Move to Florida III--Dolphin Encounter

Dear Family and Friends,

Between visiting the Tampa Aquarium's Land and Shore Exhibit and it's Coral Reef Exhibit, I had signed onto the boat for the Dolphin Encounter. There are a number of these tours, and I enjoyed it very much. One very clever thing the boat did was have a tube of sun block for anyone who had forgotten it. I made copious use of it for I had not used it in the morning, expecting to be indoors all day. They gave an informative lecture about boating safety, rules and regulations, the history of the Tampa port, and we headed out. As soon as we were in the harbor we were permitted on deck, and we all streamed out to enjoy the sunshine and scenery. Between the captain and a very informed fellow traveller I had pointed out to me many of the sites of the harbour, all of which I have forgotten. I was more interested in dolphins.

The captain explained that we would motor out to where the dophins often swam and sit quietly--he said the dolphins knew the tour boats and were both friendly and curious, so they would come to us. We arrived at the spot in about half an hour of sailing and settled in, but no dolphins. After ten minutes we moved to a different spot. No dolphins. We tried a third, and were about to leave when a brown spot flashed buy and "Wow! Look! Dolphin!" cries echoed around the boat. For the next ten minutes we all stood, enchanted, as they leaped in and out of the waves around us, though we mostly saw just the curving back and perhaps a splash of tail. After a little while they left and we went in search of another pod. for the next 20 minutes we idled around the harbour, dolphins occasionaly leaping around us and then vanishing again.

I was somewhat puzzled at their rusty brown hue until I realized the color values were distorted by my prescriptions sun glasses (or perhaps these are the true colors and most of my life I am seeing distortions). In any case, I took of my sunglasses, put on my regular ones, and the intense aquamarine water pailed into a navy blue, the warm white of the boat went cold, and the dolphins switched from warm rusty brown to cool, glistening, gray-black. After a while no more dolphins appeared and we took off on a new tack. Everyone relaxed and resumed their chit-chatting. There was a movement aft towards the cabin with mutters about a cold beer or soda. I detest beer and equally detest paying $5.00 for a $1.50 can of pop, so I remained seated in the bow in my self-appointed position of lookout, and so was fortunate enough to see a dolphin rise out of the water, straight at the boat, so I got a glimpse of its face with the big dolphin smile.

All the while we were dolphin spotting, other wonderful things were happening in the skies above and around us. Sea gulls flashed by, of course. And brown pelicans, those marvelous birds. Egrets gleamed white as they flew past, their long beaks aimed like swords. Our new tack took us within a mile of a bird sanctuary where we saw a marvel of plumed beings flying out and about--ibis, egrets, herons large and small, pelicans white and brown, and those wonder of wonders, the roseate spoon bills, looking like large bouquets of roses as they perched in trees or flew over the shoreline. It had been wonderful to see them in the aquarium a few feet a way; it was even better to see them flying free in their wild homes. I kniow that for the residents of our coastal states these big birds tend to be taken for granted, but for someone from the northern states this is an exotic incredibility. I remembered briefly our delight some years ago when Raj and I were staying in a company guest house in India and a strut of peacocks flew over the wall into the garden as we sat on the terrace drinking tea. We were enchanted but the staff started muttering about all that noise and cleaning up the guano yet again and all those feathers to clean up.

After 15 minutes of gazing and marveling we headed back to shore, but there was one more marvel awaiting us. An outbound freighter crossed our bow, its bow wake streaming down its sides, and in the froth pushed up by the bow were three dolphins playing, diving right out of the water above the wave in criss crossing patterns which allowed us to see their beautiful curve as they leaped and plunged over and through the foam.

Back on shore I thanked captain and crew sincerely for a miraculous afternoon and then headed to the marvels of the coral reef in the Aquarium. Finally having had enough after a browse through the gift shop, I decided to walk back to the trolley stop instead of taking the streetcar. It had been such a short drive, but it turned out to be a longer walk. Although it mostly took me through the industrial part of town, I enjoyed the setting sun, the air that was still warm but now tolerable, the glimpses of the harbor, and the occasional streetcar full of waiving tourists that passed me. After waiting impatiently for 10 minutes for my trolley I decided to walk to my bus stop. That is how I discovered one last little treat for the day; between Whiting Street and Kennedy, where I could catch my bus, there is a lovely little man-made canyon, created by the towering office skyscrapers. Like so many canyons at the bottom is a little oasis created by a plaza with lots of green landscaping and a wonderfull waterfall and pool. Several cafes have tables and chairs set out, and in the five o'clock hour there were a few people sipping cappucinos, listening to music, and a couple of guys playing chess. the temperature dropped noticeably in the shade of the buildings and the breeze brought a light dusting of spray to cool my face before I crossed Kennedy, caught my bus, and headed for the motel.

Cristina

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