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Octavio Trip To See The Whales March 2013 by
Margo Vaughn Nelson - March 2013
Octavio said it best. "Margo,
you are one lucky girl." It was his response to my
declaration of surrendering to the Divine and letting things
happen. I was a lucky girl to snag a spot on Octavio's
Whale Excursion. What a whale of an experience. All I
needed was a toothbrush, a few layers of clothing and a
camera. Octavio took care of it all.
We started the drive at 6
Tuesday morning. Breakfast was provided a couple of hours
later - fruit and homemade burritos. By noon-thirty we were
on a boat at Lopez Mateos. Within 20 minutes we were in a
whale's length and soon to be an arm's length of a whale and
her baby. I'd go into depth about the 2 hour tour and it
was fantastic. I would have been pleased at this point.
However it just got better.
After lunch and siesta,
(lunch provided I took my own snooze) Octavio arranged a
sunset tour of the sand dunes and while we were trekking
around with the sun setting on the horizon the ballenas
danced on the water behind us. We watched from the dunes
which gave us a feeling we'd been transported to Egypt as
the whales spy hopped and breached. An exotic end to a fine
day. And yet that was still not the best.
Dinner, again provided by
Octavio was a seafood fare: stuffed lobster, shrimp and fish
with rice and salad. Delicious. The next morning he got us
up early (7) for a pancake fruit and egg breakfast. We were
fortunate he got us up and going because by the time our
whaling experience hit we were the only ones on the water.
The fog was thick as we
headed from the dock giving the atmosphere an eerie feel.
We glided along and then spotted the "halo of the whale
gods", a white rainbow of sorts, some trick of sunlight and
fog. It proved to be a good omen. Not more than a 1/2 hour
later we were next to a cow and calf and the next thing I
remember after getting from behind the camera lens we were
scratching the baby behind the - well - fins I guess since I
don't know where a whale's ears are. For more than an hour
we scratched and petted and kissed the whales. At one point
another pair approached and we had four whales around us,
and two others off in the distance. It was truly an
experience of a lifetime. I would highly recommend the
trip. For additional comfort I would suggest a few
light/medium layers as it did get chilly. Chilly enough for
one of the Canadians to don her toque (knit hat). Speaking
of Canadians, for additional fun I would suggest taking
along the Four Canadians starring Claude Beaver, featuring
Barnacle Donna. What a hoot this group was.
I highly recommend the
whale tour with Octavio. Not only did he include everything
you needed he even went out of his way to pick up some
vodka, drop us at a pharmacy and buy us just the right
oranges. Like the Divine, dear Octavio provides it all.
Margo Vaughn Nelson
Boise, Idaho
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