Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Discover the Dolphins

If you've not done it, YOU MUST (If the dolphins are FREE to come and go as they wish)!
Wednesday; our usual morning; breakfast (some oatmeal, fruit, tea); get ready to go; little walk to the coffee shop for a coffee; hop our ride to discover the dolphins.
What a wonderful experience! The dolphins are amazing! Just look at that face! How can you help but smile when you look at that face? They are so soft and smooth to touch. Hard to believe but did you know that dolphins shed the entire outer layer of their skin every two hours. They eat 5% of their body weight per day. The dorsil fins of the dolphin are individually unique with nicks or notches (much like our birthmarks) and these are relied on for identification. Dolphins are social beings; they seem very happy to interact and perform for us as well as play with us.
Our 'swim with the dolphins' included several activities..........they pulled us while we held their dorsal fins (a pretty quick trip through the water); they swam over to us and lay on our outstretched arms, then we gently pushed them away; they came over to us for a kiss and to touch our hand held up in the air; they shook hands with us; they picked us up (under our feet) and held us up in the air as they swam towards the dock (called the foot-push), then deposited us back into the water (ker-sploosh); they performed for us doing flips and jumps and twirls, waved good bye etc. It was a fantastic experience and I would love to do it again one day (if the dolphins were free in the ocean).
The two dolphins our group interacted with at first decided early on they didn't want to play that day. They just simply refused to follow instructions from the trainer.........so we moved on to another pair. The trainer explained that some days the dolphins decide they don't want to perform so the trainers respect that and leave them alone. They are never punished (which was good to hear); the group is just moved to interact with another pair.
Being with the dolphins and experiencing the interactions with them was awsome. The one thing that is very sad is that the dolphins are kept in captivity; what would make this participation with them better would be if they were free to come and go back to the ocean as they wanted. I understand there may be opportunities like that now. I hope so!
When we had showered and got dressed we hopped the cab back to Cabo San Lucas; stopped for a few groceries then headed back to the resort.
It was a memorable day!
Having trouble getting photos posted; we have so many that I don't know which ones to choose...............(March 7, 2012)

No comments: