Loreto Shopping

March 23
Loreto is  a quiet town.  I can see this when I compre the shopkeepers with those in San Jose del Cabo. In Cabo, vendors are in front of their shops, chatting up the tourists: "Come in, my friend; almost free. No charge to look. " Here in Loreto they are more likely to be involved in a rambelling conversation in front of their shop with the street cop, not noticing the customers wandering in and out.

Benito Juarez Day

March 21
I wake at 6:00 and am surprised to hear the sound of sweeping in the street outside my window. Today is a national holiday - Benito Juarez's birthday and the town is sprucing up for festivities later in the morning. To call Juarez the George Washington of Mexico might be a simplification, but he left a legacy of democratic reforms that transformed the country and he is revered. Walking back from breakfast at the French bakery, I see a modest crowd is gathered in the town plaza, listening to long winded speeches about democratic traditions, etc, etc. There is a group of young women on the sidelines,  dressed in long cotton dresses, waiting to perform a traditional dance. When their turn comes, they dance with colorful ribbons stretched between them, bare feet moving in a graceful shuffle, toe-tap step. They have sweet faces behind heavy makeup,  but they are quite serious about their dance.

Margarita Night

March 18
The days do blend together and there is a routine that has developed now that we are in the Sea of Cortez. Mornings are for a on-shore hike before the day heats up, then a snorkel from the shore or from a skiff. Afternoon is for raising anchor and a lazy wander in search of whales. Blue whales are long and majestic. Today's wander is now over and we are stationary with the engines off, miles from shore. It is margarita night on the back deck followed by some amusimg John Pryne songs off Charles' laptop. After dinner, the sea is dark and full of mysteries - a squid briefly comes to the surface off one side and later a softly glowing something floats nearby,  below the surface - UFO. Soon we are underway and many of us are on the bow, looking at bio-luminescence in the wake. All day long we had seen balls of little bait fish, boiling the surface of the water. Now we run through those fish and they flee the boat's wake in glowing clouds. Magic and mystery.

Passing Cabo

Friday March 15

This morning we rounded the tip of Baja at 5:00am and we are now in the This Sea of Cortez. The area is good for sighting active humpback whales, who breach, tail-flap and flipper-flap. We follow one group of three whales that includes a baby who loves to practice his breaching techniques,  over and over - very entertaining. I get one very good shot of the baby completely out of the water. Every so often one of the adults will join in, but the youngster is the star. In the afternoon, we walk and bird watch, then snorkel on a reef near  a sandy beach. Lots of colorful tropical fish above the rocky bottom.

Right now, the sun is setting.  Charles and Geri-Sue are in the galley preparing dinner; tonight is braised lamb shanks. Charles studied at the California Culinary Institute, and it shows. He is also an avid photographer and has a portfolio of mind blowing wildlife shots taken from the boat. Geri-Sue assists in the galley and does baking of muffins, breads and cookies. They both have some impressive tattoos, and I ask permission to document them with camera. After dinner, Michael trys to explain bio-luminescence, but everyone is too loose to follow along, so we adjourn and go to the bow to watch the phenomenon first hand. The wake glows and swirls with light from the tiny creatures, agitated by the boat's wake. The light is milky green, like the hands of a luminous watch. A school of fish runs away from the wake and leaves trails like the traces of fireworks in the dark water. 4:30 am -  the day is capped of when a gentle announcement on the boat's PA says there are dolphins bow riding the wake in bio-luminescence. In the pitch dark night, they leave big trails of light that wriggle and twist through the bow wake. Like something in a dream.