Eli Martinez

December 12, 2021

Marlin Mayhem!

Eli Martinez

December 12, 2021

November 11, 2021 - We finally got a break in the weather. Today we had flat calm seas with beautiful skies. Unfortunately, we got our asses kicked around by the angry seas for the first three days. This made the long days on the water even longer trying to find the hungry marlin hunting bait balls. The choppy seas and the cloudy skies made it difficult to pinpoint where the marlin were. Of course, the first few days were not an entire bust, we did find a blue whale while we were out there, along with humpback whales, so despite the bumpy rides, the days were still good for wildlife. Just not great.

Today though, we found them. It was a really good day, and our guests all had a blast experiencing bait balls. We didn’t have long bait ball encounters, but we did get a good taste of some bait ball action. Overall it was a fantastic time, and our guests had fun. They even helped out a turtle in distress. It got trapped in some fishing line, and our friends, Brad and his girl Alyssa helped out the turtle and managed to untangle the poor baby. What was so great was the turtle allowed them to help - it did not struggle or move as they were removing the ropes—wicked cool. Tomorrow the weather will be even better than today, and I am excited about what the day has in store for us.

This was one of the reports I wrote from two weeks spent at sea on our marlin baitball expedition this past November. Thankfully, the weather was kind to us for the rest of the trip, but it was brutal on the body those first three days. But I always say, if you want epic moments out on the ocean, you have to put in the time, take the hits when the ocean is angry, and when she shines on you, she will really shine… and she did. We were patient, and it paid off. We had great moments on this trip, with many animals and some beautiful days at sea.

The marlin were running hard, and they were everywhere. This was also a good year for schooling mobula rays, sea turtles, and whales. This season, the whales were out in full force, humpbacks, blue whales, and hunting brides whales.

We had such a good time this year, there was just so much going on. When you visit places like this, you are always hoping for encounters that our guests will get excited about. I am happy to report that yes they were happy and more. I spent two weeks here, and it just did not feel like it was enough time. I really wanted more. Maybe next year I will stay longer?

Here are some images from the trip. I do hope you enjoy…

On one weather day we swam with the sealions in the Kelp Beds.

5am starts allowed us to visit Bird Island to get some images of the rising sun when the birds were starting their day.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Eli Martinez

November 7, 2021

Tigers Sharks... ALL Day and ALL Night!

Eli Martinez

November 7, 2021

Tiger Beach was a huge success. It was so great - everyone on the trip was a repeat guest. All 12 have joined me at Tiger Beach before. Such an amazing and humbling feeling to have people want to join us on our adventures, but to come back again... there are no words for how great that feels.

Taylor giving a resting lemon a back rub.

I was torn on what and how to write up a blog for this trip. Tiger Beach means so much to me. TB is where I truly began my journey into the shark world. The place is special. Special for the animals that call this place home, and special to the people who have had the chance to dive here. There is so much beauty that happens down there, and I learn so much on every trip. The sharks here are all so different, each with their own personalities. I continue to ask myself why they do the things that they do. For example, why do the lemon sharks always choose to stop and rest right next to us divers? How do they see us divers? What do they think we are? Why do they feel safe around us? I have so many questions.

I mean, maybe the lemons are just following our lead, and since we are all kneeling in one spot, they decide to do it too? I know they are simple-minded animals, driven primarily by instinct. I try not to anthropomorphize them, but sometimes there is no proper way to explain what is happening with these animals. It is stuff that even the scientists have trouble explaining. I have learned so much about the lemon sharks here, they are fascinating animals, and their behavior is so curious to me. I need to do a vlog just on their behavior. Maybe on my next trip out there with them in December, I will create something? We will see.

The notorious Jitterbug. She has a heart shaped head, which should signify that she is a sweetheart… but it is a lie! lol

As for tiger sharks, it was an EPIC week of diving. A total of eight different tigers spent the week with us, including the Queen herself - Emma, and the notorious Jitterbug, the mischievous bad girl of TB. The weather was fantastic, we had great seas all week, and low tide was not too bad. Typically low tide brings in dirty green water, with very low vis. But the vis was not that bad, and we were able to dive all the dives still. We even went out for three dusk/night dives.

