Delfinas

The panga zoomed up as I was exiting the water, the guys pretending to look for fish. I quickly wrapped a sarong around the swimsuited Bod, and turned away. All I want for Xmas is a private, secluded swimming hole. Is that too much to ask? Evidently. Better fix the boat sooner rather than later so I can frolic in the open sea with the dolphins.

Actually, I’m scared to swim with dolphins. They are big. They have teeth. I like to admire them from out of the water. Same goes for sea lions: I’d rather not meet one in the ocean. Also big. Also teeth. So far, my timing has been good. 

Yesterday morning featured a huge school of fish several meters offshore, with attendant diving terns, gulls, and pelicans. A pod of dolphins swam up and feasted as well. I watched the show from the bluff, hair drying in the sun. Earlier this week several sea lions (lobos del mar) displayed their hydrodynamic undulations, and one sunbathed on a rock near my own.

Well, maybe it’s like sharks. No need to worry because if they want to kill you they can. Mostly, they don’t. In Hawai’i, unbeknownst to me but visible to folk on shore, I surfed near a shark. A large one, if fishermen can be believed. Still, the sea calls and I answer. The bigger tribulation is usually humans.

“Hello! What’s your name?!”

Caught. This man owns the drive I’ve been crossing twice every morning, to and fro the swim spot. “¡Buenos días!” I respond. “¡Delfinas!¨ 

But he is not interested in dolphins, no, or he thinks it’s my name. He opens the gate I usually skirt. “This is for you! Come anytime! Let’s have a coffee!” He’s a grabber, so I walk quickly away, calling, “¡Hasta luego!” 

Of course I find a different path, which takes me up and down a hill. My knees protest, but my booty is safe.

Why why why must I go in the ocean? Because it is who I am. When I ignore Her, I suffer. And I’ve had enough of that.

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