Dolphin watching in Pipa

Pipa is the place where we have spent the longest period of time so far and yet the one place where we would quite happily spend another few weeks if we could. Two hours south of Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Pipa is a true gem of the Northeastern coast. Set on natural falesias and embraced by the mata Atlantica the village overlooks the sea and is strategically located for reaching a wide range of beaches - Praia da Pipa, the central beach with it's shallow waters and natural pools, Praia do Amor on the right hand side, paradise of surfers, the Enseada dos Golfinhos and Praia do Madeiro on the left hand side which can only be reached from Praia do Centro at low tide.
Pipa thrives with life and throughout our time here it has been hard to find excuses for lying on hammocks all day - apart from poor Andrew getting a nasty flu which meant we were game over for a couple of days!

There is lots to do but perhaps one of the things Pipa is most famous for is dolphin watching. The stretch of coast where the beaches lie features some impressive bays which bless parts of the area with calm waters and gentle waves. It is here that dolphins regularly come to rest, feed and breed their calves. As the whole point of them stopping off is regain energies and prepare for longer journeys, it is not uncommon for them to come to the shallower parts of the bays that are closest to the shore. So a swim with the dolphins is part of daily life in Pipa and this is one of the very few places in the world where the delicate balance of coexistence with these beautiful creatures has been well preserved.

Our first visit at the Baia dos Golfinhos was difficult to top - not only did they come very close but the few boats hanging around in the bay meant that they put on a little bit of a show where jumps and flips didn't go amiss. But we thought we could do better, so on our last day on the beach we hired a kayak. As close as these dolphins can get to you when you are in the water, it is sometimes hard to spot them as the high waves often prevent you from seeing further than a few meters. If you are standing on the beach and looking out at sea, very often you see fins coming out of the water and passing very close to swimmers who - completely oblivious- keep looking for them in a million and one other directions. So we thought the kayak would get us over this hurdle as well as perhaps getting us even closer to them.

Aside from the dolphin related excitement, the whole kayaking experience was awesome. Dad and I always used to go out kayaking on our seaside holidays whenever the opportunity was there and I had forgotten how much I loved
the whole concept of being out 'in the wild' on your own boat...except that this time around I actually had to roll my sleeves up and do things, as Andrew wouldn't have any of the 'oh well I am tired now, can I stop rowing??' business!

We spent the first part of the journey figuring out the coordination of the paddling which we eventually got down to a simple 'left-right-left-right' for me at the front until hearing otherwise from Andrew who was steering from the back. It worked well and it got us to explore the left hand side of the bay where the waters were roughest...and there wasn't a single sign of a dolphin! Something like an hour and a half had passed by that point and our hopes of having dolphins brushing against the side of the kayak were starting to fade. Still, Praia do Madeiro seen from the sea looked idyllic, with its white sand, infinite rows of coconut trees and emerald green forest topping the cliffs in the background and I was happy to call it a day - in fact, a great day.

'Come on then, let's get closer to where we need to be and let's try and get the boat straight into shore' suggested Andrew as we were doing the last checks around us for any fins surfacing from the clear waters. So we started rowing back towards the left hand side of the bay which is more sheltered from the winds and where the waters are calmer.

And just as we thought none would show 'Wait, I have heard something' said Andrew. A surprisingly loud puffing sound, followed by a splash and a shiny grey fin appearing right at the back of the kayak, just a few meters from us. We stopped paddling and rested the ores on the sides of the boat so as to not scare then away. Another 'puff', 'splash' and a curved back gracefully emerging from the water- in fact two, a mother and a baby! We quickly realised that the key to spotting them was to hear them breathe before looking for them. We must have sat there in silence (bar the odd squeal of excitement!) for half an hour. More fins, more gracefully curved backs,more black liquid eyes in the transparence of the waves. Beautiful and very special, not the least because - by being 'let into' their own space- we felt that delicate balance of coexistence between us and them being reinforced.

There was very little to be said or done after that other than calling it a day and concluding that - yes, indeed- we had topped the first time!