Thanks to the excellent weather, we managed a total of 18 dives this week, which is a lot. We had tigers on all our dives except on our first-night dive; they were a no-show. The following two-night dives, we had tigers. The first-night dive, we had one tiger - Emma, and the second we had with five tigers, which was a first for me. We have never had that many tigers before on a night dive. It was an intense dive for all of us, especially me, because I have all these souls in the water that I worry about. All the big girls showed up for this one, and all the smaller ones left. We had Emma, Maui, Carrie, Marilyn, and Jenn. All of them are big freaking sharks!

Not just tigers on our night dives… all the kids want to play!

The dive started as a dusk dive, which almost all our night dives start that way. But of course, it ended in pitch black. I admit my heart was hammering, and I felt fear. Not only was visibility severely limited, but it was hard to tell where the tigers were coming in from. I was not just worried for myself but our guests as well. It is so hard to keep an eye on the waters behind them, to make sure nothing sneaks in, which of course, happens on a night dive.

It is tough enough keeping an eye on the tigers during the day, especially when there is a lot. But when visibility is severely restricted, the intensity and emotions of what we are doing goes up. I am so glad we had an extra safety diver in the water with us at all times. That different set of eyes down there helps a lot. Ryan and Finch were helping me this week to keep things safe. They are freaking rock stars in my book.

And with Jitterbug back to her usual mischievous self, having those extra eyeballs helps a lot. It was intense and fun, and a dream - and a nightmare, all rolled up into one. I love the fire you feel inside when the tigers are excited, and they remind you that they are apex predators, which demand all your respect - all your senses are on full alert. It is so much fun and a great way to feel truly alive.

I can’t believe I am posting this pic… but Tu-Tu Tuesday is a thing on the DD. A tradition I have not embraced, but my beloved guests have. It would be a disservice to them to not include this image in my write up.

One of my favorite things is when you get back on the boat after a dive like that, and you hear everyone sharing stories, all of them laughing, jumping out of their skin with excitement, with an ear-to-ear grin. I live for those moments, and I am filled with so much gratitude. Not only that everyone comes back from the dive safe and happy, but also because they all just experienced a life-changing moment that will stay with them forever… Damn, I love my job!

Thank you guys for reading. Until the next adventure my friends!

Thank you, thank you, thank you - to these amazing souls who joined us out here. Miss and love you guys! Until next year.

Eli Martinez

October 24, 2021

Manta Valley and Currents from Hell!

Eli Martinez

October 24, 2021

October 11, 2021 - This was our first time visiting Manta Valley, and what a fantastic place. The trip itself was challenging and did not go perfectly. But nature does not always give you her perfection, but what she did give us was so damn good.

DAY ONE
We arrived at Manta Valley, which is something like 40-50 miles out. Thankfully, conditions were terrific, the sun was out, and the seas were flat and calm, making the ride out beautiful and fast. Once we arrived though, the reality of the challenges of Manta Valley slapped us in the face. The currents were ripping. It is not always like that, but today the currents were harsh. Despite the currents, we decided to give it a try, so we anchored up and began our descent on the anchor line. We were all stretched out like flapping flags as we pulled ourselves down the line. Even with gloves on, the anchor line was burning our hands from the strain of fighting the currents.

I was at the tail end of a head cold, and I was stuffed up, so I was having a hell of a time dropping down to the seamount, which was about 80 feet deep. I was slow, so by the time I got down, the group was gone and off to the area where they might see the best manta activity. Unfortunately, I lost track of where they went, so I stayed by the anchor line and watched the locals swimming around. On this dive, a highlight for me was seeing a full-grown rainbow parrotfish, which is massive. And by massive, it was around five feet long and I am guessing, was at least a hundred pounds. I had no idea this species got that big, and now I am obsessed with wanting an image of one.

Sadly the dive for our crew was a bust, and the mantas were a no-show. They were also a no-show for the second dive. Frustrating, but that is nature and the way it goes. But this is why we do these types of trips over several days because you never know what you will get.

If you want magic to happen, you have to put in the time.

DAY TWO.
When shit happens, it happens. I had a family emergency that I had to deal with, so I could not go out with the group and dive. Mari was able to go and lead the group, but I had to stay behind and take care of things. The group went out and had an incredible first dive. They had a manta ray come in for a cleaning. It swam straight up to them to get a closer look. Manta rays are so curious. Once its curiosity was satisfied it swam off around 30 to 40 yards away and hovered over the reef getting cleaned. It stayed there for the entire dive. Our guests were on fire with the excitement and beauty of this graceful animal.

Dive number two, the mantas were a no show.

