Day 7
Today was our last day at sea. Breakfast was pancakes, and for the first couple hours the water was rough. We went to see the California sea lions at their habitat. We were going to snorkel with them but the water was too high so we couldn’t. It was a bit disappointing but it was still really cool to see so many sea lions all at once. We guessed that there was about 800-900 of them. We spent a bit of time going around in the pangas. Some of them came really close. We definitely got some good pictures of them even though we didn’t get to swim with them.

After that we were on our way back to La Paz. We arrived around 3 o’clock. Once we were docked we went into town to go shopping. We went to the markets and did a bit of bartering. When we were done at the first market we headed down the street and got ice cream. This place had just about every kind of ice cream you could think of. They even had corn ice cream! After that we headed on and found another market. We got a few things there and then headed back to the first one then to the boat to get ready for dinner.

Once everyone was ready to go we walked over to the restaurant. The food was great and it was all reasonably priced. When we were done eating we came back to the boat and watched the Godfather. It was a good last night in Mexico.

Wesley


Day 8
Naturalist Notes

The day began with a beautiful sunrise at the marina. It was tough waking the students because inevitably it meant that we would soon have to say goodbye. After a continental breakfast, we swiftly finished the workbooks and writing the last of the daily journals and began organizing the schools supplies and gifts that we would donate along the way for the Baja Gifts Program. It was fun to see the array of toys that were in the mix. We hugged little stuffed animals, tossed a football and played Double-Dutch until Lela busted us and told us to get back to work.

After we had finished making 16 bags of gifts and school supplies, some of the students ran frantically around squeezing their last items of clothing, and of course, all of the homework they completed, into their over-packed suitcases. I must have sat on three or four bags in an effort to help get them closed.

Once the bags were packed and brought out on deck, it was time to say our thanks to our amazing crew. They are truly fantastic people and saying goodbye always brings tears to our eyes. Having worked with these people for four years now, I know that they are the most important members of our team. They bring laughter and joy to our hearts and go out of their way, always, to ensure everyone feels safe, happy and healthy while at sea.

Once the vans were loaded we headed out to a little town called San Bartolo where we stopped to hand out the gifts. Since it was Sunday the only thing we could do was wander the streets and hand out the gifts to families at their homes. We handed out a number of bags in one area but still had many more to go. We walked for a while and found a group of children attending a birthday party. They were playing games and trying to fly a kite. I think one of the greatest moments the students had on this trip was helping to get the kite into the air (special thanks goes out to Troy for getting the kite up in the air. Way to go! You sure made their day!) As I stood up on the street watching the students and the children interact, all I heard was laughter and squealing when the gifts were distributed. One little girl took her stuffed animal, a red and yellow lizard, and was tossing it up in the air with joy. The birthday girl was so excited to receive the gifts she ran to her house, telling us all to follow her, climbed on to the roof and started picking and handing out grapefruits in thanks for the gifts we gave. I would have to say that this was one of the most memorable experiences I have personally had with the Baja Gifts program.

When we arrived at the airport it was definitely a sad moment. As we unloaded bags and assembled to trade hugs, the thoughts that were running through my head were the encounters we had with the whales (blues, finbacks, a minke and a sperm whale), the thousand common dolphins we saw, the bottlenosed dolphin that jumped as a parting gift to us and the fun and laughter we had while on the beach on day 6. I think I can safely speak for Lela as well; it was a pleasure getting to know these students and it was wonderful to be able to experience all that we did with them. Trent, you should be very proud of these students; they worked hard on the workbook, they co-operated wonderfully as a team and showed nothing but respect for the crew and all of the people we met along the way.