Swimming with.....

We anchored in Bahia Tenacitita for two nights. There's a nice dinghy trip up into the mangrove swamp and its one of the calmest anchorages around. Sara wanted some civilization so we made a dinghy trip across the choppy bay to the cute town of La Manzanilla, for some shopping, drinks on the beach at sunset and admiring of cocodrillos. (crocodiles) Both nights, then anchorage was very nice and calm with only a few feet of swell wrapping around the point. But both nights I heard a strange noise that I couldn't place. It was a creaking, groaning sound coming from the bow that sounded like the anchor chain scraping on the roller. But every time I would check there would be nothing. Only the two dolphins who were patrolling the bay. Every time we heard the sound, we'd notice that the dolphins would surface nearby! I began to wax conspiritorial. It was the dolphins rubbing up against the boat! Screwing with us somehow. And Sara, LOVED these dolphins. We watched them swimming the bay for two days and new them by their ragged dorsal fins. Sara kept metioning how much she'd like to swim with them an I said, "go ahead, jump overboard, but I'm staying right here!" (where its safe) Our last morning, I heard the groaning sound again and ran up to the bow. Sure enough! It was the dolphins! They were cavorting with our anchor rode! Both dolphins would make a run at our rode and pass the rope slowly down their entire lenth, snout to tail! The anchor rode was in constant spiral! And the water was totally clear. Coffee was abandoned. Bathing suits thrown on. And into the water we went. I was a little scared, but what a great way to die anyway. It was scary, intense, and beautiful. They did not leave and didn't seem to mind our presense at all. They swam right up to both of us and circled and continued their backscratching with the rode. I saw an image that I won't forget for the rest of my life. Sara, had pulled herself down the anchor rode, about 10 feet down, halfway to the bottom and was hold on tightly to the chain as two dolphins swam below her, the anchor chain straining at their backs, both of them! pulling this mermaid into a perfect circle. It was, absolutely, the most beautiful image I expect to see in my entire life.