DAY THREE
We motored out to the dive site. The thoughts of more manta encounters on the sea mount got me fired up, along with everyone else. As we were running on, our captain spotted a fin on the surface. It was a manta ray. Upon closer inspection, we noticed several mantas, all on the surface. Then off in the distance, a manta breached. We looked at the water, and there was a lot of manta munchies floating around; fish eggs, and plankton. We stumbled upon a feeding event on a current line! There was quite a few manta rays scattered around.

We jumped in and swam with a few of them for a little while. It was a fun way to start the day. After a while, we fought the urges to stay and continued our journey out to the cleaning station. When we arrived, our heart sank... The currents were ripping harder than on day one! They were sadly just too strong, and we were not able to get in the water. We tried, but the currents were so strong that they pulled our massive anchor line buoy, which we thought was unsinkable, underwater when the anchor set. Seeing that, there was no chance that we would be able to get in.

So we pulled anchor and went back to where we found the feeding mantas and spent the rest of the day swimming with them. It was a great session with a lot of courting behavior. Love was definitely in the air, and the manta rays were chasing each other around. The mantas were showing off and breaching for the ladies. At least I think it was for the ladies. It could be the ladies showing off for the boys?

You never know… not a lot is known about courting mantas yet.

We ended the day and the trip. This was a quick three day run. Our guests were super happy about the encounters we experienced. The trip was not perfect, but it was fun. I am already looking forward to next season and the opportunities for more mantas and hopefully less currents.

NATURE CAN BE CRUEL
Two days later, we got to see on social media that my bro and our guide Rodrigo showed up to Manta Valley and encountered good conditions with five-plus manta rays getting cleaned. Freaking Nature!

Oh well, we will get them next season for sure.

A huge hug and thanks to our friends who joined us out there… *miss and love you guys!*

Eli Martinez

October 2, 2021

Anaconda Diving 2021 Photo Gallery

Eli Martinez

October 2, 2021

Brazil is a special place. The wildlife here is some of the most incredible you will ever encounter in our magical wildlife world. I love everything about this fantastic place, and I truly feel honored that I get to spend so much time here.

It never feels like it's enough time, though. I leave always wanting more.

Sadly, they were working on re-cabling the internet at our hotel, so it was not working properly, which meant I could not share as much as I usually do for a trip like this, which kills me because something was going on every day.

From troops of capuchin monkeys feeding and hanging around our hotel to giant anteaters seeking out food in the fields we were driving by on our way back to the lodge at the end of the day, to ponds filled with caiman, and we are talking about 200 plus caiman on the river banks. This place is just amazing.

We did have some magnificent snake encounters this season which was the main reason we visited Brazil. We ran two trips back to back. During our first week out there, we had one big female and a few male anacondas. Our female had recently eaten a capybara or a tapir, and she was so full she could barely move. It is impressive to see how her skin can stretch to accept prey that big in her body. Mind-blowing really. We spent a few days with her, but we were respectful and were careful not to stress her out. She was so lethargic from having eaten her meal that all she wanted to do was sleep.

Snapping an image of our big girl. You can see a bit of her face on the left. Image by Daniel Degranville

We found three big females and a dead one during our second week out there. While on the river, we found a dead six-meter snake in the river. Juka, our boat captain, saw her the previous week with some severe injuries after trying to catch and kill a peccary. Peccaries live in family groups, and the snake was mortally wounded by family members trying to help their kin escape, while our snake was trying to kill it - sadly she did not survive the encounter… it is the circle of life.

Juka snapping our big dead girl. Kinda filthy, but still cool.

After we saw that snake, we were all gutted, thinking that this would be our snake encounter for the day. But we continued searching the river for more wildlife and found another snake ( alive one of course), basking in the sun on the river bank. We spent an epic two hours with her. It was the kind of encounter you dream of having when you plan a trip like this. It was so great.

I really wish I had better signal while I was out there, because damn what an adventure it was. One of our best Brazil outings to date.

I am sharing this photo album I put together of both the wildlife and Behind the Scenes images of the fantastic moments we had out there. It was such a great trip. A huge thank you to our friends who joined us out there and made it special. Love you guys.

One of the highlights of the trip was crawling into an anaconda snake hole and capturing unique images of a resting snake.

Eli Martinez

September 22, 2021

I Said Goodbye to Brazil!

Eli Martinez

September 22, 2021

Looking at the full belly of a very big snake.

