Thursday, May 26, 2016

Another Perfect Day In Paradise

I went down to the beach and went snorkeling. It was a beautiful day, the water was warm, the sun was shining, and the water was pretty calm. I was out for about an hour, came across several honu, and spent about 30 minutes slowly swimming with one. I love when they just kind of hang out with you and don't rush off. 
After I came back to the beach, I unrolled my bamboo mat and laid it out at the edge of the sand in the shade of some trees. I was thirsty so I grabbed my machete, chopped the top off a coconut and took a long drink, then laid back on my mat and just stared out at the ocean, it was so beautiful.  
So I'm just laying there in the shade, half dozing, when I heard this rustling in the leaves at the edge of the trees, down the beach a little ways. All of a sudden this baby hippo came lumbering out of the trees and headed down to the beach! I have no idea where it came from, but I just stayed very quiet and watched it as it started playing in the water. It went deeper until it disappeared under the water. I was waiting for it to come back up, when all of a sudden it popped up and rushed towards the shore, as if something had startled it. It didn't get very far, when all of a sudden a dolphin shot out of the water and jumped over it! It was so bizarre. I couldn't wait to get to circle that night and tell everyone!
I continued to lay on my mat and watched the hippo. The next thing I knew, I was waking up. Had I fallen asleep and dreamt all that, or had I fallen asleep watching the hippo? Not sure I'll ever know, but either way, it was another perfect day in paradise!

This story was inspired by a watercolor that Aeryn Kelly posted on FB:

And the ensuing discussion of things seen in the picture, (a red hippo and a blue dolphin) as well as Tiffany's love of writing and my journey into PernMUSH back in the day at her promoting.: