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| picture by Cello Schnyder |
Who would have imagined that ever another article would be added to the dolphin blog. It seemed that this book was closed.
This trip to the Balearic is something like a family reunion. My mother has a secondary home here and my brother moved with his family to this island seven years ago. It is the first time since I left Egypt to return to the seaside. Understandably my eyes are fixed upon the line just below the horizon and I fall back into the same gazing trance as when I sat days on end on the Red Sea coast waiting for my friends.
"Are there any dolphins here?" I asked everybody I encounter. My brother explains that they only appear during winter and that he has seen them on two occasions in seven years. Boat owners I talk to never saw any. Still, whenever we approach the coast I fall silent and stare at the sea.
Normally people search the horizon for boats, islands, birds or other obvious instances. After awhile that becomes monotonous. It is by looking at the texture of the surface when the sea unveils its hypnotic power, when it becomes obvious that the sea is alive, moving with its very own rhythm, and slowly, while the wind blows through your hair, you forget yourself and melt into the surrounding.
Two days ago Cello and his partner Ruth, who own one of these classical motorboats with a cabin and room for seven people from the sixties invite us to a boat trip.
Cello is a Swiss filmmaker for advertising spots and Ruth retails furniture. Both are very unconventional personalities, very young and spontaneous at heart, unpretentious and what people call a real "Mensch".
So here we are, meeting up in a coffee shop by the port. And we all connect effortless. This will promises to be a beautiful trip.
And as the boat moves slowly past the coast, this is not a fast boat, we talk, drink beer and relax.
Suddenly, we must have been away for half an hour or so, two dolphins pop out of the water maybe 20 meters on the right side of the boat. Screams of excitement ! The kids go wild ! Now everyone scans the surface...
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Later we lay anchor in the small bay of a privately owned island. The sea is still quite cold at this time of the year and there is shockingly few fish in the sea.
I remember finding seahorses and starfish on the coast off of Malaga when I was a kid, and seeing a wide variety of fish. Nowadays the Mediterranean sea is empty and only few species are left. After throwing bread crumbs into the water all the fish from the bay gather under our boat. I was snorkeling around the bay, stopped to clean my mask when I hear my brother yelling and waving from the deck of the boat. What does he want ? What does he say ? Dolphins ? Where ? And then I see them as well, a pod ! Wow ! There are pods !! That means they stay permanently around here ! Out there, however, out of reach, and on their way.
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The day passes. Its time to move on. Before going back to the port Cello suggests to circle the small island. Under his surveillance my brother steers the ship. As we move slowly around the rocks we come towards the high cliffs that is overlooked by a beautiful light tower. The water is deep on this side. We are all spread out around the boat enjoying the trip when the pod appears again. They are approximately 50 m away from our boat moving the opposite direction. "Benjamin," I scream, " stop the engine!". A seconds later I´m in the water. Quickly swimming away from the boat I dive down two meters or so and call out, making a tooting sound through the snorkel.
The water is crystal clear and the sun's light creates long diagonal streaks that fade in the deep blue below me. It feels a bit like flying when you see how much depth lays below you. Who knows what kind of creatures watch me from below....
Suddenly a vague dark spot appears far below, travelling parallel to me, moving closer and the closer it gets the clearer I see its contours. A dolphin ! And a second in the shadow below !!
Diving down I toot again, feet locked and hands close to my body. Then it all happens very quickly, he circles , then jumps around me out of the water in a square excitedly, vanishes, and then, before seeing anything I hear a concert of whistles. The pod zooms in !
Nine adult dolphins, one flips over and swims belly up very close by. They watch and whistle and circle around me and check me out - then their curiosity is quenched and they move away. I am alone again.
The others on the boat are just as stunned as myself. Each one of them would have loved to be in the water with them. When y encounter dolphins you have to act fast. Now they know, next time they will be able to catch up with them too.
Fee and Luca, my brother's children, are enchanted. On our way back we don't stop marvelling and contemplating about this magic and incredible day.
Thank you, Cello and Ruth !! This day could not have been more perfect !
The encounter took place Sunday, 27th of may 2012 in the afternoon.
