Back home now and already miss my fabulous group, CEDO, and the ocean. That week went by way to quick and I think everyone will be ready to head back down soon! I did however thoroughly enjoy my non-water conservation shower in my private bathroom. But it's hard to go from be surrounded by 10 other awesome people all day to come home and sit in my room alone. I will miss my backseat dance parties with the big van crew and falling asleep while talking to Elizabeth and looking at the stars. I know some strong friendships were formed over the course of the trip though and that we will continue to crack each other up!

I learned all about sea creatures that before the trip I didn't even know existed, or thought they were plants. Like sea sponges and sea cucumbers are actually animals that filter feed, which means like breathing in the water and taking nutrients from it. And I had never heard of a swimming clam or brittle star before I actually got to see and touch both! I also saw a real octopus up close and learned that they can actually hide out in shells to stay moist during low tide. The sea is a crazy place and there are organisms everywhere.



Most important I want to give a BIG THANKS to Dr. C for having just the most absolute, top notch study abroad program ever. It was so fun and interactive I didn't even feel like I was learning, but actually learn so much about marine life. He also helped me so much with petitioning ASU to allow me to take this class for credit, which was approved. He really went above and beyond. Thank you!

Gonna miss Mexico!!

Last actual full day before our wonderful trip has to end. I have learned so many things I never would have thought I would in a matter of one week. I wasn't able to blog for the last couple of days but I will just brush up on the most exciting things I have done!
One thing that made my trip so amazing was my day with the sea lions. Going on the boat to Bird Island I was so anxious and could not wait to jump in. When we got to the Island, 30 min later we had taken pictures and started putting on our snorkel gear. I had gotten all dressed and when it was time for me to go in the water I kind of panicked. Just the fear of them being so close scared me even though I couldn't wait to be with with mins before. I stopped and got in very slowly. I was so nervous I didn't even want to stick my head under. Haha I finally got brave and was swimming around taking up close and personal pictures of them. The second time of snorkeling, I didn't wanna go in because I was done after being kinda cold and not to mention swallowed a gallon of water! YUCKY-_- I wanted to throw up and felt very sick after. Lol when we got on the boat Vero was telling everyone more about the sea lions. The males were chocolate brown with bumps on their head, females were smaller being a ligher color and the babies were a little darker just a couple feet long. I learned they could swim about 25mph which scared me because that is definitely faster than me and I have way less control. One thing that bugged me all day was my hiccups.I had them 7 times that day! In the evening, I finally got rid of them. Ha it ended being a good day.
Yesterday I learned a lot about the soft sediment at Cholla Bay. The sand was very soft and if you dug far enough, it smelt like rotten eggs because there was not enough oxygen reaching it underneath. I collected a sand dollar and other pretty shells I needed to take home. We found various crabs, fish, worms and even an octopus that bit Yeltsy. Lol not funny at the time, but now it is.
Today was a good day as well. We woke up and went to a rocky intertidal. It was real hard to walk around and it did not seem as interesting as the other places we went. We did find some interesting creatures that were only able to be found at the rocky intertidal which was cool. When we came back, everyone rested and I was able to study and take a quick nap. I am proud to say I think I aced the quiz!:) Dinner was great and we all got to see a beautiful sunset. My time here has been great and I'm so sad to leave but I do miss home. Mexico it was great while it lasted!!:) Adios amigos

Last day at CEDO :(

  This morning we got up and headed to Vina Del Mar to check out some more of the rocky intertidal zone while the tide was low for our last time. This area was different than the rocky intertidal we had visited the other day at Mi Playa. There were big boulder rocks there and no sand; kind of like what we see at the Salt River in AZ, and there were more creatures from the different zones that could be found under rocks with each other because the area was more vertical . I had a lot of fun with the peeps, as usual, looking for creatures underneath the rocks, and I got a picture of myself with a Brittle Star crawling up my stomach, a video of a Chiton moving like a armored tank on my hand, and a picture of a baby Sun Star on my shoulder. Very cool. After that little adventure we came back to the base to get ready for our Quiz we took today, and I believe we all aced it! Then after having somewhat of a laid back day we headed to dinner where I got to eat fresh clams, in the shell still, and tried some of Vero's Garlic Butter Octopus, so delish! I have learned so much being here, and have loved being around  the culture. I sure will miss all my Puerto Penasco peeps, but I know we will all be keeping in touch, amazing bonds have been made, and within only a week, wow, it doesn't seem like it's already come and gone. Well it has come to that time when we must all say goodbye, and go back to reality! Very bittersweet for us all. Tomorrow morning were headed home! :) :(      

