Among Poseidon's Messengers

wild dolphins in San Diego

Among  Poseidon’s Messengers

In March, 2006, I was invited to present at a national conference on animal welfare in research. The conference was held in San Diego, and I was attending alone. My boyfriend hated to travel, and my plans to visit a friend were changed at the last minute. Thus, I ended up with a full weekend to myself in a strange city. I set out early on Saturday morning to go explore.

 

I wound my way down past the manicured streets to the fisherman’s wharf, and watched, spellbound, as gigantic yellowfin tuna, marlin, and mahi-mahi were unloaded on the docks; huge, gangly, awkward monstrosities on land, eyes glazing over like kiln-fired marbles. Men in rubber waders hauled the catch around with huge grapple hooks, haggling prices with buyers wanting to avoid the middlemen.  It seemed to be the fisherman’s slow season, as I noticed that several were renting out their boats for watching the California gray whale migration. I cannot remember a time I was not on a budget. I had never seen a whale before in the wild, and it was something I dearly wanted to do.

 

There were two outfits running whale watch tours professionally; each wanted $45 for the tour, on huge, cruise ship style boats equipped with sonar to find the creatures. The fishermen wanted $12.50 for a ride on their comparatively tiny vessels out to the same locations. We would not have food, hot chocolate, or a guarantee; nor would we have cushy lodging. We would be on the water and directly in the spray, and it was 50 degrees. I did not have a coat, binoculars, a camera. Of course I paid the ticket price without hesitation.

 

There were about 5 of us on the boat when we left the docks, not including the captain and mate.  Sea lions followed us as we left the ports, hoping for some chum or other scraps thrown overboard. Transfixed, I watched their sleek forms effortlessly cut the water while they swam underneath our boat and played in the wake. It was but a sampling of what was to come.

 

We rounded the spit of land, past mansions and businesses perched atop stupendous cliff walls with views out over the infamous Pacific sunsets. We made our way, finally, towards the open ocean- vast kelp beds and shallow cold waters teeming with sea life. Cormorants and frigatebirds coated the surface of the water where the kelp lazily wafted in the tide. Then, up ahead, a splash of something white. We were nowhere near the whale migration route yet- what we were seeing was the splash of a Pacific Common dolphin, sleekly white and silver and gray and pearlized in the morning sun.

 

The captain steered the boat towards the animal, and I was in for the surprise of my life. The sea surface literally transformed into something alive, writhing and teeming with animal life. The captain explained, in awestruck tones, that we had come across a natural phenomena- dolphins herding and following a shoal of baitfish. It was a sight he had seen many times, however, he had never seen a pod this big. From the crow’s nest, he estimated there to be about 3000 dolphins in the waters around us!

 

Soon, we drifted into them, and the captain kept the motor running just enough to stay with them. From horizon to horizon, the greenish blue surface of the ocean was broken by innumerable breaking dolphin forms, some of them just barely surfacing, others leaping and spinning out of the water, shining in the sun and mist. They played in the spray of the fishing boat, not a hands length away from us, so low to the water. We followed along with them for about an hour, reveling in the sheer delight and wonder of the situation. I have never before or since been witness to such a breathtaking spectacle of raw life, power, and beauty in this magnitude.

 

Dolphins have long captivated humans. The ancient Greeks believed dolphins carried messages for Poseidon. Dolphin medicine in shamanism is supposed to carry messages between the worlds, and teach us to be comfortable in the realms of the unknown. They are gatekeepers to the other side. They are symbols of unbounded life, sexuality, unbridled passions, and overflowing of emotions.

 

Scientists do not fully understand the workings of the dolphins’ magnificent brains. They have been shown to be self-aware, to recognize their own images, to “ham it up” in front of mirrors, and to solve fairly complex problems. Pod behavior like I witnessed is not fully understood. It is thought that several pods will band together for a common goal (perhaps an unusually large shoal of baitfish?), and that there may be complex social hierarchies. Researchers who work with dolphins have noted that at times, the animals seem to perform behaviors for the joy of doing them. They are one of three species of animals known to have sex for pleasure, for example.

 

I have been criticized in New Age type circles for being a trained scientist. It has been suggested that my knowledge of the natural world detracts somehow from my ability to experience it and enjoy it in the moment. I am painted as “the Enemy” of wonder and appreciation.  I say “nonsense”. Knowing about my world has enriched my life beyond measure. It makes me more open to wonder, gives me a greater depth of feeling when I try to describe something as indescribably beautiful as the pod of dolphins chasing baitfish. I can still observe the natural world, taking in its messages for me, seeing the spiritual, the scientific, and the artistic in overlapping scales of color, form, and experience.

