Today was our first day exploring the Gulf of California. We navigated north from Puerto Escondido through the night and encountered a pod of common dolphins before making our landing this afternoon at Isla San Marcos. From the ship, the landing looked dry, dusty and a bit withered. Once we stepped ashore and started walking up the dry arroyo, a miniature desert garden greeted us. Blue morning glory, yellow desert cotton, pink beach pea, and purple nightshade were all part of the floral rainbow. Numerous bits and pieces of bleached bones, fish skeletons and colorful shell fragments caught our attention as well. A Zodiac cruise along the shoreline was our farewell to the island later in the afternoon.