Portugal - Ponta Delgada, Azores - Dolphins

As if our time in Sao Miguel wasn't awesome enough, Aphyna and I did one of the coolest things we have ever done: DOLPHIN SWIMMING.

Now, there are many places you can swim with dolphins - the carribbean, Hawai’i, the Florida keys, Mexico, even Turkey, Egypt, and the UAE.  But most of these are in “Dolphinariums”, which are just what they sound like: dolphin aquariums.  The dolphins there are friendly, used to people, well taken care of, even trained, and probably more or less happy - but they’re in captivity.

That’s why what we did here in the Azores is so special: we swam in the ocean with wild dolphins.

It was pretty simple: after a small briefing about best practices for entering the water quietly and calmly so as to avoid scaring away the dolphins, we took a small zodiac boat with a marine biologist and a skipper and 4 other people out from the marina and along the south coast of the island.  We didn’t have to go far out at all, but that’s what’s amazing about the Azores - the parts above water are the peaks of a giant complex of huge volcanoes, one of the largest mountain chains in the world.  So then barely half a kilometer out from the shore, the depth is suddenly 3 km.  Wow!  

And, just like that, 15 minutes from the marina, we saw them: pods of wild Common Dolphins, one of the many species of dolphins you can see off the coasts of the islands, and one of the most colorful. They would swim within meters of the boat. We would try to get ahead of them, then slide into the water as they were passing, and with any luck, they would swim right past you if they were curious. Often, they would dive down below the boat, but come back up to the surface to give you a second looking-over (and you didn't splash around too much).

There they are - as few as one or two and as many as 10 or 12!

But now, in the wake of this experience, I am left a bit baffled by trying to write about it.  It just seems like something beyond the realm of the left brain, the logical/rational mind, which would so like to talk about the dolphins, what they looked like, how they swam, how many we saw.  I can even show you this video, and you can see them popping up out of the depths.

But that wouldn’t capture it at all.  Not even close.

How can I describe the magic of the dolphins?  

I asked for some help from Aphyna…

Only two at a time were permitted to slip into the water from the boat, allowed to enter their world.  Immediately we peered underneath the surface and swam toward the school of dolphins - sometimes they swam our way, sometimes they came near and then dove down. Other times they went in the other direction - leaving us with only a glimpse into their ethereal world. It was the most incredible thing watching a dolophin watch you - locking eyes with you - a connection that is indescribable, yet undeniable.

And their songs. You could actaully hear them talking to each other, an echo of sound so mystical and magical. You couldn’t tell where it came from - it was everywhere when you were submerged in the water. I will never forget the family of dolphins swimming right by us as we were floating, watching them under the surface. The baby kept turning to look straight at me - then it would straighten out to continue on with it’s mother, then turn and look at us again, full of curiosity. As if her mother kept saying “not yet, little One. One day when you are older you can venture closer.” But the baby’s curiosity did not fade. It was pure magic. I felt like a sea-being acknowledged and accepted by the dolphins.

And she inspired me...

First, you see them break the surface from the boat,

So close your breath catches.  

And already, in that instant, there’s contact.  

You want to go to them.

Of course, they know you’re there.  

When they breach, and jump, they’re looking at you.  

They are curious, not afraid - this is their home, their world,

You barely skim the surface of it.  

So when they look at you, it’s because they’re choosing to look at you.

When they look at you, it’s a gift.

And you feel it.

You feel their wildness.

You feel their playfulness.

You feel their intimacy.

They speak - you hear them inside your head.   

They stir the ocean inside you.

If only you could follow them.

If only you could stay.

I can’t stop seeing them.  

That image of a family, suspended in their blue atmosphere,

Flying, floating,

So connected, so complete, so whole,

Needing nothing.

I thought I would be terrified of the open ocean,

The endless abyss, a gaping emptiness like the sky,

Nothing to stop my fall.  

But something came over me in there.

The water was warm - it felt like home.  

The light danced; it brought the ocean to life,

Revealing that the ocean is not empty at all.

When you enter the water,  

Life becomes only what you can see, and what you can feel -

All I saw was beauty, beyond imagination, and endless;

All I felt was joy, joy in body, joy covering me and holding me and lifting me up.  

The fear was swallowed up.  

The ocean had a hold of me.

Maybe that was the dolphin’s gift.  

We're still taking in the dolphin's gift, but one thing is for certain - being here on this island, right in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, is giving us lots of inspiration.  And that's why we're so excited for our next week - SCUBA DIVING!  We're flying over to Pico Island, northwest of Sao Miguel, a much smaller and less developed island, where the diving is superb.  And you'll get to hear all about it soon!

Until then, keep your fire burning and your juices flowing!

With love,

A&A