Pink!!!

This morning the kids and I headed across the street to play at the beach. I planned to play in Rainbow Cove (the one nearest our house) since the waves are calmer there, making it easier for Calla to play in the water. The sea was a glassy, silvery calm. Hardly a wave rippled the sand. It's been months since the sea didn't crash, at least a little bit, onto the shore. We were about to wade into the water, when we noticed the translucent floaters with turquoise four-leaf clovers in the center - moon jellyfish! We weren't ready for their return. They were all small, less than 2 inches in diameter, but there were all along the shoreline. Their stings are mild and not dangerous, but no one wants to get stung by hundreds of little jellyfish.

We headed for jellyfish cove, hoping for better luck there. We call it jellyfish cove, because that is where we first saw a jellyfish, not because it has lots of them. It seemed clear. We climbed on the rock wind-break to scan the water. No jellyfish in sight in that cove. The sea was calm enough that Calla could easily play even in this cove.

We splashed and played and floated. Calla played in her frog floatie, just her size. Eris and I passed her back and forth. Simeon floated on his face with his snorkel vest, mask, and snorkel. Tiny fish swam around our feet. I watched several fish splash out and back into the water. The sun beat down, but it was comfortable in the water with my hat shading my face.

After awhile, Calla took hold of my hand and said, "Rock." She led me over to climb on the rocks; we walked slowly, watching for crabs and snails in the cracks, while I kept one I on Meriel and Eris in the water. Suddenly, Meriel shouted, "I saw something big out of the water - a big fin- maybe it's shark!" Her eyes were big and round. Since I had seen quite a few fish jumping, I thought maybe it was just an unusually large fish. Eris saw it too, "It's really big!" Time to get out of the water. We have been told by locals there are no sharks, and I was not really worried, but it's better to be safe.

Suddenly, I saw it, actually them! Two large fins and bodies gracefully curving out of the water. "Dolphins!" I shouted, "and one of them is pink!" We had heard of pink dolphins, supposedly there is a place about an hour north where boats take tourists out to see them. I had not thought they were really pink, maybe just slightly tinted. But this one was really pink. The fin was a lovely "it's a girl!" pink and the body, a paler shade. The other dolphin was the typical purple-grey. They were both swimming within a couple yards from us, so graceful and beautiful. I wanted to dive into the water, but I had little children to watch after. Instead we watched them from the rocks as they swam past us and into Rainbow Cove.

Eris ran to the house to call Philip to come see. Thai children, also on the rocks, taught us the word - "bla-lo-ma." The dolphins continued to get farther from us, but stayed just outside the cove. I hoped they would still be close enough to see when Philip arrived. He came over, in his swimsuit. He offered to let me try to swim out to them, but they were far enough out that I didn't think I would make it before they swam away. They swam farther out, then nearer end, tantalizing near but really to far to reach. Philip decided to try, with the kids' kickboard for support. He swam out and out and out, but the dolphins remained out of reach. The closest he got was about 20 feet. Then they swam away and out of sight.

A memorable day, and I learned that those dolphins are really pink! I hope we will see them again some day!