The cruise I just came back from was great in lots of ways — time spent with stingrays and giant turtles in Grand Cayman, driving across the Aruba desert in ATVs, snorkeling in Curacao and Bonaire — but I think one of my favorite parts, and one I was totally not expecting, was sitting on the balcony of the ship and watching all the flying fish soaring through the air as we went by. I wish I could post a photo or video, but I never managed to get one that was usable, in part because we were too far away most of the time.
I saw them from closer up when there was an event on the helipad on the third deck, and they were much bigger than I had expected — probably eight inches “wing” span — and they flew much farther than I had ever imagined. I assumed they just sort of jumped from wave to wave, but they launched themselves into the air and flew for hundreds of feet at a time. It was fascinating. I could have sat and watched them all day.