We went around the hurricane until we reached Texas where we entered land and shortly after hit some pretty intense turbulence as we crossed the tail of the hurricane. Alex was a category 2 hurricane, glad it was nothing stronger. It was the first time I have flown through a hurricane. I will be adding some more information in time to this blog post.

Also take a look at this blog post I made over at orcinus orca in regards to the oil spill and hurricanes; Oil spill threatens both wild and captive orcas

On to my story;

Sometime around the first week of June, mayhem hit my life while down in Mexico. We were at the beach, I had just gotten out of the water and lay on the sand to catch some vitamin D. A short time after I got up and the world spun around me like it never had before. I immediately fell flat to the sand and lay there in panic while I felt the sun beating down on me. Slowly Markus (my boyfriend) got me up off the sand and we carefully walked home. That walk felt like an eternity. I got home thinking that I’d not eaten or hydrated properly and then consumed food and water and layed down. I started to calm down, my panic subsiding. Day after day, I didn’t feel right. Things spun around me when I would lay down and get up or moving from side to side. I am used to vertigo from years ago when I was hit hard with Viral Labyrinthitis and was impaired with vertigo for a long time after (1.5 years). I remained self employed while working part time, as that was my only way to participate with my career but that’s ok because I enjoy web development. Over time the vertigo subsided and seems to flare up only with stress, sleep deprivation or when I get a cold or flue which is almost never. Eventually I moved to Mexico (Playa del Carmen) because the vertigo seemed to almost disappear. What a relief! I would encounter it only at key times and found that staying healthy, working out and keeping a low stress life style maintained it and yes I was even able to drive again! BUT this is not what was going on in June while in Mexico although this vertigo was active along side of it. It was really scary!

Eventually the doctor came to the house and diagnosed me with the early stages of an ear infection so I was put on 10 days of an aggressive medication to clear that up. Around the 4-5 day I started to feel better and the spins subsiding, but the vertigo still strong. At the same time, I was suffering from insomnia – we lived in a very noise polluted environment where during high season the base of the bars was a very low frequency and would vibrate through our skulls till 5 am every morning then comes the construction around 9 am so that meant only a few hours of sleep a night. This sure made me wonder how my cetacean friends adapt to their noise polluted environments. People in our community were not sleeping well. Because I was medicated, and highly sensitive to sound (I am highly sensitive), I almost stopped sleeping all together and a new dimension of a nightmare started to unfold. We still had about 2 weeks to go until we were departing Mexico for Canada, at that rate we were concerned how I was going to make the journey home as I was pretty much bed ridden for 3 weeks in total. As the days went by and the heat maintained at what felt to be on average about 45 (so we stayed indoors in air conditioning which didn’t help matters), a storm named Alex was coming our way. I prayed no hurricane would form and hit us, how could I manage to live through that and my current state??? Anyways the pressure drew, headaches amounted on top of everything else and so advil was added to my daily dose; fatigue, vertigo, and occasional spins which were still there after medicating. The days past, my sleep lessened and I started to sink into a very dark dimensional trap. Markus ran all the errands, kept me fed, hydrated and made sure I took my medication that was also beating me down. He kept a careful watch over me. Alex passed but it still remained very low pressure in the Yucatan which only intensified all my symptoms. As our days drew to an end so did my medication, thank god for that! I started to replenish my bacteria as my stomach had taken a beating. I’d lost a lot of weight.

With 1 day to go before getting on a plane, we were facing the “long way home” as our only flight options were from Cancun – Toronto – Victoria and that is a total of 9+ hours flight time (12 hours travel time). Never in my life had I flown that many hours never mind while enduring insomnia with an infection of inner ear. How appropriate!!!!!!! I kept my eyes on the hurricane radar and saw that there would be a hurricane category 2 in the Gulf of Mexico the day we would be traveling. The morning we left to the airport I was so busy that I forgot to check the radar, and that was the best thing I could have done, not looked at it. Had I looked at it, I would have been in a state of panic the whole way home. Now, I was in survival mode, I felt like shit but was eager to get the next 12 hours out of my life.. I can do this!

Our flight lifted off and for the first 1.5 – 2 hours everything seemed normal. We flew directly over the oil spill but weather conditions made viewing very difficult although I could see the Louisiana and Texas shorelines. Big clouds, lots of them. So we entered land and I could see the landscape below me. I chose a window seat to keep my line of sight in order, in case the vertigo and spins should start up. I looked out the window and saw this wall of white coming our way and then the announcement came on. “Here we go” and I thought we got away with not encountering the hurricane but nope. We entered the wall of white and stayed inside of it for about half an hour with no line of sight. During that time, we bounced around like a bunch of popcorn and I held on to Markus’s hand and clenching my whale rubbing stone in the other hand while sweating buckets while trying to maintain my head position – the last thing I needed to do was set off the spins and then a panic attack. Around that time I heard a paper bag come out and a woman position it over her mouth then I heard “are you going to throw up?” and so I prayed “please don’t barf” over and over until the nightmare stopped. Good she never barfed. She was right behind me, that is all I would need and then everyone else would start up as well. And so we flew right through Alex’s tail. I did it. Not only did I face a massive fear but I did it with my current impaling conditions and didn’t activate any panic issues either. Markus patted my back congratulating me. But how appropriate – what a grand finale to the previous hell on earth experience I’d just had. And when I look at the image of the hurricane, I see that I was on the edge of a spiral, of total power. And almost inside my own inner ear, how perfect is that. After arriving home and finally sleeping I looked back on the previous day and thought WOW – I flew through a hurricane and not only that, but while enduring major vertigo problems. Good for me, I am strong!

