Swimming with Dolphins
We start off early today as our trip back out on the water starts at 7:30. After seeing them all handle the manta trip without any problems, all the kids are signed up for this one, and Ang is so excited she’s like bringing a fourth child along. The water is quite a bit calmer than it was a few days ago which is good as we end up finding a pod of spinner dolphins further offshore than normal.
The general plan for swimming with dolphins is to find a pod, drive the boat ahead of them, jump in the water, and swim along with them as they pass on by. Once they are gone, everyone piles back in the boat and the process starts all over again. The guides tell us that if they are in a particularly playful mood they will stick around and interact with people a bit, but I think that is by far the exception rather than the rule.
The first few passes go pretty much as planned. As we get in the water and look down, about 20 dolphins stream underneath us. Nick and Sam take off on their own to keep up with them as long as they can, while Joey and I join forces to put the power of four flippers to work. In just a few minutes though, the dolphins have left us behind, so its back to the boat.
After a few turns with the first pod, the captain gets word of another, larger group a bit further up the coast, so we have some snacks while he heads off to find them. We find them in a big bay and jump in the water for what will be the best pass of the day. The videographer from the manta trip is with us again and she takes Ang with her this time to try and get her extra close. The bay is much shallower (about 30 feet) and the dolphins are moving much slower, so on this occasion, the pass right by us on either side, and kicking hard, we are even able to keep up with them for awhile.
This pod is heading south towards the harbor, so we stay with them and take a few more turns swimming with them as we head back, but none are as good as the first one, and soon our time is up. We get back to shore right around lunch, and after a quick bite, drive up to a beach one of the guides on the boat told us about. It is a little off the beaten path, and not in any of the books we have, but he says it is where the locals go, and is much closer than the resort beaches further north.
As has become the norm, the kids build sandcastles and play in the surf for hours. As the sun starts to set and the temperature drops, we are one of a rapidly dwindling number of people left, and they still want to stay longer. We have plans to drive back to the volcano tomorrow (a couple we talk to over lunch told us they were there on Friday and were able to see lava flowing so we figure it is worth another try), and will need to be on the road early, so we pry them away nonetheless and set off for the hotel.