This morning we were awoken to the sound of the National Geographic Sea Bird lifting its anchor to move a short distance to Los Islotes, a small group of volcanic islands and the southernmost colony of California sea lions. As we boarded our inflatable boats the sound of sea lions could easily be heard across the water, and as we approached, it seemed as though sea lions occupied every ledge and flat surface available to them. Groups of immature males postured and barked as practice for the breeding season that would occur in spring, while the pups of the year frolicked in the waves. We were getting the human view of our webbed-footed friends; soon we would enter their world and experience them in their element, the water.
As we were about to make our way back to the ship we were alerted to a rather unexpected sight. Some mobular rays were jumping into the air over and over again. It is not so unusual for this behavior to occur, but the frequency of the activity allowed many of us to view this unexplained behavior. The culmination of the morning was when possibly 30 of the rays began jumping almost in what looked like corn popping at our local movie theater. One after another leaped from the water and for a moment it was more like we were watching dolphins rather than rays.
Then it was time for what one guest said was a life changing moment—swimming with the sea lions we had visited earlier in the morning. Swimming with sea lions is a physical interpretation of joy. They swim under us, around us, and even sometimes leap over us as they seem as enthusiastic about us as we are about them. In the end, one young sea lion decided it wanted more connection with our group and began literary to climb onto our backs, chew on our snorkels, and gently bite us in play.
After lunch we visited another island and bay called Bonanza. Here some of us chose to have one last snorkel or kayak excursion, while others in our group decided on a simple yet inwardly exploration of a pristine white beach. A good time to meditate on the week’s adventure had here in the wilds of Baja California. Tomorrow we leave for our respective homes, but we carry with us an experience that is hard to express with others. Here we reached out to touch a whale and found that in that brief moment of contact, it was we that were touched by the wildness that we sometimes forget lives within us all.
