Pancakes and a pod of dolphins

Pelican friend at Curanipe beach

Max spotted a puff of spray out in the ocean as we ate pancakes for breakfast in the lighthouse this morning. 'BREATH!' he yelled. We grabbed the binoculars, waited, and sure enough out to sea we saw more blowholes, and fins, and the sun glinting off the shiny wet bodies of dolphins as they slid across the surface. We estimate there were around 15, dotted all over the bay, popping up here and there. A week ago we saw a solitary and enormous dolphin heading south.

Nature is slowly trying to reclaim the house. We wage a constant and futile war of eviction against the friendly lagartija de jardins, little lizards who are half bright pale turquoise, half lime green and covered in dark spots. Yesterday I had a real job trying to convince one to let go of Chris's orange towel, which had been drying in the sun. 

We've also had a three-inch tarantula (harmless, apparently, except to my nerves) in the house and, least favourite of all, a six-inch long shiny bug that looks like how a child would draw a beetle. On A4 paper.

More welcome wildlife sightings of Chile have included pelicanos, who we sometimes see skimming the ocean from the house. Every day we see vultures around and about, too. We are unsure of their exact species but they are large and black, with 'toes' on their wings, and very graceful in the air. Quite a few pelicans hang out on the beach in Curanipe town, and are very happy to pose for pictures! They are such funny creatures, hilariously ungainly on land but amazing to see in the air, their wingspans must be two metres.

We have seen a few endangered Chilean owls swooping across the road at night, but sadly also a dead one on the road. An unidentified snake also falls into the roadkill-sightings category.

One day at Curanipe beach, we left our dry bag of clothes on a rocky outcrop while we went surfing, and returned to find an enormous bronze sea lion guarding it while he sunbathed. We have taken to calling them sea wolves, from the Spanish lobo de mar, wolf of the sea. On Friday we saw the largest colony of sea wolves in Chile, on a small rocky island about 25 metres from the beach outside Cobquecura. The sun was low so we mainly caught profiles of them sticking their noses in the air, but the honking sound was extraordinary!

Still on our list (they have been spotted from the lighthouse before) are turtles and blue whales. As I typed that last line a dolphin surfaced much closer to the house, maybe 50 metres ... not quite a blue whale yet, but we don't exactly mind the wait.

SARAH