Adventures of a Tribe

Dolphin Bay

Posted on November 7, 2015

We are finally back in wifi range, after a couple days of adventuring. Some of our friends in the marina mentioned to us that they’d visited a place called Dolphin Bay, and found some awesome snorkel spots, so we pulled up the bow lines and set off to find it. We reached it just as the sun was setting, and set the anchor and snuggled down for the night. I awoke around 2am and slipped out of my berth and walked out onto the main deck. The  black sky stretched far and deep with a bright, clear display of endless constellations. The Southern Cross lay tilted before me and I breathed the thick air in closed my eyes. Just me and the night sky, the ocean and the beauty that lay beneath the water.

This morning I woke with the sun at 6am and wandered outside once more. This time, I watched a yellow butterfly meandering a few feet above the water, and I wondered how far it had flown. I sat out on the bow and finished reading my book, which ended with the quote by Remi, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” I meditated for a while about what it means in my life, then went back inside to see the creatures working on their school work. After changing into my swimsuit I slipped into the warm Caribbean water and entered one of my most favorite places…a world of white finger coral reaching out as far as I could see, purple, orange, yellow and magenta sponges scattered among yellow anemones with purple tips and fan worms displaying delicate orange and white fringes. Angel and damsel fish, gobi’s and wrasse, all busily making their way through tiny corridors and tunnels so familiar to them in this magical underwater world.

Everyone joined me and we explored together for over an hour, showing each other beautiful things. I love the ocean and all that is in it, and I love watching our children discover the beauties in it too. I love showing them and teaching them, and learning with them.

When we surfaced Danny challenged the creatures by telling them that 4 of them needed to race around the bay we were in, on the stand up paddle boards. It was a large area, and Mycah, Jonathan, Aidan and Jude took the challenge. The rules were that they had to stand the entire way and couldn’t fall at all.

Aidan fell almost right away and then Jude followed, and little Miss Competitive Mycah (who reminds me of me), and Jonathan took the lead.

It was a long long way around, and once they reached about 3/4 way around, Danny got a mischievous look in his eye and said, “it’s time…”. He jumped in the dinghy and heading for Mycah and Jonathan, and began making waves for them.

I could hear Mycah giving him an earful and was amazed that she didn’t hit him with her paddle. Jonathan finally lost his balance and fell, but no matter what Danny did, Mycah never lost her balance. Finally she made it and won the race. Then, Danny got creative…..

He towed the creatures on the paddle boards behind the dinghy. I was impressed how well they stayed on even when he went fast. Skyler and Jude went tandem and did pretty well too. We were joined by a couple kids in dugouts from the local village, and we gave them water, fruit, candy, clothing and a stuffed toy that my niece, Lauren sent to give away. I also gave them pictures of Jesus that Bernadine gave to me, and they were especially grateful for those. The boys names were Kenneth and Lewis, and Kenneth sat and stared at his picture for quite a while.

Mycah and Emma tried paddling in their dugouts and found it to be far more difficult than it looks. They are very narrow and extremely easy to tip.

Emma tipped and had to bail it out. Lewis had fun trying out the paddle board. They thought we were crazy swimming in the water and kept pointing down and showing that it was dangerous. They motioned that there were big crocodiles and that we should not be in the water, but got a kick out of watching the creatures goof around.

We motored to another area and sent out a hunting party…

They did not return with meat or coconuts and were promptly fired. Their excuse was that there were far too many crocodile tracks. I told them they could have at the very least brought back a crocodile.

We set sail in the direction of Bocas, and raised the Spinnaker for Skyler and Mommy to see.

En route to Bocas, Aidan discovered (with Danny’s help) that he could swing like a pirate on one of the extra lines, and he spent the next hour flying back and forth across the boat.

Before long, all the creatures joined him and we had crazy pirate children swinging all over the place.

Panama celebrated their independence day this week, and their celebrations have lasted  the entire week. Today there were still banners and music stands all over the place.

This evening we ate at our favorite local place in town, then grabbed an ice cream cone and walked back to where we’d parked the dinghy. It’s Mommy’s last night with us on Tanda Malaika, and we enjoyed the warm Bocas air and familiar sights and sounds together. Tomorrow morning, she will begin her journey back to the mainland where her new beautiful little great grand daughter is waiting to meet her.