DOLPHINS IN PARADISE!

Dolphins in Fintra Bay, Donegal

Fintra Beach, Killybegs

The weather in Donegal has been glorious recently.  Blue skies, sunshine and gentle balmy breezes.

Yesterday, sitting on the soft sands of Fintra beach, the sun on my face and the sound of the sea lapping gently on the shoreline, I thought to myself "this really is my own little paradise".  And just when I thought it couldn't get better ... it did!

---

Gazing out to sea I spotted the very distinctive fins of a pod of dolphins!

Of course excitement set in instantly and nudging my husband from his thoughts I yelled: "DOLPHINS!".

Up we got to get right down to the shoreline to get that bit closer and then next half hour or so (I lost track of time), we watched and photographed the dolphins.  They were quite a bit out from the shore but hey, they were there and that is all that mattered! 

Anyone who knows me, or is familiar with my blog posts, will know that I spend a lot of time searching for these beautiful creatures and to have them out in front of me, playing and swimming about was fabulous.

The only fly in the ointment was watching some people on a speedboat trying to get closer to them.  Part of me was jealous I have to admit but the overriding thought was how stupidly they were behaving!  This is calving season and when a dolphin, like any animal, has young around, they want to protect them and we must always remember these are wild animals and strong and dangerous if annoyed.  And yet two of the people from the boat thought it a good idea to get in the water and try to get up close with the dolphins!  Luckily for them the dolphins didn't bother them.  Perhaps there were no calves yet.   But that minor annoyance aside, it was glorious to stand for a time in the warmth of the sun watching the dolphins. 

Below is a gallery of some of the photos I took.  They are not brilliant I have to admit: the dolphins were quite a way from the shoreline and are zoomed in but I hope they give some pleasure to fellow dolphin lovers.

I hope I never get over the thrill of seeing dolphins!

RELATED POSTS:
HAM SANDWICHES AND TALKING HEADS
CHASING DOLPHINS AT SUNSET

---

And here is the beautiful Fintra beach which is just outside Killybegs.  Fintra has again been awarded Blue Flag status, just one of the thirteen Donegal beaches so awarded making Donegal once again, the county with the most Blue Flag beaches in Ireland.