Waterfronts in San Carlos | Mexico

I love the sand ripples from tides and other motions of the water.

Sandbars are great places for seagulls to rest.  A friend and I went to visit the shore one day at low tide, it's when you find all sorts of interesting things.  I don't know for sure, but I believe the object below is a type of nudibranch, a creature somewhat like a snail that is not enclosed in a shell.  They swim by undulating their body.  When I scuba diving years ago, I would see them swimming freely.  Some of these are very colorful, but not this one, unless he changes color once he gets back in the water.  On the left, you can see little stalks, which might contain his eyes, or feelers.

  

The next photo shows something I had not noticed before.  They look like plants that are embedded in the sand, but throughout their stems, they have bits of shells that are stuck to them.  This one shows clearly the shells that are attached.  If anyone knows what these are - please let me know!

Seaweed is one of the items that makes the low tide smell. 

This little track on the sand was made from some sea creature that was dragging a shell.

In another area on a different day, we walked near the bay where boats anchor.  Unfortunately, there are storms in the summer, and this was one of the victims.

There were 3 sailboats beached and abandoned and they have been stripped since.  I find it very sad, since I believe that they were homes for sailors.

This shows part of the anchorage, and the entrance to the marina in the middle.

Everyone loves lobster, we found lots of them with their tails gone.  Of course, that's the edible part.  From what I could tell, they were small and would have been illegal to take in Florida where I used to live.  Obviously, someone had a feast, or filled their freezer, since there were dozens of them.  I guess it's hard to tell them from the rocks unless you know what to look for.

This heron was looking for a meal.

There were some caves up on a steep hill and one of them had some type of brick enclosure.  There's no way to tell how old it was, or what they wanted to use it for, but it was interesting.

The Estuary | Estero el Soldado | San Carlos, Mexico

Last year when I came down to San Carlos, they had this sign up - they were a little later getting it up for this year, but I still like it.

 

This is the estuary in San Carlos, a mangrove-lined lagoon just outside of town. 

As you walk along and get closer to the Sea of Cortez, you'll see sandbars where the sea water comes in.

 

Across the water, you can see this building, which has not been used lately.

 

 

 

This is a sanctuary, so the birds are protected, pelicans are common.

 

 

I love the ripples in the sand made by the water action.

The Tetakawi is visible from here.

 

 

As I walk back to civilization, I find another path to the water and a small rock formation out on the Sea.

 

 

This was a great sunset - not necessarily the same day I walked the Estuary, but definitely a good one.