Days 28-30 - July 24th-26th

These last three days have gone by quickly. On Monday I went out on Dolphin Ohana, for what may be my last time (sad). I really like that boat, Mike and Melainah are really cool people and its just such an amazing experience to get that close to wild dolphins. I got to take the video camera out as well, which is a huge thing because where we swim is usually blue water (yes I know most water is blue) but that means that the bottom is so far down that it's not visible so all you see is blue. Me getting to take the camera was huge because if I were to drop it then it would be gone forever (they sink) and Jim and Martina would be out a camera (or I would be buying them one). I did not drop it however (...phew) and I actually got some decent footage, especially for my first time.

I found that filming the dolphins is harder than filming the reef life while on SCUBA for several reasons. First with SCUBA you are under the water the whole time and can breathe easily and it is sometimes calmer. With the surface filming there was more movement, so it was harder to hold the camera still and when I dove down I was limited to how long I could hold my breath and how far I could free dive. Also, the dolphins never stop moving unlike some of the fish on the reefs, so its harder to get focus quickly and stay with them, etc, etc, etc. However, overall it was pretty amazing.

Also, to top it all off we went out into deeper water farther off the coast towards the end in search for Pilot Whales... and we found them! These animals were AWESOME! They were so big and moved so gracefully just swimming along. Typically they are followed by Oceanic Whitetipped Sharks, but not today (darn). We were able to get in the water and swim near them, though not anywhere as close as the dolphins get. The whales are much faster and can dive much deeper so they didn't stick around long. Regardless, it was incredible to see.

That afternoon Richard left for home and a new intern Julia arrived. She seems nice, kinda quiet, but so are most people when you first meet them.

That evening I went to the Sheraton and gave the Manta talk, then Jackson and I went out and had Thai food. It was delicious (i've been missing my normal intake of asian food).

Tuesday was an off morning for everyone, so we got to sleep in and relax. I took Heather to work then came home, finished my book and worked more on my project. Tuesday night Julia and I helped Jim with Sea Paradise, and afterward I edited the DVD's for Martina.

Wednesday I was back at the Sheraton, and I had the cutest kid for a lesson today. We were fairly busy all morning which is nice and Nicole and I switched off teaching. One of the kids was a little 7 year old who was full of questions and seemed to be having a great time during the lesson. :o)

Toinght I have to work more on my project so its off to editing! Tim's folks are in town this week and are hoping to take me out to dinner tomorrow night (depending on if I'm diving) hopefully it works out a free meal is always great and they are nice people.