2006 Camp Update
By Caroline Armon
March 5th, 2006
Hola! Well I made through the 1st weeks. I am in town at Ignacio Springs Bed & Breakfast. A Canadian couple came here years ago & stayed. They have yurts & great food. They were booked, so I slept on a cot in the kitchen last night. I am happy just to have a real shower and a washer & dryer to do my laundry. So I am enjoying my respite.
We have been very busy at camp, lots of people and many full and overfull nights. People even came in with their own tents, etc, knowing we were full, but wanting to come at that time. I have more help this year, so we managed well. Lots of improvements at camp this year, 4 more cabanas, all with solar panels and inverters for charging batteries. Two more banos with electric flush toilets, and I thought I had arrived in heaven when I stepped in the panga for my first trip out on the lagoon and saw we had boat cushions! They have been on my wish list for some time! Also, another wind generator for the main dining palapa, which is totally powered by wind, and where our freezers are. And a large flat screen tv monitor (that I find intimidating!) to show the few whale documentaries we have & the day's video of the whale encounter trips. We are getting posh at Campo Cortez! (Dad, you have to come sometime, camp is very comfortable now!)
I am in a camper this season. I really enjoy & appreciate the ease of day to day life it provides. I lived out of my duffel bags when I lived in a tent. I have to laugh though, as they built palm thatched walls around it, so I feel like I am in a fortress at the edge of camp. I keep thinking I'll add a turret for a watchtower, or put a chair up top, to survey the camp! That and it took me a while to adjust to my new view, the feng shui(sp?) is different. I now face the west and my best view is of the banos! I am glad Alfredo painted them this year, so I do enjoy the blue & orange whales, very southwestern.. In the tent, I used to face the east and the water, so the dawn woke me up every morning. So it did take me longer to adjust, but I now get up at 5:30-6:00 am (mountain time), have my coffee and walk before I am with guests. (Kristy, the french press didn't make it to me before I left, oh well, thank you.) I am doing the accounting on a laptop, so that is much easier than manually, as I used to do. Now I have to get Johnny to get a program to do the guest schedule & meals - food preferences and allergies - calendar for the cooks, etc., on computer. With so many guests now, it takes much of my time staying organized and on top of it, so less time to be with guests & missing whale trips. ( I know- that's the camp manager part!)
There are 288 gray whales in the lagoon at the last census 3-2-06. We are also seeing lots of bottlenose dolphins, the occasional sea turtle - they just pop their head up & dive when they see the boats, probably remember they were soup not to long ago! Tons of birds, many species that I see up north that migrate down too. The whale interactions are still erratic; since the moms are still getting comfortable with letting the calves approach us. The calves are still a bit shy too. There is still mating going on, we have seen the "pink floyd's" on many trips! (So does the band know we call whale penises by their band name?!) It seems like the mating finished by the 3rd week of February in previous years, so interesting that they are still here going at it! The guests usually stay 3 days or more, so we still have our 100% record of everyone touching a whale before they leave. Happy people! We have also had more interactions with juvenile and young adult whales (3 to 6 years old), than I remember in previous years, so that has been neat. ( I have not seen "Freddy", the young gray whale that hung out by Lopez Island last summer..) Yesterday morning, there was a mother and calf that hung out at our boat the whole 1 &1/2 hours we were in the whale viewing area, but didn't really want to be touched. The calf went back and forth, under, on each side of us, looked at us, blew bubbles under the boat. Some people did briefly touch the mom. The mom gently bumped the boat & lifted us a bit from underneath; I said we were whale riding! The whales will do that and push the boats around. Well she gave us a strong push from underneath and for a split second I thought we were going to capsize! I immediately went to the opposite side for ballast. We didn't, but I think I was startled, since I didn't see her coming.
I talk a lot about orcas too, since mammal eating orcas are a predator of the grays. My hope is that people will become aware of the interconnect ness of not only the whales, but all ocean life and ultimately our connection and dependence on the rest of life on this ocean planet.
So my days are full, with 2 trips out on the water, meals, tide pool exploration, birding, cocktail hour (for guests!), discussions, all the paperwork and details. Everyone is tucked in by 9pm - Baja midnight! Life is good. The weather has been a bit unstable; we couldn't go out a few days ago in the afternoon, 30 mph+ winds. I see the mares tails clouds and coronas - halos around the sun and moon, and know another front is coming through, probably raining where you all are! The wind is a constant, coming from the land morning and night, then a break at noon, switching from the ocean, then a break at sunset. It's gets hot when it shuts down, so I have learned to appreciate the cool breeze.
So that is my world in this special place. Don't hate me because I'm in the sun with the whales - come visit me!! I don't usually do group emails, so this is kind of a newsletter, since my time is limited on this computer. The school at the lagoon has internet now, but limited hours for public use, and if I can get out of camp, by the time I email and download all the info to Johnny, read my emails, not much time to write back. But send me news! What's happening?! My love to all and my hope that all is well with you. Caroline
Caroline Armon
Logs & Diaries -- Guest Comments -- Field Reports -- Gray Whale Census
