Just before breakfast the cry went out that a whale had been spotted close by on the starboard side. It was a frustrating sighting since it was a beaked whale and they are always under water much more than they are at the surface. This one, a Cuvier's beaked whale, was being more cooperative than most. It logged in the water wallowing at the surface or just under it.
Soon after the whale sighting a large white bird flew along side us. It was a cattle egret, that ubiquitous bird of the African plains where it walks beside large animals eating the insects that are scared up. Here as far as one can get from land, an avian emigrant was circling our ship. It apparently had ridden on the ship all night as it had been sighted by some the previous evening. Soon it flew off in the direction of Guyana where the first one had appeared in about 1880. Apparently helped by ships and encouraged by a growing cattle industry, the cattle egret took hold in the New World and it is now widespread in both South and North America having been recorded from Antarctica to Canada.
Just after tea was announced dolphins were spotted to starboard. They headed straight for the ship and were soon riding on the bow. Everyone was soon alerted and enjoying their antics. Soon, however, some noticed that a second kind were nearby. We had stumbled into a pod of pilot whales as well. With skillful piloting the Captain and his crew brought us close by the pod. With pilot whales nearly under the bow everyone was enjoying the sight.
It was not long before we remembered that there was new underwater camera equipment on board. A Zodiac was dropped with three staff. The underwater camera was held in place, the live screen on the camera guided the aiming of the underwater 'eye' and with the delicate touch of the Zodiac driver, we were soon collecting wonderful footage of both the dolphins and the pilot whales. At recap the edited version with musical accompaniment was played for all in the lounge. The applause revealed the excitement everyone felt for what we had all experienced.
Our day ended on an emotional high but we were not finished. Travelers aboard the Caledonian Star are well aware of the wonderful Filipino dinner that is served each trip and this was the night for this marvelous cuisine. We all assembled on the aft deck for a sumptuous and tasty dinner. And following dessert we circled the deck, stopping on the monkey deck, above the bridge, for a look at the stars and the waxing half moon, remarking that this had been a very special day, indeed.
