The morning found many of us Biology students reluctantly falling out of our cots after a late night of studying. Our major plant test would follow in the afternoon and our minds were swimming with the likes of Idria columnaris and Tamarix pentandra. But before we could put our memory to the test, we had turtles to clean.
Just north of town, w
edged between the bay and a rather neglected RV camp, lay a sea turtle research field station. In three shallow cement tanks filled with murky, algae green water swam 9 sea turtles of four varieties. There were Hawksbill Turtles, fierce looking fellows with spiked edges on their bright yellow and green shells, Green and Black Turtles, smooth, sleek and differing only in their shell color, and a giant Loggerhead Turtle, grumpy and imposing with a big … um … log shaped head. Having not been washed in a month, all our reptilian friends were in dire need of a thorough scrubbing. We all hopped in the tanks, artists, biologists, musicians, businessmen and sociologists alike, to remove as much algae as possible before the tide went out. The local scientists directed us as we vigorously scrubbed their shells and cautiously washed their heads. Although the work was rather demanding, there were plenty of delighted squeals from the three tanks.As much fun as the turtles were, my favorite experience at the turtle research center had little to do with the turtles themselves. As we were busy scrubbing in my tank, Janet, a nice lady who lives down here at the field station, decided to shut off the water to our tank completely. Across the tank from the water pipe stood our innocent TA, Melissa Gray, as she diligently washed away at a turtle. Janet turned the lever the wrong way and Poor Miss Gray found herself the victim of an unexpected high pressure hosing. Just recalling the look of pure shock and confusion on her face still makes me laugh.
After bath time with the sea turtles, the Biology students set out to the surrounding area for the major plant test. One of our teachers, Karen, drove us around and chose plants for us to identify. The non-science majors were required to know the English and Spanish names, while the science majors had to know the English, Spanish, Family, Genus and Species names for the plants. The test was not too terribly difficult, but I am sure that everyone was as relieved as me to be finished with it.
To celebrate my victory over the plant test, I went down to the ocean and watched a frenzy of sea birds. Some fishermen had thrown the remains of their catch in the shallows and dozens of gulls and pelicans were snapping up the free food. One pelican had a huge piece of food lodged in its throat and was futilely attempting to swallow it. Acting as a perfect example of a kleptoparasite, a gull sat next to the pelican persistently trying to snatch the food out of the pelican’s mouth. Interested in this behavior, I hopped from rock to rock out into the bay, hoping to get a closer look at the pelican and the gull. Unfortunately, one of the rocks proved more slippery than expected and I quickly found myself knee deep in the Sea of Cortez. My waterproof hiking boots proved ineffective at keeping the water in, but gloriously efficient at acting as buckets. I poured a few cups of water out of my boots at the field station and set them in the oven to dry.
Soon after, an art major friend, Julie, wisely reminded me, “a watched boot never bakes” and suggested that I stick a toothpick in them to see if they were done. Personally, I thought that throwing them against the wall and seeing if they stuck was the best choice. Apparently, I took Julie’s warning against watching my boots too seriously, because I just received reports that people can smell my boots burning.
As you can probably tell, the science is fascinating and the art is gorgeous, but the friends we are all making down here are the best parts of Baja. Our group gets along beautifully and one can almost always find people laughing together. Hopefully, you will get to hear about Biola in Baja from an Art major tomorrow and see some pictures from our hike of Mike’s Mountain
