It was all sea today aboard National Geographic Venture. And one we thought best to spend lightly, where a tour of the vessel or thumbing through one’s photos might be the closest to exertion we’d come. The wildlife in the area had a different plan.

What this day actually amounted to was one of encountering humpbacks before breakfast, birds at all hours of daylight, and several sessions of blue whale spotting. Today was, in short, not anything like we expected, and we are all the better for it.