For our five day spring break some of us decided to travel to La Paz. One girl and I planned some tentative day trips in and around La Paz. The only definite activity that we planned was to visit the island Espiritu Santo.
We left early the first day of break on a greyhound type bus and arrived in La Paz after about four hours. The first afternoon, we spent walking around the city. We bought the earliest tickets available to Tecolote, a beach near La Paz from which we could take a boat to Isla Espiritu Santo. We were a little concerned because the bus didn’t leave until 10:00am and we weren’t sure how early we needed to book a boat tour. We arrived at Tecolote around 11:30am, and coincidently ran into some two of the other students, and one of our professors. It was perfect timing and within minutes we had life jackets and were loading into the boat. As we sped along the coast of the island we admired the different rock formations. There were large piles of boulders that our tour guide told us were natural. He also showed us a rock that looked like it had an image of a whale on it. When we reached the northern end of the island we reached a smaller island that was covered with sea lions! I could hear their barking before I actually saw them stretched out on the rocks. We watched as they basked in the sun and gracefully slipped in the water. To my surprise the tour guide stopped the boat and we were told we could get out and snorkel. Neither my friend nor I had thought to ask what the tour would include, so we were completely unaware that we were going to have the opportunity to SWIM with SEA LIONS! We gleefully put on our masks and fins and jumped in the water. It was incredible. I could see them swimming circles underneath me. At first I was nervous when one approached me, but quickly my amazement wore away my concerns. I stuck my hand out when the next one swam by and I touched its flipper. I could feel its little bones in the end of the flipper! This one was especially friendly and when it zoomed by a second time I petted its back. All too soon we had to get back in the boat and finish our tour. A little later we stopped at one of the beaches. We sat in the sun and ate our lunches. On the boat ride back we saw dolphins! We also saw a mother whale and her calf, but sadly they were caught in a net. We could see the net stretched tight on her back every time she came up for air. Some of the interns were on another boat and after the tour we all asked the tour guides to contact the appropriate organizations. I heard that two organizations were notified, but I have no idea if they were able to locate the whale. I think the whale reminded me that even beautiful places that seem almost magical are still subject to the realities of the world that we all live in.
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