It's a tough job but someone has to do it... Part 5

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Another Day in Paradise...

Cigarettes - probably way too many - in fact I know way too many.

Mosquito bites - we'll deal with that one later...

Alcohol - NONE FOR THE PAST 7 DAYS... NOT ONE DROP!!!!

And in case anyone reading this thinks I usually drink excessively - I don't, it's just I would have one or three every couple of days or so...

My excuse for the cigarettes is pretty lame - they are sooooooo cheap out here, I did say it was lame!

Now mosquito bites are, as we all know, very itchy and irritating but when they become infected they're also very painful, resulting in one very swollen foot (predominantly because I had been bitten 3 times on the sole of my foot...) and one very inflamed arm - I was at the airport and saw the duty doctor who took my blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature (by sticking a thing in my ear) simultaneously - I'm not kidding I began to wonder what there was left to test... as it turned out I had a slight fever from the infection and was given a variety of pills and potions to take - 24 hours later and I am very much improved - I'm not convinced I actually had a temperature because it is so hot here I am permanently sweating... and yes I know 'women don't sweat - they glow' but believe me I am sweating - lots. On the plus side it means I must be losing weight!

Which brings me onto the gym - can't go at moment as I have a poorly foot :-)

Instead I went on a boat trip this afternoon to see dolphins... and we saw lots and lots, they were absolutely stunning and performed for us by flipping out of the water and spinning - it was great to watch but very hard to get pictures as they tend not to stay still - I wonder how they sleep, can someone enlighten me please as it'll be worrying me now...

Apart from being curious about how dolphins sleep I know I'll be safe in my bed tonight... without giving anything away (because I'm sure I'd be in breach of something if I did...) there is a VIP on the island and his bodyguard is my nextdoor neighbour - shame he's only 27!!

Well I haven't been up to much else - mainly because of being incapacitated with my foot, I've still managed to work hard but found playing a lot harder...

There is so much to do here still - I just hope a couple of months is enough... I need to improve my snorkelling technique and the dive team on the island think I should try scuba diving... And I definitely want to take a jet ski out sometime.

Oh, I did go to see the nightly fish feeding... it involves lots of little fishes hanging around the jetty at about 2045 ready for their dinner at 2100... then at 2100 a gang of about 10 sharks rock up, eat everything then clear off - to make matters worse there's a sneaky heron who sits on the jetty steps and just dips in grabbing the odd little fish as he's making his escape from Jaws! Actualy the sharks are the harmless black tipped reef sharks which I've mentioned before but some of these are 4ft long - and the guys want me to go diving...

I'm heading off now to hear some people sing badly at Karaoke... I'm tone deaf so I wont be participating just criticising - as I leave you someone is murdering My Way - that seems to have taken on a samba type rythym - I'm off to investigate...

Have fun and stay safe

Tallulah x

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Photos

Dolphin
Out of about 40 snaps - this is about the best...

Comments

[Paul]

how do Dolphins sleep ;)
Love your blogs ... keep em coming. Here's your answer ; How do dolphins sleep? Dolphins have to be conscious to breath.[1] This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. Dolphins have "solved" that by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. This has been determined by doing EEG studies on dolphins. Dolphins sleep about 8 hours day in this fashion. A dolphin's behavior when sleeping/resting depends on the circumstances and possibly on individual preferences. They can either: 1. swim slowly and surface every now and then for a breath 2. rest at the surface with their blowhole exposed 3. rest on the bottom (in shallow water) and rise to the surface every now and then to breath. [2]

[Helen]

how dolphins sleep!
Whales and dolphins are mammals, so in a lot of ways, they are just like human beings.­ Among other things, they have similar bone structure, are warm-blooded and give birth to "live young." The biggest differences between these animals and human beings are related to our respective environments. Whales and dolphins have a unique respiratory system that lets them spend long periods of time (sometimes 30 minutes or longer) underwater, without taking in any oxygen. ­ ­On land, human beings and other mammals breathe involuntarily: If we don't make a decision to breathe or not to breathe, our body will take in air automatically. Because of their undersea environment, whales and dolphins must be conscious breathers: They have to actively decide when to breathe. Consequently, in order to breathe, they have to be conscious. This presents a problem, since mammalian brains need to enter an unconscious state from time to time in order to function correctly (see How Sleep Works to find out why this might be). ­­There's plenty of time for a dolphin to catch a catnap between trips to the ocean surface, of course, but this isn't a viable option. When you're a conscious breather, it's just not feasible to be completely unconscious -- what if you don't wake up in time? The solution for whales and dolphins is to let one half of the brain sleep at a time. In this way, the animal is never completely unconscious, but it still gets the rest it needs. And where do dolphins and whales sleep? They could probably sleep anywhere, but it makes sense that they would do it near the surface of the ocean so they can come up for air easily. It's not uncommon to see dolphins "logging," swimming slowly along the surface, with very little movement. Presumably, these are dolphins at rest.

[paula]

defo learn to scuba dive its the best feeling ever being under water. Glad ur having so much fun xxxxxxx

[Kat]

Well, I have learned something new, thanks to Paul and Helen. I had never given much thought to dolphins sleeping before. Hope we'll get to hear all about your scuba-diving exploits in the near future. LUBNLT xox