Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Dolphins!

That's the cry that will get us both up and looking. Dolphins have been joining us on a daily basis on our journey up the Central American coast from Panama to Mexico.





Sometimes our first glimpse of them is right beside Rhapsody, but often we can spot them off at a distance, making a beeline for the boat (or would that be a dolphinline?). They are certainly making a conscious choice to come join us, and it is always a welcome visit.




They are so fast, they speed up to come to the boat, and then slow down to stay with us. They play with us for a while and then speed up and go away again.

So graceful, twisting and turning in the water, sometimes they are up by the bow, sometimes they are off to the side of the boat. Muscled and strong, they appear to be one slender mass of muscle from snout to tail. Air bubbles stream behind them, encasing their bodies and leaving a trail behind them.





Sometimes if the sun is just right we can see a rainbow in their breath as they break the surface.




They are usually in groups, as few as one or two, often half a dozen and sometimes as many as 20-30. It is hard to tell how many are in the larger groups because only some of them are near Rhapsody, then they veer off and others come to play.

They come so close to each other, and yet never appear to touch. A graceful ballet, sometimes swimming in parallel patterns other times in crossing paths.




They will swim with us for two minutes or twenty minutes, or up to an hour. We go up to a seat in the bow of the boat, hanging over the anchor, toes within inches of the water. We can sometimes hear their vocalizations and we try to talk back to them. What must they think of us? We never get tired of watching them and always feel grateful that they have chosen to come play with us. 

We love to hear your comments.

Mark and Cindy said...

We love seeing dolphins! Nothing perks us up faster than hearing the sound of their blowholes. We had a good laugh the other day reading how the California environmentalist wackos passed a law requiring boaters to stay 150 feet away from dolphins to protect them. I guess nobody told the dolphins they must stay away.

Mark and Cindy
www.svcreampuff.com