Golfinho

Dolphin.

Today we were allowed to rejoin the ocean safari for a second attempt at seeing whale sharks and manta rays. I’m still dining off how fantastic it was in 2008 even though the indications are that sightings are much less reliable now. If the population of whale sharks has taken a downturn, it’s tricky for the dive schools who have made the marketing of whale shark ocean safaris their core business. Mozambique finds it hard to attract great numbers of tourists, who are put off by costs, logistics and other issues such as perceived insecurity and language barriers. The latter two are not realistic concerns across most of the country, so I hope that fewer whale sharks won’t lead to tourists shunning Tofo, as the experience remains excellent in general. Also, who doesn’t want to be harangued to buy coconuts or cashew nuts every five minutes?

Today some tuna a-leaping from the water and then some special moments with dolphins in the wild when we came across a large pod. The visibility was decent and it was a first for me to be diving down into the vast expanse of blue, swimming alongside dolphins propelling through the water. They looked so serene, but if I was to say the great white shark tales from last night were totally absent from my mind, I’d be telling porkies.