Wow, the trip is already over and we are heading home tomorrow!  Today we went to the rocky intertidal and examined the tide pools and rocks within, but we were much more immobilized than we were in any of our other field trips because of the great amount and large size of the rocks.  People kept slipping and falling on the rocks, including myself.  I cut my ankle for the second time, but others had it worse so I can't complain!  From below, I could see La Casa del Capitan, a restaurant I always enjoyed dining at since I was a small child.  It is next to the port's lighthouse, on Rocky Point's highest point which I believe is called "Whale Hill."


At the intertidal, we actually caught a couple shrimp, which I have never seen alive, along with a sea cucumber, fire worm, chiton (in abundance), crabs, snails, brittle stars, sea urchins, anemones, an unknown jumping fish we soon released, and hermit crabs (which also seemed to be abundant at every beach we explored).  I actually held some of the creatures, which I haven't done much of!  I enjoy seeing them and learning about them, but I don't really enjoy touching them, especially when they sting, bite, or do anything unpleasant.  Later on, we had a couple of lengthy breaks to study for and take our quiz.  I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we are glad that's done.

We went to Flavio's for our last dinner together, which is one of the first restaurants when you first drive into the shrimp market.  I have never eaten there before, but the food was amazing.  It's a shame that I filled up on chips and salsa and couldn't finish my meal, but they were so good and I was extremely hungry.  We took some final pictures, then parted for a few items at the Mexican-style Walmart, which has a name I can't remember.  Tonight, we are going to enjoy are last moments together, but we will all definitely stay in touch!  I will be home tomorrow :)

Well, today was our last day here in Puerto P. We went over to the area by the light house this morning to look at the rocky intertidal, and found some cool stuff. We found serpent brittle stars, another bristle worm, a couple of midnight urchins, and Liz found a little bitty sun star! I put the brittle star on my face and the sea star on my tongue, pretty sure after this trip my class mates think I am crazy, but in an ok kind of way.

We had our test today, but other than that and the tidepools it was a sit back and relax, soak up our last remaining hours by the ocean kind of day. We went to Flavios for dinner tonight, which was pretty awesome, and managed to pick up some last minute souveniers. We are all excited to go home tomorrow, but also sad to leave behind the ocean and hanging out.

Sea lion census

While our study abroad group was out at Bird Island, we took part in a sea lion census.  We counted number of males, females, those on island and those in the water.  In addition, we counted any who had fishing nets on them.  You can see there were many around (and they were very interested in us!)

Our data were:

• 324 in the water
• 397 on island
• 48 bull sea lions
• 4 seen with nets

Rocky Intertidal

This morning we woke up and went to the Rocky Intertidal.  It wasn't just some small rocks, they were quite big and bulky!  Here is an example of what it looks like.  This picture I took last year at the same place we went to today.  I didn't realize that my batteries in my camera were getting low, and after a few shots of different sea life they were dead.  So I wasn't able to take many pictures of the things I saw today, so I am very grateful to my awesome classmates who took some for me!!!

I really enjoy going to the rocky intertidal areas.  I think I like them better than the mud flats just because they have such a diversity of animal life.  If you want to see them you really have to search.  So we started flipping over the rocks and looking for life.  We saw a lot of different brittle stars.  One that I found was actually eating!  It was really cool to see.  We learned in lecture that the sea stars and brittle stars can actually put their stomach outside of their bodies if it is to big to eat, and start digesting the food outside and once it gets smaller they bring it all back inside to finish it off.  When we found this brittle star it was already mostly inside of itself.  But it was something very interesting to see!

