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.