In his sleep Arkady watched Zina Patiashvili swim from the Vladivostok beach, which was exactly as Slava had described except that the sunbathers were all seals, basking and craning their heads and long-lashed oriental eyes up to the sky.

See seals basking on the shores of Cape Cross.

But next year we are considering a second trip in autumn, "twitcher season", when in addition to seeing seals basking on the rocks of the Eastern Isles, we can see manic birdwatchers looking for off-course migrating rarities.

If you look out to sea it's fairly easy to spot seals basking in the water or if you're lucky, you might catch sight of a school of porpoise, a dolphin, or even a turtle.

Several times we spotted seals basking in the calm waters.

On Wednesday morning, Carol Nagy, 33, was walking on a pier at the World's Fair Marina, just north of Shea Stadium, when she spied an unusual visitor lounging on the fuel dock: a young hooded seal basking in the winter sun.

Look at a map of Mexico and you will find Cancún sitting on its far north-eastern tip like the uplifted nose of a seal basking in the Caribbean sunshine.

We also spotted a family of large seals basking in the sun.

The island was very peaceful despite other tourists: first we visited the monastery to hear the monks chanting, then explored the island, taking photos of seals basking on the rocks.

Instead, it's usually a healthy happy seal basking in the sun.