As we were searching for sea life Erinn and I were searching together, I turned over a rock and I found a baby Sun Star.  I was so excited.  Last year it was my goal to find one and I never did, so this year I was really hoping to be able to see one out in the wild.  Below is the picture that Mackenzie took.  It is a Sea Star that can have 10-42 different arms.  So naturally everyone got a picture with it!  It was really cool.

Last Day playing with Urchins

Well, sadly this is our last full day in Puerto Penasco. It was celebrated with getting to sleep in a whole extra hour until 8am, which was much appreciated after our bonfire, gossip hours last night.
I have had a great week, swimming with the sea lions on Sunday was an amazing experience. I was very scared at first but then I just decided to float and let it be. It was crazy, I got so close. One sea lion was looking the other way and almost ran right into me. We both realized at the same time and both of our eyes bulged out in shock that the other one was there. Mackenzie let me use her underwater camera so hopefully I'll have some good pictures to show later. To revive me after snorkeling and kayaking the day before the tour included delicious home made burritos. I ate mine with my feet off the side of the boat, soaking in the sunshine and watching all the sea lions play and birds flying. That night we did some more shopping and had dinner down town at the Blue Marlin. Fresh shrimp tacos, yummy!
this morning we explored the rocky intertidal and found some pretty interesting critters. The one I enjoyed the most was a baby Sun Star that Elizabeth found just before we left. It was nice to see because we had done a presentation on Echinodermata yesterday, which is the phylum Sun Stars belong to, so after reading all about it we got to see it up close, touch it, and take pictures. Of course we still saw a lot of urchins, hermit crabs and even some shrimpies!

Comparing what we saw today at the rocky intertidal to what we saw at the soft sediment intertidal I got a better understand of what sea creatures live where. Snails and blue crabs were abundant in the soft sand, where chiton and anemones live in rocky areas. 
Outside of that I'm enjoying my last day of beautiful ocean views, and looking forward to falling asleep to nothing but the sound of waves and the stars above me. 

Today was a little slower paced, but despite that I am exhausted. Even as I type I can feel my eyelids getting heavier, but I said I would post every day, and so I shall.


Today I did not wake up before everyone else, in fact I slept in until the last possible moment. Our group traveled down to Cholla Bay, and with the tide out, the mud flats seemed to go on forever. We did make it out to the water line though, and I found a few sand dollars when we got there. We also met a blue swimmer crab (Callinectes sapidus) stuck in one of the pools and he kept trying to intimidate Zanna. He had just molted his shell so he was very soft, and he couldn't even pinch he was so squishy! I found his molt (and a couple other huge ones later on), and it has a little crack around the edges and you can see how he got out of his old shell. I also found a few of the actual crabs, and after making sure their pinchers were not going to get me, got in some photo ops.

Photo Courtesy of Janeane Mancha

We also met a pygmy octopus, he inked me and bit Yeltsy. I think she'll live though :)

Photo Courtesy of Janeane Mancha

When we got back it was time for naps, and then the afternoon lecture/presentation.  I talked about the phylum mollusca, which includes slugs, chiton, cowrie, squid, nautili, ocotopodes, snails, clams, and oysters. Like our little friend pictured above, all have what are called mantles, a word which means "cloaking". This is where the creatures gills, anus, reproductive system, and osphradium (equivalent to something like a nose) are contained. 

After our little lesson was done, we decided to eat dinner at CEDO in lieu of going out to eat, so a few of the girls, I, and Glenn went down to the Mexican Wal-Mart. Mostly a lot of junk food was bought, I think some of the girls were having withdrawals with how healthy we've been eating this past week. We lit up the bonfire when we got back and talked, just having a grand old time. I crashed out a bit early though, I'm feeling pretty burned out and I see many naps in my future. Tomorrow is our last full day here, and while my pocket is telling me it's time to head home, the rest of me really hates to go.

