Dolphin Watching and Snorkeling

Yesterday, June 5th, we went out on a dolphin boat with about 40+ other folks from our church here on Guam. It was a GREAT day!! Here at the right, you see Tim at the front of the boat as we ride out the channel into the Philippine Sea. And I am below to the left, also at the prow of the boat. The water was an absolutely amazing blue - check it out in these photos that are totally un-enhanced, except for the one of the fish, which I enhanced a bit so you could see them even better!





It took about 40+ minutes to get out to to the cove where the dolphins like to rest and play - on the way, we saw lots of interesting sights - like the equipment at the port that plucks containers off of the cargo ships and swings them over ashore. This is how we got all our stuff over here (in a 20 foot container) about 3 years ago.


The water was a bit choppy as we went out - but as I said above, it was incredibly blue! I think perhaps the bluest I have ever seen it here! The weather was hot - I had to get in under cover for part of the ride since the sun was so intense, but once we all got to where the dolphins were nobody wanted to be under cover! We all wanted to see these beautiful mammals!


Looking, looking, looking - wow! Where are they? At first, they were a bit shy - and frankly, all I could see was the deep, blue seawater (which really wasn't all that bad of a sight!). But then I heard someone shout, "Look! There they are!"




It was so cool - they started off far away but soon got bolder and wandered closer and closer to the boat in little groups. All told, there were about 25 dolphins in the group that visited us. They seemed to cluster in groups of two to six or seven. As they came closer to the boat, some would actually swim underneath us and come out the other side! (Okay - this picture I actually touched up with a little bit of contrast so you could see the outlines of the dolphins a little more clearly.)

I have never seen so many dolphins so close - so clearly before! It was really a blessing to see how graceful they were as they swam through the water, and how unafraid they were of being near a boat full of people!

After we got our fill (well almost got our fill) of gazing at the dolphins and snapping pictures, our boat headed back toward the head of the bay from which we had come so we could cool off in the water and do a little snorkeling. (The water was a bit too rough in the open sea for snorkeling yesterday, especially when we had several young children with us.) The minute I climbed down into the water, I was surprised to see such a great number of fish clustered around me near the boat! Tim said he could even see them from above on the deck, so he snapped a picture from there. (We don't have a waterproof camera or I would have a lot more great pictures to show you!)

We returned from our trip a bit tired, but also a bit refreshed at having had the privilege of seeing the beauty of God's underwater creation, and at having had such a great time of fellowship on our boat ride! Hope you who visit our blog have a great "blessed by God" summer. Rest, relax, and really take time to appreciate the beauty God put into our world - and take time to "be still" with God and enjoy His presence.