At Sea – The North Atlantic Ocean
Our journey continues as we head northeast towards the Cape Verde archipelago. One of the great luxuries of being at sea is having time to allow our minds to wander, to savor all of the wonderful events that we have experienced since we left Stanley almost four weeks ago.
It would be fun for all of us on board to put together our individual highlight lists for this journey. Some of my highlights thus far: White-crested grebes in the Falklands. A new bird for me and a very beautiful one. They floated calmly right along the shore line, offering supurb views… The wandering albatross “singles bar” at South Georgia. Beyond description. About ten birds engaged in their elaborate courtship ritual that included spread wing postures and bill clacking… Baby Antarctic fur seals playing in the water, exploring the habitat that will soon be their home… Walking out of town on Tristan da Cunha. I had a gentle breeze at my back and gorgeous ocean views ahead… Nightingale Island, where rockhopper penguins were standing in a beautiful moss and lichen lined cave, with buntings bathing in a pool at the opening… Green turtles coming ashore, digging nests and laying eggs on Ascension Island. This was a dream come true, something that I had wanted to see since seeing a film about this in elementary school. The abundance of life on Boatswain Bird Island. Thousands of sea birds of many types, going about the business of feeding and breeding… Crossing the Equator in kayaks and Zodiacs.
There was another highlight. One that occurred a few days ago as Endeavour went from Ascension to Boatswain Bird. It was a visit by a large group of bottlenose dolphins. They came from all directions to ride our bow wave. They were a boisterous group, swimming on their sides, bumping one another, and occasionally leaping clear out of the water. We could hear some of their vocalizations as we leaned over the railing to watch their acrobatics. Perhaps they were watching us and enjoying the vocalizations that we made as we expressed our delight.
Our journey continues as we head northeast towards the Cape Verde archipelago. One of the great luxuries of being at sea is having time to allow our minds to wander, to savor all of the wonderful events that we have experienced since we left Stanley almost four weeks ago.
It would be fun for all of us on board to put together our individual highlight lists for this journey. Some of my highlights thus far: White-crested grebes in the Falklands. A new bird for me and a very beautiful one. They floated calmly right along the shore line, offering supurb views… The wandering albatross “singles bar” at South Georgia. Beyond description. About ten birds engaged in their elaborate courtship ritual that included spread wing postures and bill clacking… Baby Antarctic fur seals playing in the water, exploring the habitat that will soon be their home… Walking out of town on Tristan da Cunha. I had a gentle breeze at my back and gorgeous ocean views ahead… Nightingale Island, where rockhopper penguins were standing in a beautiful moss and lichen lined cave, with buntings bathing in a pool at the opening… Green turtles coming ashore, digging nests and laying eggs on Ascension Island. This was a dream come true, something that I had wanted to see since seeing a film about this in elementary school. The abundance of life on Boatswain Bird Island. Thousands of sea birds of many types, going about the business of feeding and breeding… Crossing the Equator in kayaks and Zodiacs.
There was another highlight. One that occurred a few days ago as Endeavour went from Ascension to Boatswain Bird. It was a visit by a large group of bottlenose dolphins. They came from all directions to ride our bow wave. They were a boisterous group, swimming on their sides, bumping one another, and occasionally leaping clear out of the water. We could hear some of their vocalizations as we leaned over the railing to watch their acrobatics. Perhaps they were watching us and enjoying the vocalizations that we made as we expressed our delight.