Today was an amazing day once again!!  We woke up early to go to Cholla bay.  It was very fun.  I really enjoyed seeing the octopus and the blue swimming crabs.  The blue swimming crabs were interesting to see.  They were amusing because every time my shadow would pass the crab it would try to pinch my shadow.  I really like waking up every day knowing that I am going to the beach. 
I learned lots of new stuff today.  Mainly about the Pygmy Octopus and the Blue Swimming Crab.  The Pygmy Octopus can only grow to about 3.5 inches and also it occasionally takes refuge in shells.  It also tries to hide itself with other shells.  Today we found a Pygmy Octopus and it was hiding in a Black Murex shell and it tried to hide itself with any shell it could get its tentacles on.  Also I found out that not only the Pygmy Octopus can change its color to match its surrounding but all Octopus can do that.  For the Blue Swimming Crab, I learned that when something grabs their claw that they will release their claw.  The reason for that is so their predator might only take what they have and the crab can escape.  It is better that happening than the crab get eaten.   I also learned that Moon Snails feed on other snails and in order to do that they drill a hole in their shell.  I am really enjoying learning about the animals that live on the beach and I can not wait for tomorrow.

my fight with an octopus

Well, today was quite the interesting day. We went to Cholla Bay to check out the soft sediment intertidal and see all the different types of species that live there. There were thousands of snails all over the ground, including clams, blue crabs, and fiddler crabs. The crab on the top picture is a fiddler crab. they use that giant claw to wave around to attract mates but that is all their good for. something interesting about it is when for whatever reason he loses the big claw, the small claw grows to big a big claw and what was originally the big claw grows to be the small claw that they use to eat, and the process continues. The bottom picture crab is a blue crab and its the crab that we usually eat.

other than finding all these crabs we also found an octopus. once we got it to come out of the shell Jessica was handling it when I decided to hold it, because really, its not every day you get to hold an octopus, but little did I know that all the stress we were putting it through was pissing it off and it ended up biting my hand. I freaked out a little once my hand was feeling numby and burning and I realized it had injected me with its venom. my hand has swollen considerably but the experience is awesome

sea lion playtime

Yesterday was the day that we were finally able to go to bird island to swim with the sea lions, to say I was excited is definitely an understatement. The day started off with us actually having to get to the dock first and wait for the divers to get their gear ready, most impatient moments of my life. The ride itself to the island was at least 45 minutes, which actually seemed to take forever. I think at that point we were all pretty eager to get to the island and the sea lions. when we finally got there we had to go through all the precautions of what to expect when swimming with the sea lions and when to keep away and not get to close. By the time it was time to get in our wetsuits I was just itching to get out and in the water. Once we were in the water it took the sea lions just a couple minutes to start swimming around us because they had followed the divers. Although I was very excited to be within touching distance of them, some of my classmates weren't and even got scared enough to climb on to my back and almost drown me (Janeane). Once they got used to the idea of it though they got a little bit better, however, I think Jessica, Lydia, and I were probably the most excited.

I love that the sea lions were not scared at all to get close and personal with everyone. If you stayed still enough they would swim right up to your face and flip at the very last second. I had a big one swim straight to my face and open his/her mouth and that was pretty scary, but other than that I was having the time of my life!

For those who aren't as educated about the sea lions, although they look a lot like seals there are a couple differences. Sea lions have an external ear, whereas seals have an internal ear. Sea lions can also use their back flippers to push themselves up and actually "walk" but seals can't. Sea lions can also hold their breath for up to 40 minutes and can swim up to 25 MPH. I guess its understandable why my classmates would be scared of this huge creature that has the upper hand in the water.

Needless to say it was so very fun but also very tiring.

Another sea lion video!

Because they're so cool.

FUN TIMES

Yesterday we headed out to Bird Island.  Like my fellow classmates have posted, there are many sea lions that live here.  It is amazing to see all of them and then get to go and swim with them is even more awesome.  I was able to go SCUBA diving and it was amazing.  There are so many things to see. 

This is a picture of me that Glenn took while we were down at the bottom.  I was surprised to see how close the sea lions would come to me.  There were moments when I really wanted to reach out and touch one but since they are wild animals I didn't want anything bad to happen so I kept my hands to myself!  At one part I thought that I got my flipper stuck on something and I turned around to see what it was and it was a sea lion playing with me.  It was so cool.  So I stopped right there and played with her.  We also saw some other really interesting sea life.

