2007 Life at Campo Cortez
By Caroline Armon
March 27, 2007
Hola! First the weather report: we are back to what I am now calling our usual “ bump and grind”, in that wind is strong in the mornings, calms down about noon, then blows from offshore. Depending on which way the tide is running, it may be a little wet going out (the grind), yet calmer in the whale watch area, or ok on the way, but choppy (the bump) in the area. But nothing that has kept us off the water! The few days of really strong winds have been our turnover days, when one group leaves in the morning, we clean up & get ready for the new afternoon arrivals, so no whale watches scheduled on those days.
I think we are enjoying the days of almost 100% contact with the whales, albeit brief on the bumpy trips. There are 2 calves that have spent so much time with our boats, that I have named them! “Comma” has a comma shaped scar on her snout; she is the dancer; gently rolling and pirouetting through the water. Her young mother enjoys being touched too, probably interacted with people when she was a calf. “Barney” is a boy with many barnacle clusters and starts on his body. His mom is also a young interactive whale. Barney is very athletic and playful. You spend enough time with these whales and they do have personalities - very different behaviors, they are individuals…
A few days ago we had such a lovely day, calm waters, warm air, incredible whales, I was really feeling my endorphins!! I jotted down some of my thoughts: No matter who you are, for a few moments we are not self absorbed - these whales capture our full attention. We have people from all over the world, all walks of life, all levels of society in the pangas together, sharing these encounters - we are the same. I have yet to see a person experience this exquisite contact with a whale, leave the panga without a smile on their face, a lightness of heart…
Waxing on, Carolina
P.S. My camera broke, so no more pictures till next season.
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