At approximately 11:30 AM the anchor was dropped and Zodiacs followed shortly there after! Our late morning destination was a walk through the sand dunes over to Sand Dollar beach on the Pacific Ocean side of Isla Magdalena. Also offered were more moderately paced walks through the dunes and along the shoreline of Bahia Magdalena.
As we made our way in our various directions, exploring this unique and complex dune-mangrove ecosystem many small details began to rise like central life forces within both sand and plant communities. The large box-thorn shrubs that stabilize the sand dunes were teaming with life! Not only were the shrubs decorated in a lacework of lichens but in and around each hummock were literally hundreds of small white-footed mousy footprints. There was a veritable highway between patches of mangrove across sand and then under the lycium shrubs.
These small rodents (Peromyscus eremicus polypolius) make their living in large numbers through out this dune environment on Isla Magdalena. Their footprints can be found on any day when the wind is light, or an observant hiker finds a box-thorn shrub protected from the constant pacific winds. These mice feed on seeds, nuts and insects and will store their cache in nests within the protection of shrubbed hummocks throughout the sand dune environment. Soon we found ourselves moving at a very slow pace pondering the smallest detail that links land with animal, plant, air, sun and sea.