This is a picture that Dr. C took of a Chocolate Chip Sea Star.  Last year when I was here I didn't get to see one of these and ever since I saw the picture he took I really wanted to see one this year.  And I did!  I was so excited.  They really were all over the place.  The sea stars are in the phylum Echinodermata.  An interesting fact about this phylum is that they all have spines or bumps from a endoskeleton.  On this particular sea star, where you see the black spots they have little spines.  They aren't sharp but they are a little pointy.

To the right is a picture of a few tube worms.  They are the purply color, at first I thought they were anemones, but I was wrong.  I had a fun time playing with these, while my dive buddy was taking pictures of something else.  When I put my hand down to touch them they immediately dropped back down into their tube.  I didn't even have to touch them, then they would come back out rather quickly and I would reach down again to touch them and they would got right back in again.  It was actually pretty funny.  I learned that they are filter feeders meaning that they feed from substances/ particles in the water.  It was interesting to see them.

Today we went to Cholla Bay, which is a mud flat.  It was a lot of fun to see the different way the animals survive in this area as opposed to the rocky intertidal.  I remember from last year being at Cholla bay and the tide coming in really fast and washing our buckets away and it was like we didn't have enough time.  This year we got there at the low tide, and I was thinking to myself that the water will be here in no time at all but it wasn't.  It seemed to come in really slowly this year giving us a lot more time to dig around and try to find different types of animal life.  It was a different experience.  

Then this afternoon the class was divided into 3 different groups and each group had to do a presentation.  It was fun to see what each other have learned about the different phylums this week.  My group was assigned to the echinodermata phylum.  I really enjoyed learning more about them, this includes the sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sand dollars.  We have been very lucky this year and have been able to see all of the animals. 

We went to Cholla Bay today and studied the soft sediment and the creatures that live there. We found a Pygmy Octopus taking shelter from the inter tidal conditions in one of the shells. Octopus are part of the Mollusca family and are known as Cephalopoda. Now for those of you who have no idea what a Cephalopoda is; here are some neat characteristics:
They have well developed heads with a large brain and advanced eyes. Octopus have no shell and tentacles armed with suction cups.

And although he was cute and fun to touch, he got into a fight with a crab and even drew blood from one our own (Yeltsy)! Eeek! I guess you never know what you'll find hiding in the sand!

Until next time, watch out for octopus and crabs!

~Mackenzie

Pics from Bird Island

SINGLE (FEMALE) SEA LION - CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE NICE KIND

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post a blog, so I will briefly state what we did.  The highlight of the day was definitely the kayaking trip on the Morua Estuary.  It was my first time kayaking, and to my surprise, it came rather naturally to me.  I thought I was going to be the first to flip the kayak, but I didn't!  No one else did either, which is a good thing because it would have probably ruined the day for a few people!  The water was shallow, and the surface of the bottom of the water was soft, so my feet would sink about four inches.  The water had a high concentration of salt, and an abundance of marine organisms, especially crabs.

Today, however was a slightly more eventful day.  We spent the entire day on our trip to the Isla de San Jorge, also known as Bird Island.  The boat trip took just about an hour to get there, and the way back seemed much rougher because of the choppy waters the boat had to push through.  When we actually got to the island, it was well preserved, as it is an area protected by the government.  Some of us went snorkeling, and some went scuba diving.  I was with the snorkeling group, and when I jumped into the water, it wasn't long before the sea lions began swimming VERY close to us.  They were mostly one to two year old pups wanting to play, and it was a sight.  They kind of reminded me of underwater dogs.  The experience was a little distressing at first, because I have never been that close to wild animals, in an environment I was not familiar with, doing something I have never done.  On the way from the island to the mainland, we discussed the organisms, particularly the sea lions.  We took a census around the entire group of islands, noticing that the female sea lions appeared to greatly outnumber the males.  There was between 2-20 females per male, who are known as "bulls."  There was even a part of the island where the males were gathered in what seemed like a sea lion version of a gentlemen's club, which was an unexpected view.

