Friday, May 27, 2011

Noon and afternoon session

This dolphin has a remarkable eye, white outside, very intense stare, almost human

Smiley

And another one
























Here we go again. Beach! It's very hot today- sauna like, beyond 40 degrees Celsius. Any movement costs an incredible amount of energy. The sea is flat like a mirror under a hazy leaden sky. This is roasting time!

11 o clock - a big pod of dolphins appear from the south. They cut through the flat water surface and are easily visible. Light as a butterfly I jump on the kayak, taking the boys along. Shlick. Shlack. Shlick. Shlack... In no time we are moving along with the pod.
They move slowly and we see how one after the other appears below us watching us through the watersurface, which is like a windowglass today. I avoid making waves with the paddle to avoid breaking this transparence.
There is a young dolphin who is quite excited. He hits his tail onto the watersurface like we heard often in the past - the warning or assembly signal- but nobody reacts. Then he throws himself belly up out of the water repeatedly hitting the water with his tailfin. He is playing!
Finally I go in and leave Leo and Raphael behind. Visibility is pretty poor inside the water. But Im right inside the pod and we swim along.

Boys squirting the dolphins

Well, after a modest distance, maybe 100m I turn around to recover the boys and i row them back, whih comes as a huge, nearly unsurmountable effort. It is so hot one can hardly breathe and my arms feel like lead.

--

Second half of the day. The wind came up - a very hot and strong wind from inland. Everything starts flying away. Sand and dust everywhere. Eventually its the boys and me alone on the beach. I beg Charlotte to hang around for the next session but she wants to study.
The wind is vicious now, and it comes halfway inland. Wind channel conditions.
16h00 - the dolphins are back from the north. Hop, alone on the kayak, and the wind carries me effortless out to the dolphins who wait and swim towards me. There is the young adolescent again, belly up hitting his tail fin. The dolphins hop out of the water so that I can see their eye... they have a peek.
I lay the paddle into the kayak, take my gear and go in, pulling the kayak behind me with a string. And there we go ... right in the middle of the pod ! Below me is the this mornings dolphin with the white in his eye, he looks up at me, his stare is almost human.

This one had been caught in a net in the past

Late afternoon light - very foggy !

Great, we do about 50 m when I check the kayak. Where is the paddle ?!
%*#&$!!! It was washed into the water, I see it floating out into the sea. Shoot ! Session over !
I swim back and recover the paddle. Then its back on the kayak, the wind turns me around like a weathercock. Holy pipe ! Rowing back was like riding a fitness bycicle. You row and row but you are always on the same spot.

I finally make it anyway. Arms feeling like lead... again !

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cool Mann!!
Da wär ich ja gern dabei gewesen, Wind und Wellen...genau mein Ding,
Zsammen hätten wir den Teich gerockt, ehrlich, verdammt.....

Ralle