I speak whale

I've been loving this long two week winter break. Ahhh. I'm so relaxed, so rested, and so thrilled with some of the photos and experiences I've been sharing.

Our daily routine is pretty much the same. Only with slight changes to the schedule.

Today I woke up early around 6:00. The sky is still dark, but there is a lot of activity. Trucks are busting down the dirt road to the beach. In these early trucks you see fishing poles through the dust-caked windows. Later after the sun peeks through the Sierra Lagunas mountains the trucks will be toting sun-kissed surfers with tassled hair.

This was my second morning waking up early to fish with my dad. I actually don't do any of the fishing. I'm behind my camera lens fascinated with all of the life around me.

We drove the one minute drive to the beach and found a smattering of other trucks and cars. This is a good sign. When the local fish you know you are bound to get something too. The fishermen space themselves out along the shore. Many of the locals still use the traditional method of throwing and pulling the line by hand. They need space to swing the line and let it zoom through the air. The sound is magical as the line whizzes and whinnies before plopping into the water. This morning they were pulling them out of the sea like crazy. Quickly they release the floundering fish from their lines, deposit them on the sea and within seconds are back casting into the glassy sea.

I used my macro lens to watch the Humpback Whales on the horizon. It's like binoculars. They are spouting and arching. I envied the boats as they nosed their way up close to them. Yesterday while my sister, dad and I swam in the ocean we would dive under and hear the whales moaning and trumpeting to each other. It is a beautiful experience. Sort of thrilling and a bit scary at the same time.

After fishing we stopped at home to drop off a sort board surfboard. My grandma joined my dad and I to check out the surf on a beach called La Pastora. It's just a couple minute drive from our house. While the waves weren't great my dad couldn't resist an opportunity. He went out anyways. As my grandma and I sat out a towel we oohhhed and awwed as the whales were leaping straight out of waves, repeatedly thumping their tales against the water and were very talkative. I could hear them hollaring from the shore. We also saw pods of dolphins and jumping fish. All this activity within the first couple hours of morning sunlight. Can't beat that!

It's been a trip full of amazing experiences.