At Sea
Endeavour has bid Brazil farewell, sailing from Paranagua yesterday, our final stop in a country of many different cultures and ecosystems. We are continuing to head south down the South American coast, our next destination is Uruguay. The weather outside is changing, departing the tropics, the further south we go, the earlier in Spring it gets, the chill in the air is getting stronger.
The water too is changing temperature, no longer the balmy 85ºF it once was, rather it is now 72 º F. Some people have the perception that the colder the water gets, the less life there is. In actuality it is the exact opposite – the colder the water gets, the more oxygen it has, the more diverse the life. However, this is not to say one will have the 100 feet of visibility advertised as the ideal dive conditions, but rather due to plankton in the water, visibility can drop to as little as 2 feet. Nonetheless, our Undersea Specialist Dennis Cornejo, and myself as dive buddy, continue to jump into the water at every opportunity, and take pictures to present to the guests of Endeavour.
Pictured here is a juvenile Green Turtle. We found this turtle outside the village of Cabo do Frio, within a known nature reserve. The Green Turtles we see during our travels in Brazil are actually a population that propagates on Ascension Island. Turtles return to breed on their birth beach. Many people wonder how an animal with no parental care knows where to come back and breed (turtles lay eggs in the sand, and when the babies hatch they make their own way to the water, fending for themselves). It is thought by most experts that turtles are imprinted at birth with the knowledge of their natal beach, thus returning at the proper age to reproduce. Green Turtles, unlike other species of turtles are vegetarian, and are quite often found in the more shallow areas, feeding on sea grass and algae.
At the beginning of the 1900’s, the Ascension Island Green Turtle species was highly exploited for food. These turtles make long migrations between Ascension and Brazil, and can fast for up to four months. The sailors found that as long as they kept the captured turtles in a semi-cool and damp place, they could live quite comfortably, thus providing fresh meat for the crew. Fortunately, in the 1920’s, the Ascension Island group ceased being harvested, and now the numbers are rising dramatically.
What a fantastic time we have had in Brazil, most of are us sad to go, after having been completely immersed within the country for the last 8 days. But ahead lies a whole new set of adventures in two new countries, and we can hardly wait to see where our expeditions will take us next.
Endeavour has bid Brazil farewell, sailing from Paranagua yesterday, our final stop in a country of many different cultures and ecosystems. We are continuing to head south down the South American coast, our next destination is Uruguay. The weather outside is changing, departing the tropics, the further south we go, the earlier in Spring it gets, the chill in the air is getting stronger.
The water too is changing temperature, no longer the balmy 85ºF it once was, rather it is now 72 º F. Some people have the perception that the colder the water gets, the less life there is. In actuality it is the exact opposite – the colder the water gets, the more oxygen it has, the more diverse the life. However, this is not to say one will have the 100 feet of visibility advertised as the ideal dive conditions, but rather due to plankton in the water, visibility can drop to as little as 2 feet. Nonetheless, our Undersea Specialist Dennis Cornejo, and myself as dive buddy, continue to jump into the water at every opportunity, and take pictures to present to the guests of Endeavour.
Pictured here is a juvenile Green Turtle. We found this turtle outside the village of Cabo do Frio, within a known nature reserve. The Green Turtles we see during our travels in Brazil are actually a population that propagates on Ascension Island. Turtles return to breed on their birth beach. Many people wonder how an animal with no parental care knows where to come back and breed (turtles lay eggs in the sand, and when the babies hatch they make their own way to the water, fending for themselves). It is thought by most experts that turtles are imprinted at birth with the knowledge of their natal beach, thus returning at the proper age to reproduce. Green Turtles, unlike other species of turtles are vegetarian, and are quite often found in the more shallow areas, feeding on sea grass and algae.
At the beginning of the 1900’s, the Ascension Island Green Turtle species was highly exploited for food. These turtles make long migrations between Ascension and Brazil, and can fast for up to four months. The sailors found that as long as they kept the captured turtles in a semi-cool and damp place, they could live quite comfortably, thus providing fresh meat for the crew. Fortunately, in the 1920’s, the Ascension Island group ceased being harvested, and now the numbers are rising dramatically.
What a fantastic time we have had in Brazil, most of are us sad to go, after having been completely immersed within the country for the last 8 days. But ahead lies a whole new set of adventures in two new countries, and we can hardly wait to see where our expeditions will take us next.
