Trip Recap & Swimming with Dolphins

We have been home for a couple of days now.... settling back in and trying to get used to the cold and rain again. On the subject of returning from holiday, I highly recommend Fridays - nice to ease back with a weekend...

The trip was really great. I got an abundance of quality time with the people I care about the most - some of whom, (my Dad and sister) I don't get to see or hang with as much as I should.  I'd like to issue the most enormous "THANK YOU!" to my Dad from all of us!

I won't depress you with any details that would make you wish you were somewhere sunny - just a few photos that I took:

As always, CLICK TO ENLARGE - I am trying a new format for these multiple picture posts...  tell me what you think...

 Viggo's drawer

  Aia's drawing of me swimming with dolphins*

 

 Mattias chasing Bubba at Mauna Kea Beach

   

 Whoa... dress matches so well! and check out the aero position! 

 

*OK, I said I wouldn't make you jealous but I have to mention that on the last day of the trip we got up at 6:30am and headed to a good snorkeling spot called "Two Step".

Sacha, Mattias and Aia were in the water first when Viggo and I spotted a pod of dolphins about 100 metres out.  The intrepid snorkelers did their best to take it in and had some success (and a little failure too....)

Then I got my turn, after my fastest 100m breast stroke (freestyle is a no-no when dolphins are around) I was swimming with about 60-80 dolphins!  They were moving around in groups of about 5 or 6 and as soon as one would dive or swim by another would appear.  This time they didn't take off either - they swam all around me (and about 6 or 7 other snorkelers) for about 25 minutes and were still there when I left.  They were playing and leaping, diving deep and coming up to the surface.    We had some leaves which other snorkelers had brought out - initially I thought we might feed them to the dolphins but when I got out I realized the dolphins like to play with them - catching them on the side fins, dorsal fin or even the tail fin.  They came within an arm's length to get these leaves several times... It was UNBELIEVABLE!  

I would have killed for one of these:

because the photos would have looked like this (from the same area):

Tweet this!