Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered if the Manta Rays that they show you at Sea World are REALLY found in the wild????  I have.  And today, I got my answer!  The answer is YES!!!  Oh my goodness!!!  We saw the HUGEST (is that a word??) Manta Ray swimming along side our boat on our shore excursion today!!!  It was almost as wide as our boat and it was right at the surface of the water just long enough that we could see it, but not long enough for us to take a picture of it. . . . so, I am probably sure that the size of it will increase the more times I tell this story!
Have you ever wondered if you would actually need a sweater in Mexico???  Well, today we had to wear them as we were on the catamaran that took us to this island that reminded me of the pictures that I have seen of the Galapogus (sp??) Islands.  It was quite cold this morning and I was glad that we brought those sweaters!!
Our shore excursion was called Whales, Dolphins and Snorkeling.  When Kristin and I were talking about the excursion earlier on our trip she told me that whenever they say that you will see those kinds of wildlife, she usually doesn't and it was really good of her to say that to me because I didn't really expect to see anything.  But I always wondered. . . . why do they say that you will see these animals then???  Well, I got my answer today!  I saw 3 whales!!!  The first two were on our way to the island and they were feeding, so we would see them about every 7 - 10 minutes or so.  Our tour guide was great and he told us a lot about the whales.  The ones that we saw were humpback whales and it was cool to be close enough to actually see the humpback on them. . . . Suzanne, you would have DIED!!!!
Then, we arrived at the island that has been declaired a bird sanctuary and there where HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of birds on it.  We saw this really cool rare bird that is usually only spotted on the Galapogus Islands and it has blue feet!  My mom got some pretty cool pictures of it (which I downloaded, of course)!  We then went snorkeling around the island where the coral grows, and the water wasn't really clear, but we saw some cool florescent blue and yellow zebra looking fish, a school of yellow tailed fish that swam all around me, purple coral, the brain looking coral, some vibrant blue fish, a sand fish, we got to touch a puffer fish and we saw all sorts of cool fish there.
We then got to spend about 45 minutes at a beach before we had lunch.  It was great and relaxing and the perfect little rest from the swimming.  Then we headed back to the city. . . .
. . .. and that is when the highlight of the tour happened!!!
Have you ever wondered if the whales at Sea World really act the same in the wild with the tails flipping and them jumping and clapping and stuff????  Well today there was this male whale and he was having a grand old time out in the ocean.  He kept clapping his tail, jumping, bridging and even rolled on his back and was clapping his fins and it looked as though he was waving at us.  The bad news is that my mom's water camera had a dead battery, so we couldn't use it to take pictures. . . .. . but Kristin's camera was working perfectly and I got some AMAZING shots of that whale!!!!  I'll have to get her permission to post those when I get home!
So it was a day of wondering and of getting answers!  It was fun!  It was beautiful (about 29 degrees) and it was a day that I will never forget!!!
Tomorrow we are on an educational tour into the mountains!  I'll fill you in tomorrow night!
I love you all!