2007 Life at Campo Cortez
By Caroline Armon
April 17, 2007
Hola! The weather has been very nice, wind is still our companion, as always, but still quite reasonable and actually is welcome on these hot afternoons! We have been enjoying these last few weeks of the season, playing and surfing with about 12 pairs of whales, and many dolphins this year. I say surfing as we have ventured into the Pacific on many of our trips, and there is a bit of a swell. Today my guess is there are 6 pairs of moms with calves left in the lagoon. I find it interesting that the calves we have been interacting with, that I can get a gender ID on, are all boys!! So we’ve had a lot of fun splashing, touching, and watching their antics. One acrobatic baby did 15 breaches in a row!! I think that’s the most I can remember- a new record! Not to be outdone, another calf pulled off 8 consecutive breaches the following day.
All in all, it has been a fantastic season. A bit windier and cooler at times, yet warm Baja afternoons. I still have to pinch myself sometimes; even though there are some hard, long days, and I am away from my family and friends, I get to be in this unique place (no other on the planet like it!), sharing these incredible creatures with people from all over the world! People from the US, Ireland, England, France, Canada, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Israel, and Mexico! Some will be life long friends. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and honeymooners, with Maldo’s delicious desserts, of which many are asking for a cookbook.
These Gray Whales share their birthplace with us, give us a precious gift of observing their lives and seek us out for physical contact… My personal motive is my hope that all of us take the connection we’ve had with these whales, with this place, and apply to our daily lives. When we think of wild places such as this, of ecosystems, sometimes we think of humans as being outside, not a part of the ecosystem. We are a part, no matter where we live. The challenge is to live in balance with all the life on this glorious planet! One of my favorite questions to ask guests is; how much of the earth’s oxygen supply is produced by phytoplankton? The answer is 75-85%!! Most of the very air we breathe comes from the oceans’ microscopic plant life; we are connected on a most basic level. So I ask each of you to think about and do something in your life that is in balance. I believe even the smallest change and effort can make a difference!
So this is my last report from Baja for this season. Time for me to start my migration north too! On to my season in the San Juan Islands with the Orcas and abundant wildlife. Reading the Orca Network website, they are sighting lots of Gray Whales, probably enjoying the ghost shrimp around Whidbey Island. I wonder if some of those moms and calves are the very same ones I met here, and I think, “They made it!!”
Hasta Luego til next season! Thank you for reading my reports,
Caroline Armon
Logs & Diaries -- Guest Comments -- Field Reports -- Gray Whale Census
