We say so, but a short, unsuccessful one. “I’m not sure about this way of life I’ve bought into. Mother Nature is the keeper…and there’s not a thing I can do about it.”
– An Embarrassment of Mangoes
So, that pretty well sums up the day. The winds were strong (15 mph, if not higher) coming out of the east, which can mean deception. When the wind comes from the east, the island shelters you while on the boat west of the island.
A boat trip and some extracurricular activity
We had a nice early morning boat trip today. It was warm and sunny in port and only slightly less so out on the water. A great day for dolphin watching! The sea was teeming with delphinid life! Tons of old favorites stopped by for a look including #404 and #161. Lots of great video! I am not sure if this will be my very last trip of the season, but it might be. If so, I have no regrets! It was a great way to end the season.
So we’ll kayak instead!When you are living in a place because of work, you often don’t do the “touristy” things that others come to the island to do. One of these things is a place called the “healing hole.” All of East Bimini is mangroves—this means that it is inhabitable, basically without solid ground. It is a buggy area, with murky water that is home to a variety of fish and insects. In this area, there is a small, fresh water, lithium spring.
Last of the summer boat trips… They love their sandals here in Japan – this is our entrance hall during happy hour (my shoes are the flip-flips)
My time here in Mikura is almost up! I have been very busy AND having a lot of fun, so it really has flown by. The bad weather has finally moved away, so we had a glorious day today! It was sunny (except around Mordor…uh.. I mean Motone) and the waves were tolerable.
Two water entries, but poor visSo, we cannot say that today was a bad day. If we did, we’d be crazy. But, considering we had dolphins in view for about two hours, and we had two water entries, it may not have been a productive video day. We came upon spotted dolphins at 17:29. However, these dolphins were already with another dolphin boat, so we decided to slowly make our way past.
Dolphin TV marathon IMAGE: My best friend
Like the fabled city of Atlantis, Mikura-jima was thought to have been lost forever in the vastness of the ocean – swallowed up by a tempest so colossal that few survived to tell the tale of its coming. But one man did survive, and this is his story….
Right OK, it wasn’t all that dramatic. But 3 days of high winds have resulted in spate of ferry cancellation.
A sunset bottlenose sighting Today the seas were a bit calmer, but apparently the spotted population was tired out from yesterday! We were without dolphins for the first 3 hours and 45 minutes, but at 19:11 we saw two bottlenose dolphins. We know that this will shock everyone, but the bottlenose were not very interested in us or the boat.
Roughly one-third of the entire populationToday we provided passengers with the casual presentation, elaborating on the information they had already been given about the dolphins. Each week, this presentation takes different turns, dictated by the passenger needs and enthusiasm. Today was a great one!
Today also marks our 21st trip of the season, which is pretty good considering the fact that dolphin trips have not been as consistent as usual.
Today was still a bit rough thanks to DennisToday Kel’s family made it in safely along with our weekly passengers who are eager to head out on the boat. But, with winds still a bit strong, our departure from the dock was a bit tentative. We began with a snorkel stop at Rainbow Reef, a 20-25 foot site.
A day for the little things IMAGE: The village at night
I was unable to fit myself onto a boat today. They were propped full of tourists who arrived for the weekend. This gave me the chance to work on lots of little tasks that need to be taken care of before the end of the season. I can see why Kathleen usually leaves the island around this time of year – it is becoming increasingly difficult to find space on a boat. No real news for today…..
