A Journey

On an earlier trip with Lindblad/Nat Geo, we went to Baja California. We were one day on the Sea of Cortez, looking at all the different life at sea. Here is a long poem about our day.


A Journey


Fifty fellow travelers
Escaping cold, grey days and nights
Expecting to be pampered
In a communion with nature:
Walks in the desert, and hopefully,
A chance to reach from the Zodiac
And pet a whale.


Remember this day -
The breeze mottles and darkens
The deep azure water.
Pacific describes the warm, glistening blue
Under a cloudless sky.


Remember this day -
Devil rays leaping with a full flip and twist
(Degree of difficulty 6.2)
Hammerheads swimming two feet below the surface,
Jelly fish floating by.


Remember this day -
Frigates playing with the ship's antennae
Sperm whales lolling, spouting askew,
And fan-tail diving,
Blue and humpback in the distance.


Remember this day -
Thirty dolphins running with the Sea Bird
Jumping, leaping, bow-surfing
Singly and in threes,
Fifty travelers leaning over the rails
To share the sight.


Expectations met and satisfaction, but more -

A dark line appears on the sea-side horizon -
Moving, shimmering, frothing, as it nears.
We leap to the Zodiacs to be part of the melee.
A thousand or more dolphins boil the surf -
It's Mardi Gras in the Sea of Cortez.


Expectations exceeded create
An internal bedlam of excitement -
Remember this day.


Sustain the sea -
Not just for the devil ray, dolphins,
Frigates, whales and me.


Sustain the sea -
So our grandsons' and granddaughters'
Grandchildren can, like we,
Sit by the bon-fire under Orion,
The Big Dipper, and the Pole Star
Singing songs and remembering
That dark line on the horizon:
Mardi Gras on Cortez's Sea.

Getting ready

So ... we've been getting ready on two fronts

• Clothes, gloves, hats, and boots (our jackets come from Lindblad/Nat Geo) - the themes are layers for warmth, and waterproof for dryness (we've been alerted that ice-cold water is not good for comfort - although De De just had foot surgery, and her doctor said if the foot hurts, just stick it in the water a few minutes). For the clothes and stuff, we've found a terrific place in Wayne, PA. called Out There Outfitters. They have selection, advice, and price - a good deal.
• Our blog capability - we can't get a "link" to poems, so we have a work-around. We'll try to post two blogs a day. The first will be the dairy - a note and a picture. The second will be the "Poem of the day." If you don't want the poetry, just blow through those posts. Hopefully, by labeling the poems, they will have their own archive.

Only a few more weeks to "go" and we're getting excited!

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