Over/under image of a juvenile sperm whale in Dominica (Physeter macrocephalus)

We have finished our 6 days on the water here in Dominica, and will be headed home later on today. Our last day was probably a rather typical winter day with the whales here in Dominica, which is to say that we weren’t dropped into a social group within an hour of leaving dock (as we have been on previous days!). We went around the south part of the island into unprotected waters and watched whales from the surface, but were not really able to work with them successfully.

Tony and I were interviewed for local TV last night, and I stressed that Dominica’s healthy reefs and clear water will probably not be seen by underwater photographers (other than the cruise ship happy-snappy people) until the transportation problem here is fixed. American Eagle has strict limits on baggage, and leaving here requires an overnight in San Juan. It takes me longer to get to and from Dominica than it does for me to get to Bali, and even if it were possible to get dive gear and camera rig here via indirect international check-in, it might be impossible to get the gear out.

It has been an incredible adventure, and I will certainly be back one day! [see all photos at Flickr]

A juvenile sperm whale gets close! (Physeter macrocephalus). Dominica. Photo taken under permit.

7 sperm whales in a social group (Physeter macrocephalus). Dominica. Photo taken under permit.

Emiko Miyazaki photographs a group of sperm whales in Dominica (Physeter macrocephalus). Photo taken under permit.

Bulbous frond view of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Dominica. Photo taken under permit.

Over/under image of three sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Dominica Photo taken under permit.

Over/under image of twp sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Dominica Photo taken under permit.

Two sperm whales in a shallow dive, Dominica. (Physeter macrocephalus). Photo taken under permit.