Scythe Butterflyfish. Pink and green abalone. Southern sea palms taller than me. Thick kelp forests. Sea cucumbers. Garibaldis. Rockfish galore. The water was teeming with life today. It was great to see several people experiencing their first kelp forest dives. And how great it was to return to the Nautilus Explorer after each dive greeted with very tasty hot cocoa and warm cookies by crew members with smiling faces. This was only the first day of diving. I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks of Isla Natividad tomorrow!
Colleen
1st day, San Benitos Island…..one word, FANTASTIC (and a little cold)
I opened my door this morning and was greeted by prehistoric looking pelicans flying in front of the jagged rocks of the island as the sea lions barked good morning to us…breath taking.
We were able to get in 4 dives today, each better than the one before. It seemed every few minutes our dive guide Darcy would emerge from the kelp waving animatedly to make sure we saw his latest find. It started with a sea lion chewing on a strand of kelp like a dog…then a tiny Spanish Shawl nudibranch…a half a dozen MASSIVE (for a sea slug) Sea Hares…a pair of ghostly Fried Egg Jellyfish drifting in the distance…. A small Horned Shark, and then a minute later another nearly twice the size of the first, with a small Spanish Shawl right in front of him….a dozen lobster crammed into a tiny condo….Did I mention that Darcy is a critter spotting machine???
At the end of each dive we were greeted by the smiling faces of either Carmen or Adolpho with watermelon and hot cocoa….the entire crew is exceptional (I’d mention them all but I’m being told I’m using to much space)…so far, great trip that I hope will only get even better!
Jeff
De retour a bord du Nautilus Explorer pour une aventure qui s’annonce memorable.
Des la premiere journee de plongee (4 aujourd’hui), le spectacle sous-marin etait au rendez-vous. Une experience unique avec la presence des pecheurs de Isla Natividad et des biologistes de Reefcheck. Vivement demain matin pour d’autres decouvertes
Nathalie
Every few minutes our dive guide Darcy would emerge from the kelp waving animatedly. San Benitos July 19 2011
