Blue Footed Boobies

This morning (Saturday), Betsy treated me to a two hour boat cruise out of Gary's Dive Shop. This tour was primarily about the local geography and ecology. The tour went to various locations around the San Francisco Bay. The two rocks in the sea just outside our window were actually focal points of the tour due to the various bird populations that live there.

Of special note, there is a population of Blue Footed Boobies (birds) living on the rock that I view outside my writing desk. This is rare as most people assume the only place on the earth where they live is the Galapagos Islands. However, a few renegades from the Galapagos have landed and stayed at about a half dozen global locations, and this rock is one of them! Their feet are in fact a brilliant coloured turquoise, and even at a distance you can see glints of blue on the rock wherever a flock is hanging out.

On the same rock are many blue herons with nests that are many years old.


There are also Brown Boobies flying around, as well as hundreds of pelicans which actually out number the seagulls by a lot! There are orange beaked Oyster Catchers.
We saw sea lions, and of course the dolphins swam alongside the boat for awhile.

It was interesting to see the cracks in the rocks showing where earthquake faultlines are. This was particularly appropriate today given the 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Tsuanmi warnings have been issued for Baja, but it is not a concern here.

While this particular earthquake and tsunami will probably not affect San Carlos, the aftermath of a hurricane last Septebmer is still quite evident everywhere. Only half of the main road through town exists as it completely collapsed. You have to take detours to get to various destinations. Although it was "only" a Category One Hurricane, it stalled right over the town of San Carlos for 35 hours dumping 50 inches of rain in that amount of time. This, in a town that averages 8 inches of annual rainfall. It sank 20 boats - not because they had leaks - but because of the weight of the downpour!

I had a bit of a queasy stomach this morning, left over from some unknown source yesterday. Therefore I was a bit concerned about going out on a boat today, given my penchant for motion sickness. I began taking ginger tablets yesterday. This morning I put on my new "sea bands". These are elastic bands you wear just above the wrist joint. They have a button on them that acts as continuous accupressure to prevent motion sickness. If you feel yourself getting nautious you can put additional pressure on the button by pressing on it.

All I can say is, the boat stopped several times so we could observe the wildlife. When it stopped, it rocked back and forth quite vigorously and I did not get sick. I yawned a lot and occasionally felt very sleepy, which for me are precursors to motion sickness. But by the time we headed back to the marina I was feeling just fine. So, I will continue my water explorations in the days and weeks to come in this manner. Only time will tell if my efforts to conquer my lifelong struggle with motion sickness will be successful.

After the sea excursion Betsy and I had an outdoor brunch at the marina restaurant. It is connected with a large hotel.
As we dined we notcied we were sitting right next to a boat that was named "Mello Yello." haha

In an hour or so me 'n Frances will get in the car and head down to the beach below. When the tide goes out in the afternoon, you can actually walk over to one of the two rocks that are in the water across from us.
It will be the first time I've started up my car since arriving on Monday night. Betsy an I have run errands on two occasions, but other than that today is the first day we did anything touristy.

Frances has adjusted well to the slow pace and "manana" attitude of Mexico by sampling as many couches and beds as she can.





I'm trying to get into a routine now. We joined the local gym. It's small but more than adequate. I primarily will do weight training, and maybe take an occasional Yoga class. I bought a punch card at the gym - it ends up being less than $3.00 a visit. Now I have to deal with 24 Hour Fitness - who I checked with TWICE before leaving to make sure by account was suspended. They billed me yesterday. Jerks!

After Frances and I go for a stroll on the beach I'll probably hit the gym. They are closed Sundays.

Well, the hotel below us is testing their sound system now for the Saturday Night dancing. Looks like my walk over to the rock will be accompanied by Mexican Disco! Such is Life!