September 22, 2021 - I am back from Brazil, today is a travel day… writing this up in the Houston airport, and I have proper wifi again! Sadly the wifi at our hotel in Brazil was getting upgraded. So we did not have any wifi for me to update our blogs for you all. I am working on a trip report to share two weeks' worth of craziness. Not sure how I am going to write it up, but it will be fun. The sad part is that I was not able to give nightly updates because this trip was so good. But I will do my best to capture the spirit and essence of what this trip was… a pure raw, off-the-beaten-path adventure in search of a very elusive giant snake.

Of course, if the only reason we went to Brazil were for the snakes, then we would be missing out on what the heart and soul of the Pantanal wetlands are. It is so rich with natural beauty and wildlife both on land and in the water. It is just a fantastic place.

So this blog was just to let you know that I miss writing and sharing and am happy to be back in an area where I can, and I will update you guys with a lot of images and possibly a short video vlog edited by my buddy Steve. I regret not getting more underwater video, but I was hell-bent on capturing stills for this trip. So I am hoping I will have a few clips to share for that in it as well.

I would get straight onto the trip report, but sadly I have a couple of things that need my attention first. That family emergency I mentioned in my last blog still needs attending too, and I have an article deadline that I missed due to Brazil and the family thing. My latest article for The Journal of Wildlife Photography fall issue is way overdue. So I will be writing through the weekend to get it to them by Monday. In the meantime. I thought I would get this up and to you to let you know I missed you guys, missed sharing stories and images with you all. I am hoping this storm passes quickly so I can get back to some normalcy in my world.

As always, thank you guys for reading!

Eli Martinez

September 7, 2021

Brazil and the HIGHS and lows of travel life.

Eli Martinez

September 7, 2021

September 7, 2021 - I am in Brazil. No words can express how blessed I feel to be back in this magical place. I have been dreaming of returning here every day since the last time I was here. This is one of my most favorite places in the world. I should be over the moon with excitement. Sadly the truth is I am not. Recent family events have cast an enormous shadow on my excitement of being here and leaving home. Getting on that plane yesterday afternoon was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a very long time.

Thankfully no one has died. No one is sick. It is just a very low moment for me and my loved ones… I could put on a game face and pretend that all is perfect in my world, but that would not be right. Part of sharing the travel life is sharing those low moments as well. On the bright side… I am hoping for some amazing news from home that will remove this dark cloud, but until then, I sit in my hotel room in Campo Grande, over thinking things and working hard to muster up some good vibes to send out to the universe.

Anyway, off my soap box and onto some details about why we are here, and why you read this blog. It is that time… anaconda diving. Yup, it is time to go seek out the largest slithering reptile on the planet, the green anaconda. The largest green anaconda on record was 29 feet long (8.8 meters) and 550 pounds. Now that is one giant ass snake. I hope that our guests who are joining us for this trip find a few snakes like this to swim with.

Unfortunately, they are not easy to find, and each year, thanks to poachers, fear, and ignorance, they are becoming more scarce. Thankfully the private lands we visit during this trip protect the snakes there. So they do have some refuge here in Brazil, which is amazing.

Green anaconda from our 2018 expedition.

Like every trip we run, these are wild animals not from a zoo, so we have to search for them, and nature is nature - she is going to do what she does, and sometimes is not very kind. Thankfully we have been fortunate on our trips here, and I feel terrific about our chances of seeing some big girls. The females of the species are the ones with size. The males are normal-sized snakes. So with some luck, which we have on our side, we will find some snakes.

So the adventure begins tomorrow! I arrived a day early to ensure that I would get here on time. Unlike my Dominica flights, things went smooth - no late flights, an empty row for my 9-hour plane ride, no crazy customs, and no missing bags… it was nice. Our friend Pooja arrived here in Campo Grande with me, and tomorrow morning, we pick up our buddies Julian and Stefan at the airport and go off to Bonito.

The new adventure begins… now all we need are some giant snakes, and some good news from home.

Thanks for reading.

Eli Martinez

August 19, 2021

Travel Day... Goodbye Dominica, See You Next Season!

Eli Martinez

August 19, 2021

August 18, 2021 - 9AM in Texas! I made it home. Well, most of the way home. I met up with my family in Houston, we are roading tripping the rest of the way. My flight home was a painful one. I ended up booking flights on Kiwi.com which got me home through the crappiest flight plan possible. Four stops and all with super tight connections that had me sprinting from gate to gate. I also had to grab my bags at each stop and recheck in, going through security check points as well. That was painful, but thankfully I have TSA, so it made it easier. I recommend doing that if you do not have it yet. It is worth it if you travel more than once a year.

