The Whales of San Ignacio Lagoon

Original airdate: March 7, 2008

Two Crazy Chicks Productions is pleased to present Episode 5 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Mexico.

The anticipation is palpable even as the tour group wolfs down breakfast and piles into waiting vans. The dusty, bumpy, 2-hour ride to San Ignacio Lagoon does not dampen the enthusiasm and the conversation among the travelers is lively. The sparkling emerald green waters beckon as our intrepid heroines eagerly don warm clothing and life jackets, conscientiously apply sunscreen, and anxiously check and recheck photo equipment.

The group divides itself into smaller groups of 8-10 and board the awaiting boats, which then speed toward the whale observation area. It's a wet and wild 20-minute ride, water splashing over the passengers and leaving them coated in a salt crust that would come in handy that evening when drinking margaritas. ("Salt? No thanks. I'll just lick my lips.")

Eden spots the first whale. "Whale!" she announces excitedly, pointing to one spyhopping in the middle distance. It's a cry that would occur frequently over the next couple of hours. There are whales everywhere. Spouting and breaching in the distance. Surfacing and fluking nearby, their breathing audible. Eden and Miko are awed and overwhelmed, humbled and elated.

All too soon, the small boats turn for shore. Our fearless females and their fellow travelers are positively giddy over their first encounter with the gray whales of Baja.  They relive the highlights over lunch, but fall into contemplative silence during the return trip to the town of San Ignacio.

Conversation picks up again once everyone is on board the bus for the ride to Guerrero Negro. "Time to celebrate!" Karla, the petite, attractive, and flirtatious guide, proclaims. She produces a bottle of damiana, a traditional Mexican liquor made from the shrub of the same name. This causes a bit of a stir, not only because this is a group that enjoys drinking, but also because the bottle is unusually – some might even say, scandalously – shaped.

"I must have it. I will have it," Eden declares, though she knows quite well there is no guarantee of that as she is not the only one with a covetous gleam in her eye.

Karla proceeds to distribute shots of damiana. Miko savors its sweetness and the internal warmth it generates while Eden silently schemes to acquire the empty bottle. 

Who will win the prized damiana bottle? And what reception can our intrepid heroines and their geriatric companions expect from the whales of Laguna Ojo de Liebre? Tune in to Episode 6 to find out!

© Eden Feuer

Bonding on the Bus

Original airdate: March 6, 2008

Two Crazy Chicks Productions is pleased to present Episode 4 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Mexico.

In the hotel bar, the tour group pulls chairs into a giant circle and each person gives a short introductory speech. The size of group and the acoustics of the room prevent Eden and Miko from hearing much, but they do learn that 24 of the passengers are part of a loosely associated group living on California's central coast.

Day 2 dawns, bringing with it the prospect of another long day of travel. By 8:00 – this group runs on time, early even, much to Eden and Miko's pleasant surprise – everyone is on the bus and settling into their seats.

It's been evident from the start that most of the tour group does not quite know what to make of hyperactive Eden and her quiet companion. Our intrepid heroines make a huge stride toward winning them over when they unhesitatingly offer to give up their prime seats to a woman prone to motion sickness and her husband. And Eden's antics with the red pen used to write the day's seat assignments on the windows seem to generate a great deal of amusement.

Between the guide's commentaries and the whale biologist's lectures*, over lunch and dinner, Eden and Miko become acquainted with their fellow travelers – and come to the conclusion that most of them are pretty darn cool.

Even cooler is that the geriatric set apparently returns the sentiment, complimenting Eden on her hair (which, let's be honest, is stunning), seeking Eden's opinion on whether N. is gay (Eden's conclusion: "No self-respecting gay man would ever let himself be seen in public dressed like that."), and inviting our dynamic duo for postprandial margaritas. And thus it is that Eden and Miko swap stories with 4 of their new friends until they are kicked out of the bar. 

Caution: the following material may not be appropriate for all readers.

*Interesting facts from the whale biologist's lectures:

The gray whale migrates 12,000 miles annually between its feeding grounds in the Arctic and its breeding grounds in the lagoons of the Baja peninsula. It reaches a length of about 52 feet, a weight of 36 tons, and an age of 50–60 years. 

Gray whales appear to mate in a threesome comprised of one female and two males. The two males work together. One holds the female in place so she doesn't float off while the other mates with her. Then they switch.

Whale biologists refer to a whale's penis as "pink Floyd."

A single gray whale testicle can weigh up to half a ton. 40% of this weight is lost upon ejaculation.

Tune in for Episode 5, when Yumiko and Eden actually encounter the gray whales of San Ignacio Lagoon.

© Eden Feuer

Over the Hill and Across the Border

Intended airdate: March 5, 2008 

Two Crazy Chicks Productions is pleased to present Episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Mexico.

"'Recommended' my ass," Eden mutters. "'Required' should be more like it. Of course, it would help if we had the sense God gave a billy goat."

Well aware that the situation could be a lot worse - as it was when their vehicle rolled down an embankment in Death Valley National Park 50 miles from anyone, anywhere – Eden and Miko don't panic. They are still trying to figure out what to do when providence smiles upon them. Two men camping nearby come to their rescue, guiding the car to solid, 2-wheel-drive-friendly ground.

Their RAV4 freed, our intrepid heroines promptly hightail it to a less rugged part of the refuge, where they hike into a shady canyon before driving to San Diego.

There, they bird the Tijuana Slough, then retire to their traumatized cat-sitter's ex-husband's condo to prepare themselves for their upcoming epic journey south of the border.

Eager to begin their Mexican adventure, Miko and Eden arrive at the designated meeting place early. As the other passengers on the tour arrive, it quickly becomes clear that the median age of our fearless females' 35 fellow adventurers is somewhere between "very old" and "practically mummified." Undaunted, Miko and Eden board the bus, find their seats, and listen to the orientation spiel.

The border crossing process goes smoothly and the bus wends it way through Tijuana to Ensenada, where lunch is served (for those of you who have been following Eden's dietary drama, this presents only the first of many food challenges to come for the woman who is sensitive to many of the most common ingredients in Mexican cuisine).

As the bus continues down Mexican Federal Highway 1, Eden and Miko appreciate the surprisingly lush scenery. The mountains and hills of Baja are awash in color. Yellow, orange, pink, and purple wildflowers bloom amongst flowering cacti, boojum trees (see photo), and yuccas. Frequent bathroom stops – a necessity with this age group – make progress south very slow, but eventually the bus arrives in the small coastal town of San Quintin.

Eden and Miko take a walk along the beach and watch the sun set over the Pacific before making their way to the hotel bar. It's time to get to know their fellow travelers.

Be sure to tune in to Episode 4, in which Eden and Miko bond with their geriatric fellow travelers.

© Eden Feuer