things such as errors in the chronicles which didn;'t happen nearly as often in the past.

 

So there it is off my chest.However still enjoying the experience and we are looking forward to September when we do B2B cruises on the Explorer.But cant help thinking that the loss of experienced staff is likely to continue.