A few days later after finally sleeping and sleeping (yes I even slept up to 10 hours one night breaking the insomnia like a branch) I went to a walk in clinic to confirm the infection was gone. No infection he said, you are cured. However he wrote down on a piece of paper something for me to research that describes some of my experience and that is not treated with medication. It’s called Benign Positional Vertigo. Yup, that’s it. When I look in one direction when I lay down and then look up to the right my world spins around me in such a turbulent way. So I will make the follow up appointments to have this condition corrected. I suppose it won’t happen over night but at least now I know what I am dealing with and that I don’t have some brain tumor as I feared. Thankfully the symptoms are much more reduced and I feel my life is almost back to normal. It was a humbling time. All at once I had battled; an ear infection, with activated Labyrinthitis, BPV, insomnia AND flew through a dam hurricane. I couldn’t help myself, I HAD to share the story. It was a powerful time (major energy cycle including the lunar eclipse) in my life and I know many others who encountered many powerful things during that time. I was told, we were in the acceleration stages to 2012 and so our energy will encounter stronger energies and we will learn to adapt. I am a warrior who rode on the edge of a hurricane after being kicked in the head and I can take it!

Thanks to my friends who got us to the airport on either side.

Note: There were many more misalignments that happened during June involving many areas of my life and of my friends lives. It was an extreme time, I don’t encounter these times often but when I do they seem to drop the sky down all at once. Right now I am working hard to repair the things that went amiss. I have many things to take care of this month; work, finances, accommodations, family, health, school and so on. I may not be able to respond to people right now as my current load is beyond what I am used to. First priority is my health. I ask my friends and clients to please be patient with me while I up right things which isn’t happening over night. Thanks for your understanding.

Here is the excerpt taken from the Orca Live website stating the sighting;

“CetaceaLab reports that a large group of northern resident whales were nearby yesterday (June 15). The group included the A5s, A24s, A34s, Cs and Ds. The A36s were also there along with A12. This is the second sighting of the A36s with A12. Sadly, it looks as if A32 (Cracroft) is now gone as he was not seen during either encounter. He will be missed very much. On another track, Paul is off to the IWC. The meeting is being held in Agadir, Morocco this year. We have set up a blog on www.orcalab.org (link at the top right) so that he will be able to post summaries and comments during the meeting. It is a crucial year for the IWC and for whales. The threat to resume commercial whaling is a very real possibility.
Helena
16 Jun 2010 08:27:59 PDT”

Also, check out this great video from last summer of the 3 Brothers produced by Rachael Griffin

Right now the “Get out migration” for wild salmon is underway. Kudos to friends Troy and Kate who are marching from Malcolm Island on behalf of wild salmon. This initiative is lead by Alexandra Morton, a biologist who has worked for years to bring the attention of wild salmon health and how (open pen) fish farms are impacting them. Ultimately, people have often shied away from the topic because it’s one that requires a bit of research to understand how the impacts are unfolding, hence her many years of work on the topic.

In 2009, I attended a Hazardous Waste class at University of  Victoria and was given the opportunity to examine this controversial topic a bit more. We were given a law assignment to address and in that I took Alexandra Morton’s perspective and examined current legislation. We found that our government is responsible for protecting the health of wild salmon, and is failing in doing so. With that, we must put pressure onto government to uphold this law and the people’s awareness is needed for this. For this exercise, we also had to interact with the opposition and in my case had the opportunity to interact with a fish farm employee who was also attending the course. It was an intense and interesting experience, and gave me some first hand experience on the topic while exercising legislation to defend the case.

Our assignments were reviewed by a judge and I was given some awesome feedback and encouragement which made me feel proud. At the very least it gives me the opportunity to talk about the topic at a very important time. You can see part of my assignment here. I am by no means an academic on this stuff but I did take the initiative to explore the topic while we were studying hazardous waste topics and fish farms came up as one. Through this I feel I have been given a small opportunity to do “something” on the topic. Here is another article I wrote while attending a law class in 2005; commenting on the topic of law and science; Era of Jurisciences

Funny how the topic follows us here to the Mexican Caribbean though, while people are starting to learn about such things and they feel that farmed fish is the way to preserve the wild populations. However people are unaware of the open net pen problems occurring right now. This effects everyone, everywhere.

You can learn more about the science and the efforts by going to this website; http://www.salmonaresacred.org. Please check the itinerary to know when the migration will head through your area, go down and show your support. They are due to arrive in Victoria tomorrow and will be there for Mothers Day.

