After two spectacular days in the Asmat region of West Papua, it was time to head northwest to our next destination. With light winds and moody skies, it was a gorgeous day at sea. We started with a rainbow making an appearance off the bow for over an hour and ended with a dark and dramatic sky. In between, we not only had informative presentations and great meals, but excellent bow watching. Seabirds and flying fish were relatively abundant for this region.

The certain highlight of the day was a big pod of spinner dolphins. This group of well over one hundred dolphins was energetic and at times, even spinning. They appeared to be chasing schools of flying fish, but towards the end of the encounter, some of them made their way to the bow and went for a ride. It was another great day onboard National Geographic Orion!

Photo caption and credit: Spinner dolphins. Photo by Mike Greenfelder