It was exhausting, but it made the 12 hours of travel pass quickly, and it made me appreciate myself and my journey much more. I mean, these are first-world problems. With all the real problems going on around the world, it makes my travel issues fall hard in comparison, so I am good.

What an adventure Dominica was… just wow! This trip exceeded my expectations, and it was everything I hoped it would be and more! Sperm whales are magical animals and true ambassadors for the whale species. I have spent time in the water with other species of whales, which are all special in their own way, but sperm whales are insanely amazing.

Grey whales are unique in that they willingly will swim up to boats and ask for interaction. However, the moment you jump in the water with them, they will swim away from you. I am not sure if this is true across the board or just how these whales off Mexico are conditioned? They do not allow people in the water with them either way, so it is hard to find out if they do. My belief is, they would enjoy it, or at least the juveniles and the females would. We are out there during mating season, and the females are incredibly flirty. So it is possible that they might want to interact with us if we got in. However, the males would probably be protective of the females and force them to move on if their behavior is anything like the humpbacks.

Female humpbacks often accept divers, but their male escorts will often move the females away from us. Putting themselves in between us, and the female and calves, and then swim off with them. My guess is an attempt to show the females they are brave and strong suitors.

Mom and calf humpback off Tonga. A male suitor in the back ground keeping an eye on me.

The sperm whales, however, showed us such fantastic behavior, and when they felt social, they all wanted to interact with us. A few of them came in close enough for us to touch. Of course, we did not. We all wanted to. I mean, who doesn’t want to touch one of these beautiful, friendly potato heads. But we were all respectful of the rules and did not. We just enjoyed the encounters and soaked up every single moment with them.

The socializing whale encounters did not happen every day. Most days, the encounters with the whales were brief. The whales were in feeding mode and all business, and their time on the surface was limited. They spend an excess of 45 minutes underwater hunting down deep for diamond squids and giant squid. They would surface and rest for ten minutes, then drop down and do it again. It wasn't easy trying to figure out where they would emerge and when.

When they did finally surface, it was a race against time. The boat would motor over, and we would drop in for a chance at seeing and photographing the whales, as it or they swam past us. They are usually alone when they hunt. Those encounters were brief, but still fun, and what most of our time with them consisted of.

Of course, the best was when the whales were done hunting for the day and then began calling each other to sleep together or play. That is when the magic happened and what we all were hoping for. When the whales do this, it is some of the greatest moments you will ever experience with a wild animal.

How they call to each other is with clicks and sonar, as well as breaching. They do not breach often, but they use it as a way to get the attention of the whales in the area. Letting each other know that it is time to play or sleep, or notify them to change directions.

It is hard to describe what you feel when those moments happen. Imagine being in the water and having a pod of eight large whales swim right up to you, stop in front of you, and begin rolling and playing around each other - all of them looking at you. They were all clicking away, trying to talk to us; damn, I wish I understood what they were saying. Moments like that are pure magic and forever engrained in my memory.

One of my encounters with the whales. Image by Hunter Ledbetter.

So overall, it was a fantastic experience and a magical two weeks at sea. It was not always easy, and the whales were not always there. We spent twelve days at sea looking for whales, and we found them ten days, with three solid days of socializing. We experienced bits of social behavior on a few other days, but not for very long. All I know is I am leaving this island dreaming of next season and the amazing surprises these remarkable animals have in store for us.

Thank you guys for reading.

Eli Martinez

August 13, 2021

Today was MAGIC... Pure Magic!

Eli Martinez

August 13, 2021

August 13, 2021 - (7:03AM)
This week has been a bit more challenging to find whales. But that is the way nature is, and I wouldn't want it any other way. It should not be easy to see one of the most desired whales in the world. There should be some challenge to it. Of course, you do not want it to be too challenging, because damn, it has been tough.

It is wild how quickly things change. Last week there were a lot of whale families hanging around. This week, most of the pods have moved off to deeper and wilder waters to hunt and maybe hide. We also encountered a few predators while we were out here. Pilot whales and pygmy killer whales showed up. Of course, these are the predators we got to see. We did not see, or do not know if any other predators arrived when we were not there. It is not easy being a whale in the wild, especially with small babies. Even though you are one of the biggest animals in the ocean, survival is not guaranteed.