 

I wish I had the words to describe the sensation of being there, on the water, inches away from thousands of dolphins breaking the waves and dancing in light and spray and air around our boat. How I could hear their clicks as they communicated to each other; how it made me feel so damned free and unbounded myself. How I longed to grow fins on the spot and join them, to never turn back to a mundane life after the glory of the chase and the community of purpose. How I close my eyes and return to that place, smelling the salt water and feeling the wind and spray in my hair and laughing out loud in life and love and delight.

 

I will have to say that we slowly turned away from the dolphin group as it started to ungroup, and made our way out to the deeper shoals where we did see a small pod of gray whales, again, so close we were level with their blowholes. Due to timing, we only had about 5 minutes to spend with the whales before starting the long journey back to shore.

 

I spent the rest of the day at the renowned and world-famous San Diego Zoo, and could not believe what a letdown the experience was for me. To me, it was a zoo designed for shock and awe, not animal conservation, observation and learning. There were very few facts available, the crowds were huge, the lines were long, and people were loud, rude, and obnoxious. I could not help but think back on the morning’s experiences with Poseidon’s messengers, wild in their natural habitat, and lament on the fact that people will not think to pay $12.50 so their kids can take a trip out to see animals in their natural and native habitats. I am reminded of the saying at the nature center where I worked: “People protect what they love, they love what they understand, they understand only what they are taught”. We need more fishing boat captains willing to expose ordinary people to the wonders of their world, and the balance- from the messy, blood stained piers to the wonder of the open ocean and its breathtaking inhabitants. It is a careful and fine balance we must create, and I think they know that in an instinctual way that a suburban kid probably never will.

 

See the link below for a video someone took of the dolphin pod phenomenon like I saw in this story:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR9JX2fRk3c&feature=related

Reviews

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Marie,

Thank you for a marvelous story and an enlightened commentary. And yes, I have experienced this. I love San Diego, my home, now, for almost 37 years. The ocean is magical, the mountains are magical, the desert is magical, and we have it all in a clean, vital, thriving city with near perfect weather and friendly people. Yes, I'd have to say life is good here.

But the power of being among a huge pod of dolphins is unmistakeable. It strongly affects you. It can almost bring you to tears. It is a veritable communion with Nature.

And I fully agree with you. Being a scientist doesn't at all detract from appreciating Nature. I remember in particular a famous comment by Richard Feyman, a world famous physicist (2965 Noble Prize for Quanmtum Electrodynamics) when he was talking one morning in a garden with an artist that was painting some flowers in the fresh morning light. After talking a while the artist said to Feynman (I paraphrase):

"I'm a bit sorry for you Professor Feynman, since you'll never have the artists full appreciation of the beauty of that dew drop sparkling in the sun with all its multicolor glory."

Feynman returned the comment saying, "Quite the contrary, my friend. My eyes see the same majesty and my soul drinks in the same fiery sparkle. However I also appreciate the marvel of the photons that make up the light, the processes in the sun that release the energy of the photon, the light's partical/wave duality that allows the drop of dew to bend the light into its spectral display, and the dancing mathematics of the Universe that allows all of this to be possible. So tell me, my friend, which is the deeper communion with Nature?"

My very best regards,

Rick

[PstorJo]

Powerful and yet not in your face. An authentic expression of yourself along with a wonderfully detailed description of your experience. (My only quibble is the generalization re: suburban kids...having grown up as one we aren't all the same.) (I know you know that.) :)

[Christy Sargent]

Oh Marie...I nearly drowned reading this chapter. Very wonderful writing. It is so informative and interesting and though I do not feel comfortable around this kind of water( I can"t swim), I would have really enjoyed being there, too. Thank you for this great informative piece.

[Ed Hart]

Marie, thank you for spreading this wonderful scene before us...marvelous

[Through the Gateway]

That was a truly phenomenal experience that I know you will carry with you for the rest of your life. You paint the scene so vividly that I can smell the salt-spray, and yet I know that you are frustrated because your experience was so much more than mere words can describe.

I am glad the world has people in it such as you, Marie, who seek and understanding of the natural world around them, and strive to teach the rest of us.

As to being a scientist taking the wonder and appreciation away from the natural world, I say "Phaw!" I understand the mechanisms and physics of flight. I know why an aircraft slips through the air the way it does.

And every time I'm up, it is magical.

[Liza]

its no wonder you are a writer and a true mother to the earth....