Los Islotes
What a day and what a week it has been. The magic and wonder of our close encounters with the natural world cannot help but be multiplied by the joy of sharing these experiences with kindred spirits. I am so grateful to have had the chance not just to know better the wildlife and ecosystem of this marvelous part of our Earth, but also to meet, and grow to care about, my fellow travelers on this voyage.
We are living in difficult times. This does not prevent us from being inspired and invigorated by dazzling encounters with blue, gray, humpback, fin, killer, and Bryde’s whales, as we have during the past week. It does not impede our joy upon encountering exuberant groups of dolphins, or the fun of becoming playthings for curious sea lion pups.
Today, as we continued our transit from Santa Rosalia to Los Islotes, we had astonishingly close encounters with another group of killer whales, including a mother and calf. We found Bryde’s and fin whales together in a later sighting, and fought the desire to stay and stay... But we had Los Islotes to look forward to.
My grandmother had a phrase: “More fun than a little bit.” It could never be more aptly applied than to getting in the water with playful sea lion pups. These animals, once hunted almost to extinction by humans for their fur, oil, and meat, trust us enough to let us play with their young. How inspiring. May we as humans one day learn to let go of our mutual distrust. May we grow to play together, and share moments of joy and beauty, as have we who have shared this voyage.
We return home to a world that has changed in our absence. But we too have changed. Those things that matter most within us: our capacity for compassion, wonder, joy, gentleness, and appreciation for the natural world have been renewed and revived by our experience with this wilderness. It is this awakening of the senses that will enable us to weather the storms in our lives and to build the kind of world we would want our children to inherit. The end of this voyage has come all too soon, but the memories will provide sustenance for our souls: today, tomorrow, and always.
What a day and what a week it has been. The magic and wonder of our close encounters with the natural world cannot help but be multiplied by the joy of sharing these experiences with kindred spirits. I am so grateful to have had the chance not just to know better the wildlife and ecosystem of this marvelous part of our Earth, but also to meet, and grow to care about, my fellow travelers on this voyage.
We are living in difficult times. This does not prevent us from being inspired and invigorated by dazzling encounters with blue, gray, humpback, fin, killer, and Bryde’s whales, as we have during the past week. It does not impede our joy upon encountering exuberant groups of dolphins, or the fun of becoming playthings for curious sea lion pups.
Today, as we continued our transit from Santa Rosalia to Los Islotes, we had astonishingly close encounters with another group of killer whales, including a mother and calf. We found Bryde’s and fin whales together in a later sighting, and fought the desire to stay and stay... But we had Los Islotes to look forward to.
My grandmother had a phrase: “More fun than a little bit.” It could never be more aptly applied than to getting in the water with playful sea lion pups. These animals, once hunted almost to extinction by humans for their fur, oil, and meat, trust us enough to let us play with their young. How inspiring. May we as humans one day learn to let go of our mutual distrust. May we grow to play together, and share moments of joy and beauty, as have we who have shared this voyage.
We return home to a world that has changed in our absence. But we too have changed. Those things that matter most within us: our capacity for compassion, wonder, joy, gentleness, and appreciation for the natural world have been renewed and revived by our experience with this wilderness. It is this awakening of the senses that will enable us to weather the storms in our lives and to build the kind of world we would want our children to inherit. The end of this voyage has come all too soon, but the memories will provide sustenance for our souls: today, tomorrow, and always.