We head out today for day five, which means we only have two days left. The encounters we have had so far have been brief. In four days we have only had one encounter that was really good. Other than that, we have been blessed with so-so interactions.

Yesterday was our first official skunking. We saw no sperm whales, not a distant whale spout, no flukes… nothing. We did see a Gervais beaked whale and a pygmy sperm whale, but we got no water time with them. Although had I reacted quicker; I may have gotten an underwater proof of life shot of the beaked whale. It passed by the boat decently close. It would have been amazing to photograph that extremely rare whale. But I was too slow. And that is how it goes, you have to be ready for those moments if you want to see amazing things.

Well, we are heading out to sea. My fingers and toes are crossed.

I am hoping for magic… real magic today.

We need it.

8:33PM (End of day 5 Report)

TODAY was EPIC!!! WOW, WOW, WOW! Is all I can say. Damn man, after a frustrating and slow start to this week's trip, it is so good to be able to walk off the boat having the experiences we had today. We saw our first whales and got in the water around 9:30 AM. After that, it was non-stop; the whale action just kept going. Our final jump in with the whales was around 1:30-ish. We were all exhausted but happy. That feeling of pure joy vibrates through you. I am sitting here writing in my hotel room, and my head is still buzzing from it.

The whales were feeling very social, and thankfully not in an eating mood. They instead were rubbing up on each other, rolling and playing. They were in a great mood. These are the encounters you dream of. Most of the time, the encounters you get are when the whales come up from a long feeding dive. They are tired and trying to replenish their blood with more oxygen to go down for another deep dive. So they completely ignore us or want nothing to do with us and will either pass by us quickly or just drop back down into the black abyss. Those encounters are short, and the images and videos from those moments are ok.

Spy Hopping. Not a great image but I wanted to show you what it looks like.

However, when the whales are feeling social, DAMN - those encounters are fun. The whales will swim right up to you, rolling around, turning upside down, some will spy hop,- and when the whales look at you… you can feel them really look at you. I am sure in those moments, they wish they could talk to us in a voice we could understand. I think the joy that would spill out of their souls in those moments would be too much for us to handle.

I know I am getting woo-woo right now, but I am on a high, and I do wish I could speak to them. I really do. Well, today, I did have one teenager speak to me, and I completely understood her. During one encounter, I was swimming towards a group of about six whales. I had not even gotten there yet when this fiery young lady stopped swimming. She turned around to face me and started clicking me hard with her sonar. I thought for sure she was trying to explode my brain, like in the movie Scanners. Thankfully there is nothing breakable in there, so I was safe. As she was clicking me, she let out one last click with what felt like a scream, telling me to Back Off!!! I don't speak whale, but I did understand that message loud and clear.

I was hoping for magic today, and we got it. I am so happy for all our guests who joined us this week. These are the days you want for them. You don't always get them, so you appreciate them to your very core when you do.

Damn, I am happy!

Eli Martinez

August 8, 2021

Sperm Whale Expedition... Summing up Trip # 1.

Eli Martinez

August 8, 2021

August 8, 2021 - Sunday, my day off. Wow, what a week it has been. It is hard to put into words what we experienced out here. However, I feel lucky and blessed to have been out here, especially with the covid craziness. It was an adventure just trying to get to this Island. Sadly our buddy Tom was supposed to be here, but due to covid restrictions, he wasn't able to make it. My heart broke, not just because I wanted to see and share another adventure with my dear friend, but also because he could not be out here with us to experience the magic of this place. Miss and luv you my friend.

Dominica truly is a special place. The Island is magical and rugged, and wild. It is so green, thick with vegetation. The whole Island is mountains, and the villages are built on mountainsides. It has 365 rivers, and waterfalls, and hot springs, coming from active volcanoes. The Island looks like it belongs in a Jurassic Park movie, just spectacular.

The bonus is it also has a population of sperm whales that live here year-round, which is why we are here. There are no words to describe the magic we experienced this week. Everything you hope to see when diving with animals like this we did. We experienced every behavior, except courting mating behavior, because that happens in winter, not summer. Of course, no birthing either.

This week the behaviors we witnessed were; social behaviors (playing, rubbing, play biting, or gumming each other), sleeping whales, babies drinking milk, babies trying to play with us, adults trying to play with us (zero social distancing when they were doing that), breaching, spy hopping, it was fire... WOW, WOW, WOW!

