Isla Monserrat MX (Repost)
Isla Monserrat MX
I will include an article from the Finisterre about Isla Monserrat.
"Highlight on Isla Monserrat: Monserrat is just south of Isla Carmen and Puerto Escondido. Some of the mountains are serrated along the top, giving the island its name. The anchorage is exposed to winds from the northern quadrant, which had been non-existent for quite awhile. Some cruiser friends from Puerto Escondido were anchored there when we arrived. There was space for a number of boats and we tucked in the eastern corner of the bay. The beach of sandstone and volcanic cliffs, dry creek outlets and glistening sand stretched from where we anchored to the western tip of the island. One evening our friends called to us to get in our dingy and as the evening light darkened we zipped around trying to see more of a 30 foot long whale shark. The anchorage and offshore twin islets: Las Gallettas were teeming with life. One sheltered a sea lion haul out with gregarious and noisy sea lions fishing and barking. The other was a treasure trove of things to see when snorkeling. We saw many brilliant fish, an eel, huge sea urchins and numerous starfish of blue, red, many rays, 5-6 rays…. On the way back, Mike got to try out his dingy mounted fish finder and caught two fish one right after the other.
Monserrat was especially beautiful and once again we had a nominee for favorite anchorage. Mainly, it was the changing light and the views back toward Islas Carmen and Danzante. One of the special events of every day at anchor in the Sea of Cortes is the evening and nighttime sky. Monserrat is a special place for skywatching. The gradual changes of color can go on for hours after the sun sets behind the rugged mountains of Baja. The sky goes from yellows to pinks to reds to purples and then fades into semi-darkness with the first stars. Everywhere we have traveled away from large cities we have always been able to see at night because the light of so many stars, even without moonlight, makes the night light up. There are other lightshows to watch as well. The phosphorescence in the water from numerous small plankton and other sea creatures sparkles in the water around the dark hull of the boat, then the stars reflect down into the sea, so that you lose track of the horizon where the sea meets the sky. When you are on a boat this happens all around you and it is not a static show, for at night the creatures in the sea get active, the breeze ripples the reflections, you see silhouettes of other boats, their anchor lights and reflections, sometimes a shooting star and the constellations rotate behind the mountains as you watch. This is the most magnificent show!
Monserrat was a great place to hike up high and one of the most interesting things we heard was the repeated slap of a manta ray way down in the sea below us. The silence is golden and when a sound happens you hear it with great clarity. We were able to see our next destination, Agua Verde from the top of our climb. We had heard there were over 1,000 kinds of cactus in Baja and we saw many more kinds we had not seen before on Monserrat as we hiked back down through the abundant cactus fields along the mesas of the island. This lovely island anchorage is one place you won’t find in the cruising guides."
This is a repost of a previous effort. I have mapped a number of Baja islands, most of them located in the Sea of Cortez. This is one of the many off-shore islands that are desert isles. A number of them have been set aside as protected areas.
Enjoy!