Remember that wild salmon are a major part of our resident orca populations diet. They are also the main food source for many other wild animals, the trees, First Nations communities and for us. We depend on wild salmon for the health of our planet… Consider them the blood that runs through your veins. Without it, we die.

Somethings you can do to immediately help our wild salmon;

• Don’t purchase or eat (open seapen) farmed salmon
• Limit your intake of wild salmon
• Choose greener house hold cleaners
• Sign the petition

Also read this great article by David Suzuki Foundation

“If you’re a fish eater, I recommend that you seek out and purchase this sustainably produced Coho salmon and help create a demand that enables closed system salmon producers to grow and profit from a great idea”

This website is a dream come true project for me and want to make your dreams come true too. There for, it is my dream to see Jason’s wish come true. I’d like to gather support that a future Southern Resident orca be named after him; Jason.

I found this little clip and thought that I would include it the blog post. It’s very short, but very sweet. There will be a small gathering held for Jason this coming Saturday (June 5, 2010) in California and was invited to attend. Unfortunately I am in Mexico until the end of June and will be unable to go but will be there in spirit.

Photos from 2 of our 3 visits in Victoria (usually overlapping a full moon)

I am not sure what has happened to my (vegabond/naturalist) friend Jason Sneed but he has been reported as “missing”. He disappeared at the end of March while living in Hawaii. All his personal belongings were left behind at a friends house. It is thought that he’d gone for a swim but never returned. I don’t want to assume anything about his situation but I am concerned. I hope to see him back in the pacific northwest this summer. I hope he is well and just on a solo journey where he couldn’t bring his things.

I met Jason through facebook, through a mutual group about marine mammals. Jason and I met several times while he was visiting Canada. We had a wonderful and magical connection. Jason was a very multi-dimensional man and really enjoyed sharing perspectives on our spiritual experiences. We shared many hours of conversation around the topics of orcas, stories of Luna, tales of Mexico, and discussions of the universe and all it’s magic. We spent many hours talking along the Victoria shoreline, walking Dallas road while looking for orcas. He was very passionate about the welfare of the Salish Sea and in the Mayan culture. He was also training himself in new ways of survival, as we do need new ways to adapt to our world. He often stated things that made me stop to think differently. He was also hoping to come here, around this time, to the Riviera Maya and get to know this part of the world.

Hope to see you again amigo!

He signed his emails with this;

In La Kesh – “I am another you” or “I am another yourself”. (Mayan)

http://www.consynpro.com – Jasons personal website

Family offers reward in man’s vanishing

Gather here to share information, thoughts, feelings, and happenings about our friend Jason

Added May 1, 2010

I am not sure if we will ever see him again, or get to know what happened to him. At that point it will remain a mystery to us all. I just hope that you are not, did not suffer and that you are in a better place now.

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Friday, October 29, 2004 (Canada)
Orca Dream – Transformation

I will write this down before it fades.

I dreamed I was on an island near shore when I saw a pod of orca passing. I ran along side with my camera (typical of me) to get some footage of them. As I turned around the bend the pod got closer and one individual came towards shore. Rather then being a baby this time it seemed to be an almost full grown male… As the animal got closer, he transformed into a man, who then walked towards me. He was a young native man, seemed very happy and smiled the whole time. He came towards me and asked me to go with him however I was shocked and confused. I followed the man into what felt like a tunnel, almost underwater however it felt like we were in an air bubble and there were many others (indigenous looking) there too.

It was very compelling and the first time an orca has emerged into a human being before my eyes.

__^__

Friday, March 10, 2006 (Mexico)
Luna Dies

Very sad news…
Our friend Luna has died apparently struck by a tugboat at 9am this morning.

__^__

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 (Mexico)
La Sonrisa

He smiled at her, and then she tingled all over while thinking I’ve seen that face before…

__^__

She dreamed of him, and then he came true… Was it destiny? Stay tuned…

A journey that started in 1998 and came full circle in 2009

All text, images, concepts are © of orcagirl.com and are protected under Canadian copyright law

Please note: I found on the old Center for Whale Research site that there are 14 transient pods:E,F,M,O,N,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,X,Y,Z

Chelsea Stanley, a biologist for DFO states;
U’s are KW’s whose ecotype is unknown. They are not given an ecotype until they are seen associated with a group with a known ecotype at least twice. I think they suspect most of them are transient-type.

Please view the comment by Jared Towers as he talks more about these two interesting individuals.

On the last trip I managed to witness something really incredible. Firstly, I heard the A36 brothers call all alone in the Queen Charlotte Strait. There was not a boat that day in the strait and the calls echoed incredibly. They were calling out, as if to be responded to, I am assuming they were looking for A12. A12 (an elder) lost her son this past year (A33 Nimpkish) and has been traveling solo sometimes when she is not with the 3 big boys who have seemed to adopted her as their step mom. The day after the calls, we saw the A36′s traveling in the strait with A12. They were not calling at that point. It’s an amazing observation to have, to share this understanding that orcas are like people, need friends and family and ultimately love and companionship in their lives… It is my dream to move up there in the future. Where I can access those days, standing alone on the shoreline, just me and an orca… Yes it is possible.