As far as the cultural experience is concerned, this part of Mexico is similar to the U.S. in many ways, but also different.  The way of life here seems more simple and less stressful, but may seem somewhat primitive to those who come from the U.S., in ways that are hard to explain.  It has a market economy, much like the U.S., and there are a great number of small businesses operating in here in Penasco.  It also has, or appears to have a democratic political system.  As a group, we saw part of a campaigning event for an individual by the name of "Kiko," who is running for mayor.  He is a member of the National Action Party (PAN), the main right-wing political party that dominates the state of Sonora, which is very similar to the Republican Party and its dominance and ideology in Arizona. 

Well, this is all for now, but I still have one more blog to post before this program ends!  I will also try to focus more on the marine biology aspect, and less on the political, economic, or sociological ones.  They are very interesting to me.  Nevertheless, I will sum up the entire experience and how I will miss it.

SEA LION (FEMALE) AT BIRD ISLAND

THIS IS THE GREETING WE GOT WHEN WE ENTERED THE WATER AT ISLA SAN JORGE (BIRD ISLAND)...SEA LIIONS EVERYWHERE! WOW WHAT A TREAT!!

I am so depressed that the rice for my camera didn't work, I believe it really is beyond help at this point. I'm also thoroughly upset that my posts will be naked and void of photos for the rest of the trip! They just look so empty, sad, and uninteresting with nothing on them.  Not to mention all the amazing moments and memories I missed capturing today.

Got up early again, and we got ready to go out to Isla San Jorge for our snorkel/SCUBA venture. Paco was doing so much better after the shot Felipe and Mackenzie administered last night. He was running around, playing, and chewing on my fingers; I definitely have puppy love for the little guy. After we loaded everyone up and got down to the docks, it was about an hour ride out to the island. First we swam on the west side, then the east. Once most of the others got out of the water it was a lot easier to navigate the small "safe" area. I dove to the bottom a few times and met an octopus by accidentally stepping on him. I was also bumped a few times by some sea lions swimming next to, under, and over me; one pulled my fin, and one came in for a kiss on the east side of the island. Dr.C got quite a few awesome photos, and one of me snorkeling - you can see just how close the sea lions were to us! We ate lunch on the boat, and afterwards helped conduct a census of the sea lion population. The ride back was really choppy, and I got an awful sunburn on my back. I'm wearing t-shirts and jeans the rest of the trip.

After a short nap back at the home base, we went into town to do some souvenir shopping and get dinner. While everyone seemed to decide on a light dinner this evening, the food seemed to be pretty bland all around. However we did manage to see the solar eclipse, pretty awesome stuff. The real excitement came when the Federales showed up. There is a gentleman named Kiko Muno running for President of the Municipality, which is the Mayor. There was a band in the back of the truck and Erin, Mackenzie and Zanna got up and started dancing out on the restaurant deck, and a few of us were dancing in our seats. Then the police trucks started trailing behind, guys in full combat gear and AK-47s, loaded and pointed right at us and other people. We stopped dancing after that.

Tomorrow is another early morning and I need to apply more aloe to this nasty burn. Ow.

May 19th, 2012

Today, where to begin...

The morning started out pretty decent: got up at 5:30 and watched the sun rise, had toast and juice while sitting and feeling the ocean breeze blow across my face... super relaxing, so calming... these guys though, sleeping like logs!

Photo by: Jessica McAdams

Things started out great when we went down to Mi Playa beach to run some tests on the salinity and temperature of the tide pools in the various intertidal zones. We found TONS of brittle stars, a nudibranch, turbo snails, a bristle worm, and anemones.

Photo by: Jessica McAdams

Photo by: Jessica McAdams

Then, just as the calm arrives before the storm, my serene and joyous morning swiftly turned to disaster as I witnessed, in slow motion, the descent of my beloved camera from my pocket into the swirling, salty waters below. I raced back to the beach, to where our vans were parked, hoping beyond all hope that I could manage to take apart my camera to try and save it; but the screws would not come undone. As I sat on an old wooden box, trying to force the screws to turn with a pair of tweezers, I cried. For the last 8 years, not a day had gone by that I did not have a camera, and this had been my favorite, my baby, my old reliable for the previous 5. It was as if a piece of me had been cut off. Not having this extension of myself leaves me with a strange and unsettling feeling, and while everyone has been kind enough and offered to let me use their cameras, it just doesn't seem right - it feels dirty.

