A Dolphin Taught Me to Swim

By Silvana Ivandic-Määttä (Nana)

As young, I used to spend delightfully long summer holidays at our family house in the Dubrovnik area in Croatia. Practically as soon as I was born, my life and growing up was linked to the beautiful Adriatic sea. As I would wake up at mornings, the gorgeous blue unexplored and wide sea world was in front of me and near from dawn to sunset. 

As the youngest of all the children in the neighbourhood, I was the only one not able to swim. As only 4 years of age, I one day just decided to take a big brave step into the new world, the sea!

There were fisherman stories told about our the dolphins in the area chasing the fish away and destroying the fisherman’s nets. I loved hearing those stories. They were in my child’s eye as if from a totally other Universe. I kept hoping that one day I could meet some of those magnificent marine creatures myself!

I remember very well , as it was yesterday, that it was a Sunday morning. I went to the beach with other children. As usual, I carried with me all possible equipment to assist not to sink in water. As I was trying to float, I saw something big and brownish passing me in the water.

I was so frightened! Of course, the first thing on my mind was “it is a shark!”. Luckily, I did not panic, but instead got kind of frozen.

The ‘thing’ came again close to me, this time with very little speed, as if trying to show me not to be afraid. I felt a natural sudden calmless – and joy! Can’t explain even to this day how could that kind of feeling at that moment emerge and from where inside me did it come from regarding the circumstances? I had never felt anything similar before! 

I just knew in my gut feeling it was a dolphin – even I had never seen one before, except on TV. He or she came so close with it’s body, that I touched it and was so surprised how hot it felt, like touching a human skin. I will never forget that feeling and the empowerment it gave me.

To just simply feel with touch this dolphin was as such an amazing experience for the child I then was.

Suddenly, I was not afraid. I was able to even float without help. I had met my ‘instructor’, my very own dolphin to help me swim! Ohhh, what a special emotional memory that became and a big secret to that child to keep from then on.

After this had happened, I begun waking up very early each morning to go to the beach without other kids – to just swim with my Dolphin. My swimming skills improved within a month. I can’t even explain with words how those swimming lessons went!

I was just following the dolphins guidance and ‘ instructions ‘ , learning how to flip back and forth under the water (something my husband is amazed seeing me do every time I swim). 

After a while my family noticed that I am all the time running to the beach. So grandma followed me. I had a kind of ‘ deal’ with my Dolphin that it shows up only when I am alone in the sea at one special spot by the cliff. 

So, that day I went to sea without knowing grandma was watching from the shore. My Dolphin came. We started our sea dance.

Grandma was so scared seeing that and started shouting from the shore. When I came out of the sea it took a lot of crying and explaining that this Dolphin is my true friend and I have to go back to water! Somehow grandma after a while did become my secret keeper. And the rest of that summer became a pure fairytale for me.

I will never forget that summer as long as I live. And the ‘ lessons’ I have from this time a so young learnt! It gave me a special feeling and connection to the sea for the rest of my life. It taught me how much we truly are connected and linked to each other all over. It taught me to be open minded to the world around.

I learned to respect the simple fact of life itself. This experience with the dolphin and of times with it in the sea as if opened ‘ other’ dimensions in my mind, which helped to overcome hard times in the years to come. Since then, I strongly have believed, that every one of us has their own Dolphin somewhere out there – waiting to ‘instruct’!

Silvana, “Nana”

Silvana Ivandic-Määttä (Nana) grew up in Croatia and is a Bosnian Croat married to a Finn.

For more information, please see the links.
Contact: silvana.ivandic.maatta@gmail.com and sini@totheoceans.com.

Links:

The dolphins play in Dubrovnik Adriatic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49MFr9GI_L8

Dubrovnik tour guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shAXllGJ-c0

National Geographic video “How smart are the dolphins?”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bnur3gHJ0s

Deep Marine Scenes video on dolphins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7PaWeHCPHg