Visit to Cardon Catus Sanctuary - February 18

Cardon Cactus Sanctuary near San Jose de Guaymas, Sonora

As part of the tour itinerary offered by the owners of Rancho Pitahaya, the organic Dragon Fruit farm near San Jose de Guaymas, guests are led in a convoy of vehicles to a Cardon Cactus Sanctuary to walk amongst these giants and stand in awe. 

Pachycereud pringlei or Cardon cactus, is native to the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur.  "Cardo" in Spanish refers to "thistle".  With reference to Wikipedia, we learned the Cardon is the tallest cactus species in the world.  It displays a large diameter trunk from which branches grow upward, but very slowly.  We were advised that the cacti we were viewing were hundreds of years of age in many cases.

Although referred to as a 'sanctuary', there are no fences nor means of protecting the plants; there were ATV and other vehicle tracks throughout our trek.  Our guide Greg took great pains to ensure we did not touch nor in any way disturb the site and we parked together and walked our way through the forest.  The afternoon was very overcast and grey which is reflected in the following photos.  The mood of the visitors was exited and impressed!  Join the tour!

Tour guide Greg in distance leading the way

Cardon Cactus sentinel

For a bit of scale - the Captain is 6'3"

 

Skeleton of an ancient Cardon

Nesting holes for desert birds

Close ups of lower trunk

Ocotilla flowers in bloom in Cardon Cactus Sanctuary

Weekend Wrap up - February 4 continued

Sunday was indeed a day for exploring!

As we returned to San Carlos, retracing our route, we decided to drive through the communities to the east of the Guaymas airport.  Kelly and friends had located a church on a previous exploration only to find it closed; he had an idea where it was located.  At the four-way stop we headed north towards the farming community of La Cuadrita, according to the road sign. There are ruins of Hacienda Aranjuez along this road; we are curious about its history and will have to return to take photos.  We somehow missed seeing Rancho Pitahaya, the source of the organic produce we purchased at the market.  This farm is actually the only organic Dragon Fruit farm in Sonora and offers tours - another item on our list of  'take a break' ideas. We were unawares all through December and January about this vendor and missed out on the fabulous fruit - so focused on boat projects.

The rural road meandered through groupings of homes, then curved to the east and then southeast.  We entered La Cuadrita, but no signs of the church, only modest homes and a few "tiendas" - very small stores.  Onward we drove, looping back to the south and into the village of San Jose de Guaymas, which has the feel of a small village.  It is referred to as an "ejido", which is land held in common by the farmers, having been granted the use of the land by the government.  We understand that such a community was established, often from land taken/expropriated from large landowners, upon petition by the area farmers; plots and home sites were allocated, although the land is not owned by individual farmers. Families could pass the land on if it was worked continually. As well, no further ejidos have been established since NAFTA came into being.

We spotted a dome and a cross - success! The church sat serenely on one side of the 'village' square and there were signs that improvements were being constructed, with a covered kiosk of forged iron,  and playground in progress.  As it was Sunday, the doors were still open; inside, a man was putting items away.  The stained glass windows were open to a slight breeze. We paused for a few minutes, with special intentions in mind. 

Interior of church of San Jose de Guaymas

Exterior of church

By now it was mid afternoon. Time to drive to the marina to ensure all was well with INTREPID II and assure her we would be on top of outstanding projects tomorrow.