Throwback Thursday: Under the Sea

Hello friends! Hope your day is going swell. It is all blue skies and butterflies here in the north. In honor of the sunshine we are experiencing, please enjoy this story from our time in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii!

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I remember it just like it was yesterday. The warm, tropical ocean caressed my tanned skin as I dove under the stirring waves to catch glimpses of the still world beneath. I inhaled in the refreshing air, my breaths received just in time, like clockwork between each set of passing waves. The ocean rocked me back and forth in perfect rhythm to its own beat. This was paradise; blissful and carefree.

“Laura, I think its time to go,” my companion exclaimed, muffled by the salt water. The silence of the world down under was broken, but Andy was right. Our afternoon date with the ocean was over for the day and it was time to go. As we begrudgingly headed to shore, and then to the outdoor showers, we chatted only here and there. As we rinsed off, I gazed out at the turquoise sea, my heart longing to be one with it again.

Then I saw something.

I looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed it too. Nope. I peered back out to the ocean. There it was again. It was a small something, but it was definitely a something. Without much explanation to Andy, I took off running back down the pier. Snorkel? Check. Mask? Check. Me? Check.

*splash*

I was back in the water. I hurried to put my mask on and began to swim out past the reefs and into the deep.

*splash*

I looked back. Andy was right behind me, slightly confused but mostly determined to find out what was going on. Just as he caught up, we witnessed up close what I had seen from afar. Right then and there, there was a dolphin!

It ducked back under the surface, and as it did we dove down as well. Little did we know, though, there was not just one dolphin but a few pods of them – too many of them to count! Our plans for the afternoon suddenly changed that day, but it was more than okay with us. We got to swim with those wild dolphins for a good hour before we had to say goodbye.

Our bodies tired and worn from the flurry of activity, we headed back home (this time for real). As we walked along the pier, all we could do was laugh with joy at what we had experienced. Would anyone believe it if we told them that we had just swam with 40+ dolphins? Maybe not, but then again the beauty of it was something that they would need to experience themselves anyway. It was something we could not entirely explain. Whatever it was that just happened, it was special. It was a moment we hold close to our hearts even now, long after we left that rock in the middle of the Pacific.

Until next time, my dear dolphin friends. Until next time, when we shall meet again. 🙂