“Awe” Junkies: testing a theory

Maybe that’s what we are: Awe Junkies. We’re fortunate people. For all it’s flaws, we were born in a Great Country, blessed with parents who loved us, always had a home, food, clothes, education, friends and endless opportunity. So to a certain degree, when we became adults who landed jobs and made a decent living, we became what we refer to as brats:  people who “had it good” and sort of expected it would always be that way.

We’ve lived in a couple of special places. We raised our children on Beaver Lake where we had a nice view, and they could swim, boat, attend good schools and live in a safe environment. Then we retired to a small Puget Sound beach house with a beautiful view. Four years later, we still think we’re very fortunate, and we adore our home with its’ view, but admit we take it for granted during the many months each year when the weather in Seattle is  cold, rainy, and not conducive to outdoor activity.

So . . . . we go other places in the world in search of Awe. We’ve found It in the animals of the Serengeti, the ancient winding streets of Brugges and Zanzibar, the souks of Morocco, and the blue whales of the Sea of Cortez, among other things and places. Fortunately, we still find It in things we’ve seen before.

This afternoon’s example is the barrel-rolling stingrays of Baja.  We’ve posted about these in previous years, but for newer readers, we’ll explain the photos below.

The Sea of Cortez, the waterway on the eastern shore of the Baja peninsula, between it and the Mainland of Mexico, is home to many, many stingrays. They aren’t as large as the ones we’ve seen in the Caribbean, but they’re much more plentiful and visible.

Almost every afternoon here at Playa Norte in Los Barriles, and many mornings when we’re out in the kayak, we hear a sudden bursting forth from the water, and see one, or a dozen, stingrays fling their bodies out of the water high into the air (3 feet perhaps?), perform a barrel roll, just like an aerial acrobatic pilot, and flop back into the water.

This, our third winter in Baja, we still find it produces a sense of Awe.  And we will continue to find pleasure in winters in Baja as long as we can feel It.  Does that make us Awe Junkies???