Dolphins
Another gorgeous day. Left the house at 9:45 and it was about 64 degrees out. There was a calm breeze heading down the stairs to the beach. I can feel the warmth of the concrete on the bottoms of my feet and it feels good. The water feels a little cooler on my feet than it has in about a week or so. We have had a strong and steady onshore wind blowing the last couple of afternoons at that may be what is at play here. It’s mid tide with lots of small boulders on the sand as I make my way through the inside breaks. Very pretty to look at the sand and rocks through this crystal clear water.
As I begin to swim, the water feels quite a bit colder today. However, as soon as I get well past the surf and veer south, the temp feels like it rises a good 5 degrees and stays more or less in this range for the duration of the swim. It’s still cooler than Tuesday but not bad at all.
Water visibility is remarkably improved today - probably the clearest it has been in a few weeks. I can easily see the ocean floor through most of the swim and the stalks of seaweed come alive as the light infuses them with an electric sandy brown. I love watching them sway gently back and forth with the current. They fill the ocean with earthy, lush colors and textures. While they are bright and iridescent toward the top, they are dark and almost red at the bottom. There are different species intermixed along the swim. Some are like long ropes with large leaves and beads attached and others are dark and kind of furry like the garland you drape around a Christmas tree.
The absolute, hands down, highlight of the swim comes when I am about 3 fourths finished. I think I see something in my periphery as I twist my head to breathe. I stop, look around, and there are about 3 or 4 dolphins extremely close. It’s simply magnificent. Because they are so close and the water is clear, I can see their full bodies swimming beneath the water. When they rise I see their shiny, grey fins. They are large - maybe 7 feet long and seem pretty plump. Even now in my mind’s eye I can see them. So amazing. Another swimmer is just heading out and I ask him if he saw the dolphins and he commented about how close they were to me. We exchange a couple sentences about our swim route and then I move onwards. I feel like I am filled with a boost of positive energy. I’m just overflowing with gratitude to be able to have such an experience on a Thursday work day.
At the end of the swim, I turn towards shore and the water temperature now takes a 5 degree dip that lasts until I get to the beach. It’s like there are two tanks of water out here, one warm and one cold, and I just passed through the partition. The sun feels great and I head back up the stairs. Guess what I was thinking about the whole way up? That’s right - Dolphins!
