Sunday morning, beautiful ocean breeze, sound of waves hitting the beach, and a ROOSTER??? Yep, that was our alarm clock and after the annoyance wore off, we actually found it quite comical. After all, who wants to miss the beautiful sunrises on the ocean? Certainly not us.
First things first - down to the beach for the morning. I mean, seriously, isn't this why we are here? We grab the camera for a few shots of the villa and "private" beach. Is this not perfect?
Check out the water. The colors are amazing. So many incredible shades of blue and green that the camera does not even do justice to it. Mister always laughs at me because I won't put many pictures of me on the blog -- well here goes -- 54 and in a swimsuit no less. Tell me that isn't brave.
I walk down the beach to the dolphin habitat and talk with the trainers about their program. They let me walk out onto the platform and see the animals and how they work with them. What a treat. I discover that they offer experiences in the afternoons and so go back to the villa to talk to Mister about doing one. He thinks it is a great idea and so we walk into town to sign up for one the next day at noon. Then, we start to walk down to the grocery store to grab a few things but discover that since it is Sunday it is closed so with a change in plan, we decide to cut across the point on foot to Rendezvous bay for some lunch and reggae music. After an hour, we finally find the water again, only to discover that we are still a very long way from the beach as we are in a rocky area. Ugh. We give up and head back to the house for a couple of cheese sandwiches and another swim and naps.
Later in the evening, Mister goes off to rent a car but returns with a taxi for dinner and a car pick up for the morning. We go to E's Oven for an absolutely scrumptious dinner - seriously -- it was so very good. Back to the villa and off to sleep until the rooster crows.
The next morning Mister is off to get the car around 7:30 and we are off for our adventure this morning. We head into The Valley for some breakfast and sightseeing that doesn't quite work out. It is Monday and many things are closed - drat. We grab some carrot cake and juice at a local store and head for Rendezvous Bay. After a few attempts at locating the beach access road, we finally succeed and are rewarded with an empty beach. Oh my. It is so incredibly beautiful.
After a walk down the beach, I find a spot to sit while Mister heads into the water. I am staying out of the water for now as I will be in for at least an hour at noon. I am under a coconut tree and truly enjoying just watching the waves on the shore. They are such a translucent aquamarine color as they break - quite impressive to watch.
A couple of hours later, we drive back to the villa for some lunch and to get ready for me to go and play with the dolphins. When we arrive, we discover that the trainer wants to work with 3 dolphins at once - something rarely done with guests. I feel very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Mister plants himself on the platform to take pictures and into the water I go. I cannot express how very incredible this was. These magnificent animals are so very intelligent that even when I was not sure what I was doing, they led the way and taught me what to do. Looking into their eyes was perhaps my favorite part of the hour - but being in the water with them all by myself is something I will never forget.
They would come to me for touches, to be held, to talk, to play, to spin, and to let me tickle them. I have not giggled so hard in such a long time and yet been so in awe.
Perhaps my favorite moments were playing with them. As I splashed them, they would splash me back by throwing water at me with their mouths. To be in the ocean playing like this -- what an adventure. I have seen people swimming in tanks with dolphins before, but never out in the ocean like this - I know the water looks like a pool, but it is not.
At times, the dolphins would put on small shows for me by jumping or swimming as quickly as they could. I have seen dolphins jump in the wild down near Galveston as well as on cruise ships, but nothing can compare to this. I mean, I was right there with them.
I was treated to three methods of letting them transport me through the water. One was with me holding two of them by the dorsal fin and letting them pull me. The second was with a single animal swimming on her back and letting me hold onto the pectoral fins (called a tummy swim) as I laid on top of her. The final method was for two of the dolphins pushing the bottoms of my feet with their beaks propelling me straight out of the water at a top speed. Wow. Not to be topped.
I was sad when our time ended, but it is a memory I will treasure forever. My new found friends waved good-bye as I had to go and gave me a round of applause. What can possibly top this?
When I was finished, we went back to the villa, changed clothes and headed to the northeast part of the island to visit Shoals Bay -- the number one beach in the world. It did not let us down. I am simply going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
When the afternoon was over, we once again returned to the villa to change clothes. From there, we went to Meads Bay for dinner at the Straw Hat. We sat right on the beach in probably the coolest restaurant setting I have ever been in. What beauty to have seen today - we are truly blessed.
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