Dolphins Send SEA-vite: "Big Party at Taganga, Dude"

I am not a morning person. People know this about me: especially, Ean knows. But yesterday Ean had me flying out of bed with a single word - and it wasn't "coffee." The word: "dolphins."

Flashback to the late 1970s.  This new adventure of ours continually reminds me of the other boat trip: the one that I did with my parents. Back then, dolphins were always news. That single word, "Dolphins!" would pull everyone to the bow. "Where?" "There!" It's notoriously difficult to get good photos of dolphins at play, but we tried, of course.

Twelve-year-old squinty-eyed Jane, on the bow of m/v Andante with a bunch of dolphins.

Flash forward: yesterday, Ean woke me up to a whole pod of dolphins having a party in Taganga Bay.

There must have been 20-30 of them, all around the boat. People on the beach were watching, and they started piling into las lanchas to come out and get a closer look. Ean and I consulted our schedule, and although it was a tight fit, we agreed to wedge in "dolphin-chasing" right before morning coffee. We put the dinghy down and hopped in, with Ean steering and me perched on the bow with the camera. In case you're wondering, I am not only the captain of More Joy Everywhere - I am also captain of the dinghy, which we have dubbed Pineapple (a story for another time). So I was helpfully yelling, "Go that way!" "No, this way!" "There, over there!" "Look, there's some more!" "Go faster!" "Turn around!" and "Did you see that?" Ean was mainly trying not to collide with any of the other small boats out and about on the same mission.

The pictures tell the story.

Where'd they go?

There they are!

And over there!

We sure know how to throw a party - all the cool kids are here....

A casual tail flip for those watching from shore.

Didn't catch that one?  Here's another.

With Pineapple, we had an advantage that las lanchas lacked. They were too heavily laden, or their engines too small, so they were just puttering around. The dolphins thought they were boring, I think. But when we gunned our big engine, some of the dolphins came to play with us.

OK, but can't you go any faster?

Hurray for waterproof cameras!

They zoomed left, then right, and then they dove straight down.

They were so close, I could almost reach over the bow and touch them.

Pineapple v. the dolphin: NO contest

We played with the dolphins for a half-hour or so. Next event on the schedule: COFFEE!

We headed back to Joy, while the dolphins continued to party.

This guy was a Party-Pooper: he was NOT amused.

Mr. Pelican the Party-Pooper gave us the evil eye and dared us to come just a little closer. We went around, needless to say.