St. Jean de Luz
The Endeavour anchored in the French sector of the Basque region and shortly after breakfast we entered the picturesque St. Jean de Luz by Zodiac.
Landing at a floating pier in the heart of this historical town many boarded coaches for a trip to Bilbao. This is the commercial center and chief seaport of northern Spain where we visited the Guggenheim museum, located along the Nervion River. Others made a morning visit to Bayonne, a town in southwestern France known for fishing and metallurgical products.
As the undersea specialist, I had my first opportunity to explore the underwater world on this voyage. The open ocean only a few hundred meters away from the Endeavour’s, anchorage. Luckily I met some local divers in town who belonged to a dive club situated within the harbor of St. Jean de Luz. With a few members of the dive club we headed out in their well equipped support vessel to our dive site only two miles offshore. Using landmarks and a depth sounder we found the location called the "Desert". Descending into the dark and murky waters we encountered the ocean floor 110 feet below. Thankfully the lights on my underwater video camera highlighted the intricate details of the creatures we encountered. I returned to the ship with a seven-minute video to share with all on board that evening in the lounge. Visually stunning for all was this colony of tunicates pictured above. They are filter feeders and live in colonies and belong in the same Phylum as us, the Chordates.
We all had a fabulous afternoon in the heart of St. Jean de Luz before going back to the ship by Zodiac.
The Endeavour anchored in the French sector of the Basque region and shortly after breakfast we entered the picturesque St. Jean de Luz by Zodiac.
Landing at a floating pier in the heart of this historical town many boarded coaches for a trip to Bilbao. This is the commercial center and chief seaport of northern Spain where we visited the Guggenheim museum, located along the Nervion River. Others made a morning visit to Bayonne, a town in southwestern France known for fishing and metallurgical products.
As the undersea specialist, I had my first opportunity to explore the underwater world on this voyage. The open ocean only a few hundred meters away from the Endeavour’s, anchorage. Luckily I met some local divers in town who belonged to a dive club situated within the harbor of St. Jean de Luz. With a few members of the dive club we headed out in their well equipped support vessel to our dive site only two miles offshore. Using landmarks and a depth sounder we found the location called the "Desert". Descending into the dark and murky waters we encountered the ocean floor 110 feet below. Thankfully the lights on my underwater video camera highlighted the intricate details of the creatures we encountered. I returned to the ship with a seven-minute video to share with all on board that evening in the lounge. Visually stunning for all was this colony of tunicates pictured above. They are filter feeders and live in colonies and belong in the same Phylum as us, the Chordates.
We all had a fabulous afternoon in the heart of St. Jean de Luz before going back to the ship by Zodiac.