While I was drying my eyes and preparing my mournful descent back down to the group, Brady came by with a small puppy. He was covered in oil, and I offered him my protein bar and he snarfed it down. Glenn gave him some water, and I stayed behind a bit to play before continuing back to the group. As I headed down the beach, I became aware of the puppy crashing into my shins as he tried to follow me through the sand. Suddenly I felt the need to save him, just as I have been notorious for doing with every stray and injured animal I've come across since I was 3. I named him Paco and he followed me all the way down to the tide pools, and even sat through the lecture.

Photo by: Janeane Mancha

It broke my heart to have to leave him there, but it broke Mackenzie's even more because she burst into tears over it. So into the big orange bucket he went and back to CEDO with us, where Glenn and I gave him a bath, and Mackenzie pulled fleas off while I held him. I think we were meant to find him because it just so happened that Felipe, a veterinarian, was on site. Mackenzie also works with animals in Pacos' state on a day to day basis, so if we can get him back, has the resources available to make sure he gets healthy and to a good home, unlike here where he will most likely end up back where he was to die. Thanks to Felipes help and Mackenzies determination to save Paco, he is doing much better already.

Around 2, we went out to go kayaking in the estuaries. Normally these are where the fresh water streams and rivers meet the ocean, but as there has been damming all along those, it has become a negative estuary, meaning there is little to no fresh water present, and there is a high salinity content. Glenn joked about going for the Olympic kayaking team with me, for the ride out we were so far ahead of the rest of the group that we had the opportunity more than a few times to just sit and drift in the middle of the big blue wet stuff. The water was clear and perfect for an afternoon swim, and I absolutely LOVED kayaking. I can tell you this: the only thing my arms are going to be sore from tomorrow is the light sunburn I got from being outside for 3 hours straight. Afterwards we had fresh ceviche and coke from the oyster farmers shack/restaurant. Delicioso!

We headed out to dinner at a local hole in the wall sort of restaurant and it was the best meal I have had here in Mexico so far (aside from Glenn's delicious french toast of course). On the way back, our van (consisting of Liz, Glenn, Xanna, Janeane, Yeltsy and myself) stopped by a supermarket to get some rice to attempt to save my camera. I had a minor heart attack when my change purse wasn't in my bag, and I thank God that it was still out on the ground by the van with everything in it when we left.

Needless to say it has been a very long, and very emotional day for everyone. Tomorrow is a new adventure!

Arriba:)

Ohhh Mexico, Mexico. Everyday is another eye opener here! Our first trip today was to the low tide. A little early for me but definitely worth every min! We all took the temperatures of the low tide, intertidal and high tide. Brady and I were assigned to the low tide which was 37 parts per thousands salinity and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Throughout the time there, the group found organisms from snails, annelids and brittle stars which I am holding^^ to worms and crabs that we kept in a bucket to lecture about them an hour later. I found it funny because I am such a girl when it comes to holding animals but I held everyone except the fire worms..(even though I pretty much yelled every time they moved on me.) Haha when we were getting ready to leave this cute little puppy was following Jessica and all of us were paying more attention to the vertebrates rather than the invertebrates as Dr. C would say. The poor thing was covered in oil, not even 6 weeks old, had fleas, was dehydrated & had mange:( Broke my heart to see animals with no home, yet I have seen them all over her in Mexico. Good thing we brought him back to CEDO to see what we could do for now.. Saddest part of my trip!
 The most fun part of today was Kayaking! Yesltsy and I shared a kayak and I believe we need to enter the pros. Lol I definitely got more red after those 3 hours in the sun. I learned the estuaries are half fresh water and salt water but this particular one was negative which means no fresh water comes though and the salinity was around 78 and a normal ocean is 37. CRAZY! Best believe that salt residue all over my skin. We ended up eating great ceviche to end the trip. For dinner we ate at Curva and was the cheapest food I have ate here. Haha but really good too! A taco, enchilada and rice and beans. I ate everything!:) cannot wait to swim the the 600lb sea lions tomorrow!!! <3 mi amo Mexico. arriba!!!!:)

What an interesting and great day!  Today we woke up bright and early to go to the tide pools on mi playa.  While we were there we measured the salinity and the temperature of the different pools.  I enjoyed seeing all of the different organisms that live in the tide pools.  Then we went to the negative estuary, where we kayaked.  My favorite part of the day was in the estuary on the mud flats. When I walked around in the sand, bubbles would come out toward my knees and to the surface. 

