We were one of the only boats out today.
Kogi stopped by this morning to tell us that Souji had space on his boat. We got to the port at 8:10 am – about 30 minutes early, but it was nice to watch the sea and activity at the pier. The wind was about 12-15 knots from the West and the sea was choppy but not too bad. There was only once guest so all three of us joined the trip. The first group of dolphins did not really want to 'play'. They were resting and staying away from us and the boat. But, the second group had a few young sub-adults willing to hang out and interact. After a bit we saw that a mother/calf pair was part of this group. It was #065 and her new calf from this year. The calf was born earlier this month, less than 3 weeks ago! It's little tail was pumping hard next to mom. It seemed a few times as though #065 was showing off her calf … 'take my child's picture'. And, I obliged her. I was able to take about 6 minutes in total of these two dolphins with about 8 other dolphins all around in this group. They were playful and checking us out. And, there were two sea turtles with them! The turtles actually seemed to approach the dolphins and check them out. I could hardly believe my eyes. Usually, dolphins consider the turtles toys here at Mikura. An interesting day with the wind increasing but the sun warming the day. We go out tomorrow morning, too … so more after that. Cheers Kathleen