Amazing dolphin and whale watch excursion
Today I celebrated the birthday of one of my dearest friends by taking her on a Dolphin+Whale Watch excursion. God was so gracious in that right after we exited the harbor we spotted a pod of rarely seen white-sided dolphins who spent some time gamboling alongside our boat and then diving back and forth under it to play on the both sides before forming a ring to round up some fish in a clump which they then took turns divebombing to hunt. (They have markings like orcas, but are shaped like dolphins.)
At points I saw four or five of them leap up out of the water together to gain altitude to dive under and around their prey. Pelicans and seagulls soon filled the air circling to catch the pieces of fish that they missed so pretty soon it looked like a free-for all.
Then two gray whales, a mother and her calf, were spotted spouting and surfacing along the shore on their migration to Baja California. It was amazing watching the big spout and then the little spout as they came up for air. We spent most of our second hour on our tour slowly following them as they zigzagged south. Pretty soon we were part of a flotilla of whalewatch boats, sailboats and rafts drifting along enjoying the wonder of God's creation. It was breathtaking.
To add to the beauty of this experience, there were a handful of tall ships floating by (there is some kind of festival which starts tomorrow), and as we returned to harbor we saw a pile of sea lions lounging in heaps on the giant buoys.
Unforgettable!
Today I celebrated the birthday of one of my dearest friends by taking her on a Dolphin+Whale Watch excursion. God was so gracious in that right after we exited the harbor we spotted a pod of rarely seen white-sided dolphins who spent some time gamboling alongside our boat and then diving back and forth under it to play on the both sides before forming a ring to round up some fish in a clump which they then took turns divebombing to hunt. (They have markings like orcas, but are shaped like dolphins.)
At points I saw four or five of them leap up out of the water together to gain altitude to dive under and around their prey. Pelicans and seagulls soon filled the air circling to catch the pieces of fish that they missed so pretty soon it looked like a free-for all.
Then two gray whales, a mother and her calf, were spotted spouting and surfacing along the shore on their migration to Baja California. It was amazing watching the big spout and then the little spout as they came up for air. We spent most of our second hour on our tour slowly following them as they zigzagged south. Pretty soon we were part of a flotilla of whalewatch boats, sailboats and rafts drifting along enjoying the wonder of God's creation. It was breathtaking.
To add to the beauty of this experience, there were a handful of tall ships floating by (there is some kind of festival which starts tomorrow), and as we returned to harbor we saw a pile of sea lions lounging in heaps on the giant buoys.
Unforgettable!
