Personal Narrative: My Ecology Trip To Mexico

It was early February of 2014. I had decided to go on an ecology trip with my biology club to Baja, Mexico. This was something very new to me, given, I had never been away from home for more than a week, let alone out of the country. This gave me the chance to try something completely out of my comfort zone and to experience something so incredible that I would never regret.
It all started on a cold Wisconsin morning. The snow fall was heavy and the sky was dark, as if it were night. Our group met up at the school and boarded a bus as we said our last goodbyes to our families. We then headed off to the airport.
Many hours later we found ourselves in the beautiful, warm Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We then made our way to the island of La Paz, where we would be staying for seven days, by boat. The hot sun beat down on our sunscreen- covered skin as the ocean’s waves gently rocked the boat. On the way we saw dolphins and many new and interesting creatures that I had never seen before. At this point I had taken it all in because I had never been to the ocean before this

trip.
Hours later the boat anchored and we found ourselves at a secluded island covered with big trees and tan, powdery looking sand. This island was specifically for Ecology research which meant we couldn’t have any campfires, plumbing, or garbage that wasn’t biodegradable. As I stepped out of the boat the warm sand was compressed under my feet and squished between my toes and the smell of steak tacos that had been prepared for us lingered in the air.
After the excitement and great food from the first day, the next morning we had been informed on basic snorkeling procedures and safety. Once we completed this we had taken the boat out to the deep ocean. That is when everything changed for me.
When the boat had been anchored, our group went one by one and jumped into the cold and wavy ocean. The wait was over, it was my turn to jump into the dark, overwhelmingly large body of water. Once my body adjusted to the ice-cold water I got the courage to go under.
While skimming the surface I could see multiple schools of small colorful fish and groups of vibrant coral. After we had been swimming for a while we were lead to a sea lion “beach”. There we were given the opportunity to swim with the sea lions. Their big brown eyes and whiskers melted my heart. They were very curious creatures. One in particular was very brave. It came up to me, nudged my goggles and bit at my flippers. I found this experience very unique and I will never forget it. However, the most significant experience was one that I will never forget.
After we were done swimming with the sea lions we had to take a census of the aquatic life in a specific area.

We laid down the tape measure and were given sheets to track the certain species we were looking for. It was my turn and I swam with the instructor and pointed out every animal that we had to keep track of. I swam down just to get a better look at the rocky, discolored sand to make sure we weren’t missing an animal that could potentially be hiding from us. After that I went to the surface and it got me. I had been stung by a jellyfish. Surely enough as I looked over there it was. A translucent body with long flowing tentacles. This was the most shocking and painful experience I had ever encountered. Moments later I struggled to swim back to the boat. I was in so much pain at this point, but I finally made it. My instructors were confused because I didn’t say anything, just sat there in

shock.
Nothing like this has ever happened to me so I had no idea how to approach it. As soon as we got back to the island one of my instructors poured vinegar on the sting and it burned and bubbled up as if they poured peroxide on a cut. Shortly after I started feeling nauseous and had muscle spasms. The sting left a big red, puffy rash. Needless to say I learned a lesson that day.
This experience taught me to pay attention to my surroundings and to not interfere with nature and how other animals live. This overall experience taught me to be more cautious while swimming in the ocean and to pay attention to my surroundings. Too bad I learned this lesson the hard way.