Starfish, Urchin, Plankton and the Sea of Cortez

Not quite one year ago we took a one week whale watching cruise up the East Coast of Baja California.  We went snorkeling nearly every day, and the variety of star fishes amazed us, such as this blue spindly star fish.

Sea urchins were abundant, but of course we kept a safe distance from them.  Our niece is about to finish her Ph.D. in Marine Biology, and she has done significant research and written papers about sea urchins.

The colors and variety of plant and animal life under the surface of the oceans that comprise most of our planet and sustains our weather and makes possible life on land causes trips like the one we took to provide the perspective that we are inhabiting their world.

A highlight during our Un-Cruise Adventure cruise was swimming wear a group of adolescent sea lions swam out to play with us.   They would swoop past and swirl around us,

While we usually search out larger fish with our underwater cameras, sometimes the density of a school of tiny fish is worthy of a photo.