Slow motion flight and the Master Designer

Spotted Eagle Rays in flight (photo Google images)

I saw a school of probably 20, maybe more, Eagle Rays while diving in Bocas del Toro today (off a site called "Hospital Point", for the curious).

My eyeballs are bruised from hitting the glass when they bulged out of my head as the Rays gracefully - and almost unnoticed - slipped by.

Watching underwater wings gently flap to propel these creatures forward has got to be one of the most spellbinding visuals I've ever seen in person. It's hard for me to even put into words, and I'm usally too verbose.

But beyond the motion, the designs of underwater creatures have just blown me away the past couple weeks. Some are so strikingly gorgeous that I can't take my eyes off of them. Some are so hideously ugly, that they're beautiful. And some make me think, "that's an awesome design idea for a pair of shoes...a minimalist couch...a race car..."