Adventures in Mexico!

Yesterday we took a boat ride out to Bird Island, which is also called Isla San Jorge because it is directly across the Sea of Cortez from the city of San Jorge. I got a little queasy on the boat at first but then settled... REALLY settled, I fell asleep! I woke up as we neared the isles, and immediately the smell of bird guano hit me. The island is literally covered from top to bottom in white bird guano, indicative of all the birds that live on and around the isles (hence the name). We also heard the barking of sea lions. Sea lions are sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and having a sagittal crest and females being smaller with no crest. Everyone had a great time and saw some amazing things diving and snorkling. The sea lions would come right up to us and do flips and turns and nibble fins. After we left the isles, a tasty lunch awaited us. Then, it was another 2 hour trip back to shore, during which I wasn't the only one sleeping this time! We went out for pizza (that was honestly better than a lot of places in the states) and came home after a tiring day to sleep. Today, we conquer the Trona salt mines!

Today we all went to the bird island. Some of us went scuba diving and some went snorkeling. Overall we saw many sea lions & swam with them, we were also able to distinguish some different birds. Ate at the end and came home to rest. Enjoyed today's adventure with everyone. (:                                      Alicia Cabrera Olvera 

Sent from my HTC One™ SV

Selfie Time!

Quick selfie before we go on our adventure downtown to do some shopping & eat some dinner! 😋

Rocky intertidal

This first day out we went to a rocky intertidal to find what kind of creatures lived there. We found a lot of sessile organisms like: corals, & sponges. We learned that many organisms like bivalves, limpets, and chitons hide from the outer environment. We always had to be careful of where we were walking because you could fall. We collected the creatures then did a mini lecture of what the animals were, while showing to the other people what we found. I've learned a lot since day one.                                                                                              Alicia Cabrera Olvera

Sent from my HTC One™ SV

Activities here at CEDO

A zebra tail lizard visiting us while our study abroad students tutor each other for other classes! Awesome to see the students working together!
    Dr. C

Yesterday morning we had the opportunity to go through the mud flats during low tide and we saw an abundance of life. From twin spotted octopus to crabs that fought back, and then submerged themselves in the mud very quickly if you attempted to capture them.  There were also hermit crabs and tube worms that made the whole place seem like it was a living organism. The pelicans were routinely browsing the water for fish and had an incredible sized wingspan. The tide came back in quickly and it was a different feeling knowing that in a few hours if you were to continue to stand there you would be 20 feet underwater.

Andrew Smith

Kayaking in Morua Estuary

Today was an awesome experience, kayaking through Morua Estuary. The winds was pretty intense and the waves did not help. I have never kayaked before and ever though I didn't all the way to the site, Dr. C was able to still give me the lecture as were kayaking.

Bryson