Punta Banda

 A few miles southwest of Ensenada, Mexico, rests the community of Punta Banda. It offers beautiful white sand beaches, marked by generous rolling sand dunes. Behind the row of houses facing the beach is an estuary. For some homes, this means there is a water view from both the front and the back. 

 This morning I found hundreds of whimbrels enjoying the estuary. 

To get a decent photo of them I had to hike beyond the barbed-wire fence, across the field of succulents, and perch myself on the promontory above the birds. 

Some flew as they sensed that I was nearing but most stayed where they were, presumably trolling for small water bugs or sea life to pluck up in their bills. 

The view through the front of the house in which we stayed offered huge glass windows facing the ocean, punctuated by flamboyant objets d'art. 

Maggie has developed a love for running free and loose on the beach. She does respect boundaries and will not stray far without running back to be sure we are still around. She discovered this cat window, which she jumped through only on two occasions, when she realized that I was outside while she was in. 

 Otherwise, she waited to be let outside to play. 

The house is home to many wonderful, beautiful animals. Some are permanent members of the household. Others are foster animals waiting for adoption. This cat moved and interacted more like a dog. 

On our early morning walk, Maggie seized a large snail crab. She tossed it into the air, plucked the body from its shell, ran with it up and down the beach, barked at it, then decided she didn't like the taste of it. I'm sure one of the nearby sandpipers finished it up for breakfast. After spotting two jellyfish that had washed ashore, I decided it was time to get Maggie back across the dunes towards the house. 

 Maggie's new friend is Ginger, a rescued boxer mix. 

It was a delight to watch these two dogs run and run in circles chasing each other up and over the sand dunes in front of the house. 

Some of the resident dogs preferred to watch from the window. 

 Inside, Maggie's other best friend was Rosie, a two-month old beagle mix. They wrestled joyfully, as puppies do. 

And played tug-of-war with rope. 

We are very pleased with how well Maggie has interacted with dogs of all sizes. But today, it was Velma who gave us the biggest laugh. She was tired of all the long walks on the beach and relieved to be headed home in the car. When we stopped at a military checkpoint on our way north, she barked insistently when a soldier detained us for too long with questions. He was being a smart aleck, and though Velma was patient with his first two or three questions, when she sensed the soldier was not treating us well, and when his tone changed to a somewhat teasing pitch, she let loose with her barking in the back seat. The soldier gave up trying to talk over her and waved us through. Three cheers for Velma, the Protector!

Maggie gives this trip a PAWS UP!