dream diary

my family and i are swimming along the regent's canal (which is not really the regent's canal, but a much wider, turquoise-transparent waterway). in the canal there are seals, which sometimes swim along you and sometimes bump into you, although quite friendly. the swim involves getting in and out of the water to avoid the locks. it's not cold and we're having a great time. during one of the stops, we come to a place with a high system of bridges that separate the water. one of the group and i go to investigate whether we need tickets or not (at this point i realise this is one of the guys that came on the tour with us) he decides to keep going and jumps into the water, but i go back to catch up with the family. when i come back they are at a slow swirling pool where they are watching a couple of seals playing in the water by spinning wildly. i jump in to play with the seals and start spinning in the water myself. one of the seals gets closer and closer, and suddenly i notice it's not a seal but a bear. the bear tries to attack me, so i jump out of the water and run back up the bridge, with the bear in hot pursuit. i take off a furry coat that i was wearing hoping that this is what the bear is after, but he pushes it away and keeps coming after me, making it quite clear that his intentions towards me are less than honorable. i keep running and running and jump into the water on the other side. by this time i'm in full bolivian-woman style dress, huge skirt, etc, so my chances in the water are not good.