At Sea & Isla Monserrate
A morning at sea looking for whales, and an afternoon at the beach… as one of our guests said late this afternoon, “just another day in paradise.”
We were blessed with calm seas this morning, which seemed to be filled to the brim with dolphins. For nearly an hour, we were mesmerized by these graceful, seemingly playful cetaceans, as they rode our bow wave, surfed our wake and leaped clear out of the water beside us. There were thousands of them. First we encountered a group of more than 500 long-beaked common dolphins, and later a group numbering nearly 2000. The smile that comes to the human face when in the presence of these small cetaceans is infectious. Shortly after breakfast, we were all wearing ear-splitting grins.
Continuing on our way, keen-eyed naturalists found first one, then a second, Bryde’s whale. Those of us on the bow had several good looks, despite this animal’s reputation for erratic behavior and general “unwatchability.” We also found a few blue whales, although they seemed to have other business to attend to and gave us just a few brief looks.
As a southerly breeze intensified, we modified our afternoon plan and turned the ship 180° to head back to an anchorage on the north end of Isla Monserrate. Here, we found a beautiful beach, calm water and toasty warm temperatures. Kayaking and snorkeling were the order of the afternoon, along with some beautiful beach walking. In the late afternoon we returned to the beach, for a barbecue dinner ashore.
The golden amphitheater in which we were seated lit up at sunset, and many of us set down our drinks or dinner to photograph the scene. The “Donut Gang” declared that it was an “awesome day.”
We finished the evening with stories of Aztec gods, telescope views of Saturn, campfire songs and s’mores. Who could ask for more?
A morning at sea looking for whales, and an afternoon at the beach… as one of our guests said late this afternoon, “just another day in paradise.”
We were blessed with calm seas this morning, which seemed to be filled to the brim with dolphins. For nearly an hour, we were mesmerized by these graceful, seemingly playful cetaceans, as they rode our bow wave, surfed our wake and leaped clear out of the water beside us. There were thousands of them. First we encountered a group of more than 500 long-beaked common dolphins, and later a group numbering nearly 2000. The smile that comes to the human face when in the presence of these small cetaceans is infectious. Shortly after breakfast, we were all wearing ear-splitting grins.
Continuing on our way, keen-eyed naturalists found first one, then a second, Bryde’s whale. Those of us on the bow had several good looks, despite this animal’s reputation for erratic behavior and general “unwatchability.” We also found a few blue whales, although they seemed to have other business to attend to and gave us just a few brief looks.
As a southerly breeze intensified, we modified our afternoon plan and turned the ship 180° to head back to an anchorage on the north end of Isla Monserrate. Here, we found a beautiful beach, calm water and toasty warm temperatures. Kayaking and snorkeling were the order of the afternoon, along with some beautiful beach walking. In the late afternoon we returned to the beach, for a barbecue dinner ashore.
The golden amphitheater in which we were seated lit up at sunset, and many of us set down our drinks or dinner to photograph the scene. The “Donut Gang” declared that it was an “awesome day.”
We finished the evening with stories of Aztec gods, telescope views of Saturn, campfire songs and s’mores. Who could ask for more?
