2007 Life at Campo Cortez
By Caroline Armon
March 7, 2007
Hola! Well, I should be careful what I say about weather! The bad news is we had quite a storm front, or “tormenta” come through the area. I like the Spanish word - it aptly describes the 30+ mph winds we had for over 2 days! So we did miss some trips out on the lagoon. I am thankful that we have a school bus this year, so we were able to visit El Cardon and El Centro. The second day, most of the group went to San Ignacio and enjoyed seeing the mission and museum. I think our 87 year old couple were very inspiring troopers, also the oldest guests we’ve had at camp!
The good news is the first day of this group’s visit was one of those days out on the lagoon that brings me back year after year! Our morning whale watch coincided with a slack high tide. My favorite time to be on the water, the lagoon can be like a pond! Sure enough we could see whales everywhere! A mother and calf came right to the boat like Labrador puppies! The pair stayed with us the entire 90 minutes and we all massaged and scratched those whales (some kisses too)! Then the afternoon whale watch we spent with a juvenile whale. We were all really happy to have had those encounters before the storm blew in. We were still able to have our plant and tide walks, and we made a visit to the mangroves, lots of great bird sightings to add to our sightings list.
A small group opted not to take the trip to town and were rewarded when we were finally able to get back out on the water for a short trip when the wind dropped to 18-20 mph. It was a bit bumpy, we got wet; we also had a mom and baby come over for a pet! We all agreed it was fun and worth it!
The beauty is the days that followed the storm. The moon was still quite full and bright, the wind shut down to nothing. I sat on my little trailer step and listened to the whales breathing, some even blowing bubbles- a gurgling sound, or did I hear them vocalizing? It was that perfectly still!. Some guests went on a moonlight walk. The next morning, at dawn, it was still calm. Again I listened to the whales breathing and birds chatting, the colors of the dawn are indescribable! We can even see the whale spouts from camp.
So I appreciate the nice warm weather we have had since. We are seeing coyotes regularly, jack rabbits and chipmunks have been spotted, along with sea turtles. The conservation efforts are showing more turtles in the lagoon each year. Also watch out for those stingrays! Don’t forget to do the stingray shuffle in the water. A friend visiting one of the staff forgot and got stung. Hot water on the foot helped to break down the protein of the toxin that causes so much pain. That and a couple of shots of tequila for painkiller!
No new census yet because of weather. Hasta luego!
Caroline
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