The
sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
~
Jacques Cousteau
No need
for Cousteau’s Calypso ship, just
meander on foot through Monterey Bay Aquarium to experience the sea’s net of
wonder. A recent visit there was truly awe-inspiring ~ a colorful eye candied,
curiosity-tickling, fascinating-fact packed undersea adventure. Oh, and just
plain fun. I could have stood all day watching sea otters frolic ~ torpedoing
on their backs, rolling like logs, gleefully chomping raw fish chunks, and clenching
tiny claws around bright blue balls as a child might hold his favorite toy.
Playful seems to be their mantra.
I’m always
delighted to find skate on a restaurant menu, and I knew skates look like and
are related to sting rays. But through one aquarium exhibit I learned how young
skates enter their watery world. A skate lays eggs in an egg case, sometimes
called a mermaid’s purse, because that’s what it looks like, a small sac with
curved “handles,” which are shaped like hooks. The handles’ function is to
catch on seaweed or some object that would anchor the egg case to the sea floor
until the embryo develops. Another amazing design in this process is that the
sac is waterproof until the embryo develops gills at three weeks old. Then
holes form, admitting water, and the baby skate first learns to swim in its
protective case. Big bang creation theory? … primordial soup? … I’m sorry,
can’t buy it. Someone thought this through.
Beware
jellyfish at the beach! I have seen swarms of white, long-tentacled jellyfish
in the ocean right in the swimming area. I have tiptoed around little clear,
breathing balloons on the beach and then finally donned shoes again so as not
to accidentally get stung. When I’ve seen hundreds of Portuguese Man O’ Wars’ huge,
pink-puffed, inky-blue stingers dotting the tide line, I keep shoes on at all
times. When jellies swim in safety behind aquarium glass, however, I can better
appreciate their translucent, delicate beauty. In fact, though their pulsations
look like swimming, jellyfish only drift with the current. I had on some level
known this, thanks to Phil Vischer’s explanation of why he named his new company
Jellyfish Labs ~ he wanted God to be the current directing his company. But I
liked seeing how jellies keep a beat and go with the flow. Sometimes their
rhythms seem like dancing. Sometimes their tentacles flutter like flames. Bioluminescent
jellies sparkle like stardust. I forget the tentacles are stingers when they
look like crystal beaded-bracelets. My favorite jelly looked like white vintage
lace.
I smiled
to see a tank full of little, beige, flat fish that swam flat, undulating like so
many flying carpets, as if to say, “Hop on for a tour of my watery wonderland.”
Aquariums are sure to amuse and brighten one’s day.
Posts
