Dolphins!

(Day 3, Fernandina Islands, 6:15 am)

Yesterday I woke up early and went out on the top deck of the boat. Two words came to mind: amazing; and serene. I stared in wonder at the scene all around me: islands, water, breezes and early morning sunshine.

I then felt regret. "Abe, why are the boys not out here? What the hell, dude! Who needs sleep when you can have all this?"

So today morning, I dragged them out of bed and up to the top deck. Yet again, it was amazing. For me that is. I wondered what they thought.

Just then, Paul yelled, "Dad, dolphins!"

A Fraction of What We Saw. Dolphins, Everywhere!
Abraham Pachikara, Copyright 2018 (Click for larger image)

I looked in the direction of his hand. Oh my God, to the port side we saw hundreds of flecks in the water. But these weren’t minnows or some other manner of tiny fish. Rather, we were ogling at more dolphins than we may ever see again in our lives.

The crew on the bridge noticed also and changed The Endeavor II’s course to take pursuit.

The boys and I said nothing for what seemed an eternity.

Mother Earth strutted her finest in front of us, bragging about her vast riches. The gleeful creatures bounded out of the water over and over. (I learned the formal term is "porpoising".) Some rising an astonishing 10 or more feet into the air.

Was I happy to be up here? Yes indeed. With the boys? More than I ever expected.

We rose early and moseyed around the top deck every morning for the rest of the trip. We never saw another pod quite like this one but the serenity we found more than made up for it.

Gosh, we only had five more such mornings.