While in the tide pool I learned that it is not best to touch fire worms because they are harmful.  I also found out that some anemones eat Brittle star fish.  One thing I found very interesting was the reason why the bubbles emerged, which is because of detritus and animals such as worms crabs and snails.  Detritus is dead organic organisms and the animals contribute to the bubbles by creating burrows (homes).  The estuary we saw used to be a positive estuary but now it is a negative estuary because their is less fresh water entering the estuary.  Another thing I enjoyed learning about was the fiddler crabs.  The male crab has one large claw and one small one. The small one is used for eating and the large one is used for attracting females.  When a female is interested the check out his burrow and decide if they will mate with them.  Another thing I learned was that most of the creatures in the tide pools are not harmful to people.    

emotion overload

Finally got to sleep out on the deck last night and woke up with the sun beating down on my face... once one of the other girls woke me up, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Definitely a very beautiful sight to wake up to. Today also happened to be our emotional day, weather it was due to losing a significant item or dropping a camera into the ocean or even having to leave a really sick and adorable puppy at the beach and not being able to take care of it and rehabilitate it back to health. Thanks to Glenn's big heart we were able to bring him back to CEDO and Mackenzie is now helping him get rid of the mange and might be able to take him back home and get him all healthy and good again. Other than the emotional part of today we also went tide pooling down at Mi Playa and found Fire Worms, Brittle Stars, and anemones. I really wanna bring a brittle star home and hopefully we could make that happen. Then lastly, we went kayaking through an estuary and got pretty damn burnt for that 2-4 hour trip. Although it was a very tiring day it was absolutely fun. Not to mention we have the boat trip tomorrow and that should be lots of fun!

Kayaking in Morua Estuary

Our 2012 marine bio study abroad class all together!

I'll let the students tell the stories but here are some pictures from our kayaking adventure today.

 

Woke up with the sun this morning, it was absolutely amazing. I ate my breakfast out near the fire pit and watched the ocean while the Osprey nesting pair taunted me - they kept flying by JUST out of range for my camera to get a decent photo of them, but I'll get one before we leave. We had lecture at about 9:45 today and went over some basic inter-tidal stuff; breakdown of the regions, species of animals present, various stressors from living in the tide pool area, etc. Afterwards we went down the road to Cet Mar Acuario, which is a little one room aquarium. It was really exciting because I got to pet a Sea Lion (a full grown male at that!), and sea turtles.

Photo by: Elizabeth

Photo by: Elizabeth

 As I work at an aquarium myself, it was a little depressing to walk in and see such small tanks and poor lighting conditions. Four or five large sea turtles were in a small, chest deep, pool of water (species included olive ridley and green sea turtle); the resident male sea lion, Arturo, had a pool about the size of my bedroom, and the water barely covered him. One green sea turtle was alone, though that was understandable as she appeared to have fibropapillomatosis (aka turtle herpes), but she was completely in the dark. Lights were out throughout the small site, and the walls looked as though they had seen better days. What they do is great, they're sort of a turtle rehabilitation center, I just wish there was more funding available to help better care for the animals.

Photo by: Jessica McAdams

After our little jaunt to Cet Mar, we headed back to get ready for dinner down near the Old Port. We had dinner at El Delfin Amigable, and walked along the streets for an hour or so. A few of us picked up some souveniers at the shops that were still open, and a good time was had by all. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous contrasting with the rocky shore, and became even more picturesque when a flock of pelicans flew by. I was very upset I couldn't take any photos of our evening out - or the gorgeous sunset - because I'd left my camera back in the dorms.

I think I'll sleep on the deck tonight. Tomorrow morning we get up SUPER early to go kayaking down at the estuary.

Also, Erinn tried to eat a sun star today.