Breakfast: cheese quesadillas, oatmeal, guacamole, fresh fruit

Another fitful night of sleep (broken up by the howling of coyotes roaming thru our camp), and it’s no wonder Mary & I are still feeling like crap, despite loading up on most every product from the Cold & Flu isle at our local CVS Pharmacy prior to leaving San Diego. Besides the sore throat, I now seem to have some type of an eye infection. My left eye is glued shut when I wake up in the morning and then red and puffy all daylong, once I chisel the crud out of it and can actually open it.

Being in Mexico and out in the middle of the desert with just sand, scorpions, cactus, whales and coyotes as the only things visible on the horizon, made seeking any type of medical treatment not too convenient (or safe). Had we needed any attention, the 'ambulance' may have been that same old school bus that brought us bouncing in to camp. Oh well, life is an adventure and you just gotta’ roll with it!
 

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This morning we headed off toward the lagoon’s entrance, about a 10-15 minute boat ride from our camp. Even though we didn’t experience the numerous close-up petting moments as we had from the day before, at one point we had 6-mom/calf pair circling our boat no more than 50 feet away.  It’s truly a thrill to have that many whales at such close proximity. We kept turning our heads trying to figure out which ones to follow. Jose, our guide, would call out "Whale at 2 o'clock." Turn head in that direction. "Whale at 11 o'clock"  Turn again. "Whale at 6 o'clock"  Whip around again. We got kind of dizzy spinning around, but what a RUSH! At one point, one of the calves bumped in to the outboard engine and nearly knocked the boat captain in the water as it swung around.

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Lunch: Stingray rolled tacos (Yes, I Googled stingray meat recipes and got 142,000 hits), rice beans, tortillas & fruit.

As the day progressed, so did the wind. With white caps on the ocean and spray blowing in our faces, we bounced and splashed our way into the lagoon. Although we saw quite a number of whales, none came quite close enough to touch (although we kept trying), and unfortunately we always seemed to be downwind of them. At one point, we had 2 mom/calf pairs right next to the boat and our camera lenses and faces would be blasted with whale snot – not as gross as it sounds - but it makes a mess of the glass on the front of the lens for the next picture!! We had a few moms bump the boat, but only lightly, or as lightly as something 40+ tons can bump you. You get that immediate reaction when you think there's an earthquake - you quickly freeze waiting for the worst to happen. In a second or 2, mom has lowered herself back down into the water, but your body is ready to explode. You don't know if your heart will fail due to it racing at 317 beats per minute, or your head will blowup from the HUGE thrill it all is. Either way, you have a big wide grin!

With the volume turned up, you can hear the wind blowing in the video.

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Dinner: Fish Vera Cruz, rice, beans, tortillas, some type of salad and Key Lime Pie for dessert

Just prior to dinner, the camp opened up WhaleMart, a boutique and art house all rolled into one. T-shirts and hats were quickly snapped up in a buying frenzy reminiscent of certain Thanksgiving One-Day sales, but having brought down what feels like 743 lbs. of camera equipment ourselves, we passed on the whale pictures they had for sale, hoping we had some decent shots of our own. Once the frenzy died down we all went outside to watch the sunset, hoping for a ‘green flash’. When none appeared, we went back to the dining tent for some adult style refreshments.

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From a discussion the previous night, Kim had convinced everyone that Sunday night was going to be Shots of Tequila Night (something she had been practicing for all week). With shot glasses lined up & salt, limes and bottles of El Jimador tequila at the ready, the night progressed, or regressed, depending upon your point of view.