My only lifer of the trip

Let's get this out of the way so we can move on to the zillion other things I want to show you.

After boarding the ship on Friday, we relaxed, swam in the deck pool, wandered and marveled at the sheer size of the ship...and how expensive everything was. I had a few rounds of Rum Punch.

We pulled out of Miami in the early afternoon. As we left Miami behind, two birds swirled above us.
My binoculars were too far away, so I grabbed my camera and started firing away.
The shape of the birds was unlike anything I had seen, but it also reminded me of pictures I had seen in field guides.



I zoomed in as far as the camera would go, and peered at the display.

A completely unique shape...and a slash of fiery red on the throat.

Magnificent Frigatebird. Life Bird number 225. Whoot!
And standing on the deck of a ship, with no other birders to share in my joy. Sigh.
The girls thought it was pretty cool, though.