It’s often said that we know more about space than the world’s oceans. But those oceans sure knew a thing or two about welcoming two astronauts back to Earth after an unintended stranding on the International Space Station that lasted 286 days. Earlier this year, on March 18, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed down off the coast of Florida only to be almost immediately surrounded by a cetacean welcoming committee. NASA drone footage captured a pod of dolphins circling their SpaceX Dragon capsule shortly after it came to rest on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico following the astronauts’ 17-hour (and long-awaited) journey home.

The scene was full of emotion for so many reasons. As a diver, it immediately made me think of how dolphins have appeared when I least expected them throughout my life—both underwater on dives and in stories told by other ocean adventurers.

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Many years ago, sitting around a campfire on a remote New Zealand beach as a young backpacker in my early 20s—before I’d ever seen a dolphin on a dive—I listened as a freediver spun a yarn I’d never forget. We were swapping travel tales from around the South Island. He talked about a time he was more than 60 feet down on a breath-hold off the coast of Kaikoura and became so entranced by a school of fish that he didn’t realize, until it was nearly too late, his desperately strong urge to inhale. He was out of breath and looked to the surface, which seemed impossibly far away, with a sense of doom. Then, a pod of dolphins formed what the traveler described as an underwater tornado around him, rocketing him to the surface just in the nick of time. He was sure they’d known he was out of his element and come to his rescue.

I never looked at the animals the same after hearing his story. And when they would materialize from the blue on some of my favorite dives later in life—once, on a surface interval in Rangiroa, French Polynesia, two dolphins hovered vertically almost in spooning position nearby, seemingly as curious about me and my dive buddy as we were about them—it always felt like some sort of sign.

So perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised a few years ago while diving in the Sea of Cortez off Loreto, Mexico, when I heard their vocalizations the entire dive from every direction—yet failed to catch sight of them underwater. It was only when I’d surfaced onto the boat to horrible news from home, via countless text messages and missed calls, that the pod of dolphins that had eluded us on the dive suddenly surrounded us at the surface. They stayed with us for a bit too, as we motored in a hurry back to the harbor.

Some might say it was pure coincidence. But I’m not so sure. We’re all connected on this planet, both at the surface and underwater. And on that day, I’m pretty sure the dolphins were sending me that reminder.

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5 Dive Places for Dolphin-Spotting

Bimini, Bahamas

Just 50 miles off the coast of South Florida, Bimini is known for its turquoise-hued waters that seem to glow from within thanks to the white sandy seafloor. It’s the perfect backdrop for encountering the famed wild dolphin population here, which you can snorkel with year-round during day trips from the Bimini Big Game Club with Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center .

Kaikoura, New Zealand

Considered among the best places in the world to encounter dolphins in the wild, New Zealand’s scenic South Island coastal town of Kaikoura is known for its healthy population of dusky dolphins, considered among the most interactive dolphin species. Dolphin Encounter runs tours that put you in the water with the animals year-round, but the waters are warmest from October to May, which is also when the dolphins come closer inshore.

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Atolls, French Polynesia

The atolls of French Polynesia beckon divers for so many reasons, like walls of sharks, adrenaline-charged drift dives and manta rays. But if you’re looking for dolphins first and foremost, you’ll want to head to Rangiroa, where a community of roughly 30 dolphins frolic year-round near the famed dive sites at Tiputa Pass and inside the lagoon. The Six Passengers takes divers out in search of the sublime.

The Galapagos

Known for big fauna encounters, the Galapagos is home to resident bottlenose and common dolphins as well as spinner and Risso’s dolphins. Your best shot at seeing them on dives is during liveaboard trips to sites around Darwin and Wolf Islands.

Kona, Hawaii

On the Big Island of Hawaii, the waters around Kona are a favorite with the island’s resident dolphins, with spinner dolphins among the most common sightings at dive sites closer to shore. Divers with Kona Honu Divers often get lucky enough to encounter them while at the well-known shore and boat dive site called Nai’a, which means “dolphin” in Hawaiian.