We also got to see pilot whales and pygmy killer whales, although they did not let us near them. We tried, but they wanted nothing to do with us. We had a massive pod of Fraser's dolphins come through, as well as Atlantic spotted dolphins. No water time, but I did manage a few jumping shots of them. I still need better images of the Fraser's jumping, but we saw them almost every day, so I'm hoping for another chance.

We all captured so much video and stills of the whales; it is hard to figure out what to share on social media and this blog. The most challenging images to capture during this trip were breaching sperm whale shots because they do not breach very often, so you have to be ready when they do. However, with a lot of effort and the help our guides, I managed a couple of photos of it. Unfortunately, it is still not the one I am after, but I have another week to try.

Overall it was a fantastic trip with incredible encounters and thrilled sunburnt people. A huge thanks go out to our friends who joined us this week. Thank you for joining us out there… we luv you guys and looking forward to another adventure with you guys.

Thank you guys for reading, thanks you for comments and thank you for following along on this crazy journey of ours, I truly appreciate it my friends.

Eli Martinez

August 5, 2021

MAGIC!!! No Other Words Can Describe Today Properly.

Eli Martinez

August 5, 2021

August 5, 2021 - It is going to be difficult to describe today in words. MAGIC! That is the best way to describe it. The morning started very slow. Probably because of the pygmy killer whales that passed through the area. Sadly we could not get close to them. They are super shy and stayed far away from the boat. It was cool knowing they were around, and I snapped a few surface fin shot of them, but that was it. The day before, we had short fin pilot whales in the area. Both species are hunting for young sperm whales. So even though it is cool seeing these hard-to-find species around, it messes up our chances of finding playful sperm whales. The pilot whales were shy as well, and after a few failed attempts to get in with them, we decided to leave them alone to find sperm whales.

We spent the next few hours looking for the sperm whales. We found a few, but they were not interested in us at all and would drop down into the depths every time we tried to get close to them. Again, predators in the area made them uneasy.

A pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins entertained us for a while. They were riding our bow wave and jumping in our boat’s wake. However, they quickly got bored with us and moved on. So we kept on searching for the whales. Our Captain and guide, Kevin stopped every 30-40 minutes to drop the hydrophone in to listen and see what direction the sperm whale clicks were the loudest. They would listen, then head off in whatever direction they thought we would find the most amount of whales.

Around 1:30-ish, we found a group of four whales, and in the distance there were a few more whales all swimming in the same direction. Our guides suggested we follow them. Based on the behavior they were witnessing, they felt the whales were going to group up, possibly with more whales, to either play or sleep. So we followed them, and sure enough, more whales joined in, and then a few more. I think it ended up being around nine whales in total. The whales would swim, then slow down and start play, rolling and rubbing up on each other, play biting; they were spy hopping. They even breached a couple of times while we were in the water. It was awesome.

I snapped this image of Jean photographing the family of whales as they swam by.

We spent a couple of hours with them - we would jump in, play a bit, the whales would swim by and away, then we would get back on the boat, watch them for a while, then do it all over again. It was awesome.

It was almost time to call it quits when our Captain told us we had time for one more jump. So, of course, we all got ready. Our Captain positioned the boat near the whales, and we went in. There were around seven whales spread out; three of them went in one direction, the other four went in another direction; I followed them. I snapped a few images of the four as they swam by. They passed by me close and then kept going. I watched them swim off, then noticed that they stopped swimming and began rough playing. So I swam after them to try and get a closer look. I thought for sure they would break it off the second I got there, but they didn’t; they just kept playing. The water clouded up with bubbles and pieces of whale skin. Part of why they rough play is to help shed off their old dead skin.

They were rolling and rubbing and play biting each other. It was just MAGIC watching them play like this. I snapped image after image, stopping every once in a while to watch the show, and to get out of the way, because they kept rolling in my direction. I am not sure if they wanted to involve me in their play or not. The whales kept rolling towards me, and just a few feet away sometimes. It was WOW! I loved every second of it.

The four kept rolling and playing around us until the baby decided she had had enough and swam off. Only the three adults remained. They stayed playing for a quick minute-ish more, and then they went after the baby, leaving us alone and emotionally drained by what we just experienced. I popped my head out of the water and told my guide, “just shoot me now, nothing left to see after that.” moments later, our guest Lisa popped her head out and said, “you guys can shoot me now, I can die now.”

What a day… what an amazingly beautiful day!

Can’t wait for tomorrow. Thank you again for reading.