It seems that every time we get in the water during this week, it rains! We were dry during the early AM data collection and Kathleen let us know it was really great underwater visibility. We were prepared with our rain jackets just in case.
And there were lots of novel behaviors observed from the surface. Tilly was throwing and biting water (feature photo) while Bailey and Georgie did synchronous spy-hopping (see below, left)! No idea what they were looking at or for. Elli’s calf was with Georgie and Kami with either Poli or Elli nearby but letting them play. Kami and Georgie also spent time playing chase with each other (see below, right), though in the photo below they are pair swimming. Sandy played with an Egret and chased it away by tail slapping the water to splash it.
Our dolphin encounter and swim were after breakfast and we were excited – with our expectations met 110%! About halfway through our encounter – meeting Buzz and Sandy – it started to rain and was a bit windy. That did not dampen our enthusiasm for the snorkel with the dolphins. We each had fun playing seagrass/seaweed catch and swimming around and diving down with the dolphins. We watched the morning’s video data after lunch then went to the classroom to learn from Jennifer about coral reef restoration. A paper discussion followed and then a bit of free time before we boarded the Dona Yita for our night snorkel beginning at dusk. The water was warmer than expected and we saw 4 or 5 octopuses (see the largest one below), a Burrfish, lots of squirrelfish, several squid (in a line formation), and more. Of course, on our way back to the boat, the sky opened again and we got our freshwater rinse on the boat ride back. So, today, we had two showers from mother nature and two showers in our rooms!
Aubrey – I got to live my mermaid dream and swim with and play with dolphins today.
Kristen – I played catch with a dolphin today. Her name is Kami and she’s my new best friend.
Camdyn – I played fetch with a dolphin that I share the same name with (sort of).
Michaela – I will never eat tuna again (#not dolphin safe!).
Cody – Free swimming with dolphins and snorkeling in pitch black still made it feel like a vacation.
Madison – I’m very proud of myself for keeping up with a dolphin today.
Grace – I enjoyed being able to hear the dolphin vocals right next to them underwater.
Roxanne – Watching an octopus actively camouflage was really cool.
Emma J – I was adopted by a family of dolphins today. Sorry, mom and dad!
David – I was really proud that I was only off my 2 when guessing the number of teeth in (dolphin) Sandy’s mouth.
Annabelle – Best. Day. Ever.
Emma – This day has exceeded my expectations for the whole trip.
Jamie – I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to be in a bad mood when dolphins are happily squealing.
Justin – The intensely genuine smiles (on my students’ face) that I saw during the dolphin encounter made my day!
Manon – It was really cool to watch Georgie and Bailey do synchronous spy-hopping this morning during data collection.
Let’s hope the rain has moved on so we can snorkel mid-morning tomorrow.
Cheers
The URI RAMbling Pod