Camp Baja

Camp Baja

By Tisha Taylor

From the get go, I could tell the Sea to Stars program was going to be an adventure. The people I met were all so excited to be there. The bus ride down, the AC broke but not a single person complained. Once we arrived, no time was wasted to learn the ropes. The first night under the stars, I was treated to the best shooting star I’ve seen in my life and woken up to an amazing sunrise.

The very first boat trip, we saw a humpback whale, dolphins, whale sharks and fin whales. I was able to swim with the whale sharks as well. The high coming back from the boat ride was shared by all. We all just buzzed recounting seeing all these amazing animals.

Photo by Ben Brose

The food was absolutely amazing and catered so each person with food sensitivity or allergies were able to eat without issue. Being someone who can be fairly picky, I was pretty worried but my expectations were exceeded. That first night, I went into the ocean for some night snorkeling and was treated with bioluminescence.

The next few days were each filled with time on the boats to swim with the whale sharks, time to learn about them and free time to snorkel, paddleboard, have a few beers or a variety of other things. What I found to be the most amazing part was the community the leaders setup. When I didn’t want to go into the ocean one night, every person I said, “I’m done for tonight” responded with, “sounds good.” There was no pressure to join, every person accepted the answer given and never made me feel bad about wanting to be done.

While this was just my group, I can tell that VSI strives to have this environment for every group. It felt like the most inclusive summer camp.  

Photo by Ben Brose