Living-Estuary San Cosme

2-'04

The tide flows in...the tide flows out. Like a slowly breathing lung the daily lunar pull causes this cradle of sea life to expand... and contract....

Mounded up shoreline rock rubble keep Playa San Cosme sea waves at bay. The narrow channel or stream that connects this mostly calm, unmolested wetland changes directionally heading as el mar rises and falls. A constant source of fresh nutrition makes it way out, makes its way in. This vital nursery, I'm sure, is essential to surrounding eco systems health.

Marcia and I, hunting big blue crabs, have moved against low tide current from mouth of this flowage at the beach...all the way into the lagoon until our feet start to get entrapped in sucking bottom muck. We laughed as schools of small fish c rash and bang into our bare legs, which happens because their numbers are sufficient to stir up bottom silt that obscures our presence in their racing confusion. Lots of crabs, too, especially small ones. But there are big ones of which we allow ourselves maybe one meal's worth a year. Sometimes two.

The bird life there is worth noting, also. With that much life being produced there one would expect it to draw a full list of sea-life predators, as this fine estuary certainly does. Great blue herons, snowy egrets, black-headed turns, king fishers, osprey, greater yellow legs and lots of stiff-legged and very business-like other lumped-together shore birds naturally frequent the rising and falling shoreline.

The Sea of Cortez, which at this moment is suffering along 7quite infirmed and in continuing worsening conditions (don't take my word for this, go ask some down-trodden coastal fisherman. "Very sad, very sad," is what they keep telling me,) can't much afford the loss of any of its live estuaries like this is. On a global scale we can't afford the loss of any more of such places either.

But eradication of this special place, by people who haven't really a clue to the chain of destruction they're feeding, stand ready to turn this pristine place into a "Marina!" Marina San Comse. And I'll have much more to say of that.

Email: david@dondavidonbaja.com