At Sea
It was our second day at sea as we continued to make our way to the coast of Ecuador. This morning Olga gave a presentation about the geology of the area.
Throughout the day we saw several new species of seabirds including a Nazca booby that sat on the deck. Just after lunch we were fortunate to see a fairly large group of common and spinner dolphins. The dolphins were leaping straight out of the water and amazed us with their aerobatic displays. We noticed that there were many small calves in this group of roughly 50-100 dolphins. At times they appeared to mill about in one area and this might have been because they were feeding on smaller fish. It was a fantastic opportunity to see such beautiful oceanic dolphins.
The big event of the day was crossing the Equator. It is the first time the National Geographic Explorer has ever crossed the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere! To welcome the ship as it “crossed the line” we were invaded by King Neptune, his wife, a lovely mermaid, and a band of swarthy pirates.
Captain Skog called us all to the sun deck to participate in the festivities. Those that had not crossed the line were called the unworthy victims that had to be cleansed on the outside with a special cream and then cleansed on the inside with a special potent connection administrated by “the doctor”. This was followed by kissing a fish and finally they were hosed down of all their sins!
It was all good fun for those good sports that participated and those that just enjoyed the spectacle. We look forward to stepping back ashore tomorrow in Ecuador!
It was our second day at sea as we continued to make our way to the coast of Ecuador. This morning Olga gave a presentation about the geology of the area.
Throughout the day we saw several new species of seabirds including a Nazca booby that sat on the deck. Just after lunch we were fortunate to see a fairly large group of common and spinner dolphins. The dolphins were leaping straight out of the water and amazed us with their aerobatic displays. We noticed that there were many small calves in this group of roughly 50-100 dolphins. At times they appeared to mill about in one area and this might have been because they were feeding on smaller fish. It was a fantastic opportunity to see such beautiful oceanic dolphins.
The big event of the day was crossing the Equator. It is the first time the National Geographic Explorer has ever crossed the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere! To welcome the ship as it “crossed the line” we were invaded by King Neptune, his wife, a lovely mermaid, and a band of swarthy pirates.
Captain Skog called us all to the sun deck to participate in the festivities. Those that had not crossed the line were called the unworthy victims that had to be cleansed on the outside with a special cream and then cleansed on the inside with a special potent connection administrated by “the doctor”. This was followed by kissing a fish and finally they were hosed down of all their sins!
It was all good fun for those good sports that participated and those that just enjoyed the spectacle. We look forward to stepping back ashore tomorrow in Ecuador!
