2024 Trip 1 Part I

Whale whale whale,

Even though this mailing list is only 3 days old, I already missed the deadline for daily update #2 lol. I was so pooped from yesterday and went to bed really early. So here is a belated daily update #2 :)

May 27, 2024 

To find whales, these trips usually leverage fisherman intel, popular nesting / feeding spots, and spotter planes to narrow down areas for sighting.

Today was the only day when we didn't have a plane. Fishermen didn't have intel either. Looking for whales without leads is a big waste of time, so we went to look for Mobula Rays instead (local specialty).

We found a feeding vortex where rays were feasting on planktons. The visibility was not ideal because planktons turned water green and hazy. The rays were also deep below the surface, so I dove ~10ish meters to get closer. When I was going up for air, I felt the eeriness of being alone in the depth of water in an open ocean. Literally anything can emerge from below (have you seen Meg???).

We also checked out an area where sea lions like to hang. Despite the area being stinky, there were so many sea lions to make it worth it. I like the young pups the most (who wouldn't??). They were super interactive and kept circling us but eventually the dads herded them back to the group (mammalian parenthood at its best). 

Today was pretty awesome. Even though no whales yet, I got in incredible freediving practice to help me maneuver better underwater. 

Today's rating: 6/10 (-10 no whales, +3 good freediving practice, +3 seeing mobula ray aggregation was v cool)

Whale news: A few days ago, people filmed orcas killing and eating a whale shark in this region. Apparently this footage has never been captured before and the current bidding for it is ~$60K. Crazy.