Dolphins a’frolickin’ in the waves 
IMAGES: #161 Koshakure with seaweed
Today’s boat trip did not yield as much video data as I would have liked. I blame it on the waves. The water was slightly rough on the east side of the island, which attracted large numbers of dolphins. Unfortunately, dolphins are way too super excited by waves to take much of an interest in humans. They spent their time surfing the waves into shore. They will swim a few hundred meters offshore, and then ride the waves into the shallows, sometimes leaping in the air. 
I did get some good images of #161 (Koshakure) playing with some seaweed. At one point she brought the seaweed near me and let it go. I thought perhaps this was an invitation to play, and I was torn between 2 options: 1) picking up the seaweed and trying to engage her in a game of seaweed-catch, and 2) doing the responsible-researcher thing and pretending that I was part of the scenery. I chose option 2 (I am responsible after all), and pretended I was an inanimate lump. This must have disappointed Koshakure: she left (in disgust?) moments later. Hmph.
-Justin