How to Disguise Oneself as a Sea Lion

This afternoon I found myself laying on the beach, taking a nap next to the sound of the waves, my favorite way to sleep. The beach, called La Lobería (The Sea Lion Place), is outside town, with significantly less people and surprisingly less sea lions as well despite its namesake. The few sea lions, however, are placid and silly, playing with each other and calling out frequently. Our favorite was the small group of pups (in a kindergarten) that played in the shallows, adorable beyond all belief. Being tired and lazy, I decided to lie down on the sand, though the horseflies and other insects were bothering me, so I decided to cover myself up with my sarong (aka pareo). I was napping happily, dreaming sweet oceanic dreams, when I was awoken by a loud sea lion bark. It sounded normal, as several had been sleeping a short distance away from me previously. However, the next call sounded closer than the first. Groggily I decided that I should probably get up to check to make sure the sea lion wasn’t coming too close. As I peaked out from under my sarong, I realized that the large bull male was sitting right next to me, not more than 2 feet away. Needless to say I screamed and jumped up. Even though I was several feet away, the bull began to approach me again, walking over my towel and purse where I had been only moments before. Again, I screamed and ran farther down the beach. Apparently, being wrapped up in a brown tie-dye sarong with ones’ feet sticking out of the bottom makes you look like a sea lion. We figure the bull was investigating to see if I was a rival male or another unfamiliar female. Regardless, either reaction was not so appealing to me. As I stood laughing down the beach, Claire and Sarah concerned as well as laughing with me, the bull rolled around in the sand next to our towels, apparently as entertained as we were.