Dawn with dolphins

Well, just post-dawn, the sky was already light. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bay and the dolphins playing in the distance (you can just see one jumping beyond the motorboat). The humming birds start cheeping before it gets light, but by the time the sun came over the hill, swifts and swallows were swooping everywhere, the egrets were in evidence, I saw a kingfisher scoop up a fish, and finally the heron stationed himself on the rock near the pier. The birds like the avocado tree by the verandah, laden with glossy fruit, but I think my presence deterred them. Hard to know where to look – at the activity nearer the house or the light changing the contours of the hills in the distance.

Later we were whisked back to the mainland, where we negotiated the repair of an inflatable sailing dinghy, a Tinker Tramp bought in the early 80s that has spent the last 30 years folded up in our attic. It’s so well made that it’s showing remarkably few signs of damage and should be ready for testing by the weekend.

On back to Rio feeling in no mood to face work, so it was lucky none came in.