Mistaken Identity

In the UK, when he got home from school, YS always without fail would have a cup of tea and a sandwich, possibly followed by a few biscuits and an hour of CBBC. Now when we get back from the school run, YS has a freshly made fruit smoothie and a splash about in the pool for an hour or so; I mean, who wouldn't?

So far this week, I have joined him most days and  I can usually survive about half an hour before I realise that my extremities have turned a paler shade of blue! I have noticed that my reptilian blood will then stay nice and cold until the next morning and no need for the a/c, just the ceiling fan. Naturally, within fifteen minutes of waking up the next morning, the heat has returned, and I spend the day looking like a beetroot!!

However, I digress. Yesterday, after school, lazing in the pool, YS, DH and I (yes, DH managed to get in the pool which he believes to be the coldest pool he has ever had the pleasure of enduring!), we spotted some dark shadows in the bay. Firstly we thought they were probably rocks as maybe the tide was low or something; but rocks do not move! These dark shadows were definitely moving. There were three large shapes in the bay, two fairly close to the boats and one moving out into the ocean.

Grabbing the binoculars, we watched these shapes being swooped at by the seagulls. Occasionally a large black ridge emerged the sea, a back perhaps? Sometimes a flip of a tail. One of our neighbours asked if we were watching the whales? Whales? Real, live whales? Never in my life have I seen a whale in its natural habitat - as far as I can recall the only whale I have seen was the beautiful Orca they used to have in Windsor Safari Park many, many years ago!! Naturally YS desperately wanted us to drive down to the beach to see if we could get a closer look, but unfortunately darkness falls promptly here between 5.30 and 6pm so it would have been too dark for us to see them very well. We may be lucky enough another day perhaps.

Sitting on the balcony this morning, with the eagles diving for some invisible prey, I detected the dark shapes were back in the bay, but this time the shadows were larger. So I have done a little bit of research, in between loads of washing, and the wonders of the internet has procured that these creatures are in fact either bottle nosed dolphins or spotted dolphins. So not whales, but dolphins, just as exciting. If we want to see humpback whales, we have to travel further south along the Pacific coast: one day!!

So yes, dolphins in the bay! Amazing!