The Dolphins

Holly Tolledo!!!!  OMG!!!! Today with the dolphins is one for the records, even for my expedition leader.  He said he has not experienced anything like this in a long time.  We were surrounded by 100 dolphins!!!!!!!!  Amazing, awesome, magnificent, breathtaking, exhilerating :>)  We witnessed easily 50 of them in a 50 meter area and the rest anywhere over 300 meters.  They were incredibly frisky today, being very social, playful displays of back flips, breaching (not completly out of the water then slapping down on the water), rolling over,  bow riding, catching sardines by scouping them up with their chest and fins, scouting ( coming out of the water so they can look you over from the side), I'm certain one winked at me! Ha! For 4 hours we were allowed into the home of the dolphins, which we documented all the while. We saw a few sets of mothers with juveniles.  The ages are newborn, calf, juvenile and adult.  We are learning much of course and sadly the serious enviornmental hazards resulting in the decline of all sea life.  Like how much of the water is deoxygenated now.  Today we also witnessed a malformed calf which will more than likely not make it past a week from now.  It was sad to see this beautiful mammal but have a bulbous head and would have to rest on the water.  Literally is would be still and just bobble on top of the water for 30 seconds or so after swimming with its mother for a few minutes :>(  Dolphins mourn and Joan (procnounced John), my expedition leader is writting a paper on this behavior.  He has gathered data that proves a female's first born will not survive due to all the toxins that have been absorbed and held in the fatty tissue from her juvenile years to her first off spring.  They have many tissue samples that support this theory as well.  There are approximately 150 dolphins in the bay here and 100 of them we got to engage with in one way or another.  Thank you universe!  A vida e bella!!