We spent the quiet Niuean Sunday relaxing with Sonrisa out in the anchorage.   Time for a swim! We free dive on the lump beneath Sonrisa and we can see millions of tiny little fish, sparkling in the sunlight overhead like multi-colored gems.  The coral is all manner of colors: blue, green, pink, bright purple, yellow.  I follow my own bubbles to the surface, clear orbs of white light.  As I surface, something slithers past my face.  I duck my head just below the surface and see…

“SNAKE!”  I yell. “Andrew!  Sea snake!!”  

As if the sea snake hears me calling his name, he turns around and starts slithering toward me.  I paddle my hands and feet backwards, but he slithers right up to me at chest level, takes a look, then slithers off.

“I’m getting out.”  I say, swimming toward Sonrisa.  

Andrew laughs, “He’s fine!  Look, he’s cute!”  

“Aren’t sea snakes poisonous?”  I say.  

Yes.  They are.  In fact, even these sea snakes are so poisonous they would cause instant human death, if they could bite you.  But, apparently, their mouths are so small, they can’t bite you.  Isn’t that reassuring?

I dry off and sit on Sonrisa’s deck, warm in the sun.  Soon, Andrew hops out, too.  New friends from an American boat named Dragonsbane stop by and we chat over somemorning coffee.  Jonas the Swede pops his head over the lifelines to say “hi,” too.  The light wind is gathering all our sailing friends here in Niue. 

Soon, a mother whale and her baby calf swim right through the anchorage.  She stops, and strikes a pose with her tail up.  We later learn that this is the position she takes in order to feed her calf.  We float in Grin a good distance away for a better view.

We are going to like this place, a lot.

Our adventures started in earnest on Monday.  First task is to try to swim with a whale and/or dolphins.  We load into Buccaneer Adventure’s RIB with mask, fins and goggles. Swimming with a whale is a delicate project.  We don’t want to scare the whale or distress her in any way because she is feeding her newborn calf.  These baby whales quadruple in size in the matter of months, eating everything they need to survive until they can swim far enough South to find the schools of bait fish that swarm around Antarctica.  If they are disturbed and unable to feed properly, they could be in danger.  So, we hang back and ease close enough to see Mama without scaring her.  Each time we get close, though, she dives down with her calf and appears minutes later on the other side of the bay.  We take pictures from a distance, but otherwise give up on the swim.

This photo series is courtesy of Jonas The Swede who got better pictures than me.

The spinner dolphins were in a more convivial mood.  Swimming near us in a giant pod, we don our masks and snorkels.  Over the side of the RIB we go, two at a time.  We hold onto a handle, tied to a rope and drag as the RIB speeds along with the dolphins.  The dolphins jump and dive, criss-crossing the bow of the RIB.  They look back at us as we drag along and squeak their dolphin squeaks.  It’s a cacophony of dolphin conversation under the water.  When it’s my turn, I try to commune with the dolphins with my best squeaks.  They give me the side eye and dive down deep.  What did I say?  I cannot believe I am swimming with dolphins.  I could reach out and touch their tail fins, but I don’t want to impose.

After a day in the water, we rushed back to town to get ready for Phil’s Birthday Party at the Matavai Resort. We stop at the Yacht club to pick up his birthday cake made fresh that day by the woman who owns the Mini Golf Cafe.  The shuttle van weaves us around, through many potholes and we arrive at the Matavai just as the sun is setting over the salt spray covered coast.  The Scenic Matavai.  Tonight is the “Uga Interaction”, and as we step onto the patio, a Polynesian man with dread locks and eyes crinkled from years of smiling hands Phil a ten pound coconut crab.  This Uga is bright blue on his belly, enormous and almost Phil’s age.  None of us are really sure we should be holding him.  

For dinner, I ate a locally caught Red Snapper filet with a potato and papaya gratin and island vegetables. Andrew had seared tuna (also locally caught), and Phil’s steak and prawns looked pretty tasty, too.

Finally, it was time to shower Phil with his birthday presents.  Remember the Rarotonga Prison Craft Shop?  “Got this for you at the Prison Craft Shop.  Made by a man who killed a man.  Happy 40th Birthday, Phil!”