Dolphinaris was a great place to go for interacting with bottle nosed dolphins. Everyone took turns going in groups of eight. Each group had their own instructor. Our instructor's name was Thomas and he explained several facts about dolphins. For example:
Dolphins can live up to 35 years in captivity. They usually live only 7 or 8 years in their natural ocean habitat. This is due to their natural enemies... sharks, whales and humans.
The dolphins we played around and interacted with the most were named Bina and Seymour. Bina was a 3 year old female. Seymour was 15 years old.
This is a description of Dolphinaris from their website:
Dolphinaris Cozumel is a place like no other in Cozumel or in the Caribbean, nestled upon the shores of a glittering turquoise sea, it offers an unforgettable experience where guests can swim and interact with dolphins in their natural habitat, the beautiful ocean coves provide a safe place for you and for our dolphins to enjoy a truly unforgettable experience.
The instructor let us feed, swim and touch the dolphins. We were even allowed, surprisingly, to touch a dolphin's teeth and tongue. It was amazing. They were so gentle and loving, you could do almost anything with them. Thomas even taught us the hand signals that would let the dolphins know we wanted them to perform a trick or movement for us.
We were in the ocean water with the dolphins for about an hour. And in that hour we experienced many wonderful moments with these endearing marine mammals. They would come right up to us, sometimes rubbing against us, obviously enjoying human contact and interaction.
This is me, riding a dolphin. It took me from one end of a cove to another. Pretty cool, huh?
It truly was the experience of a lifetime. How many people can say they've swam with dolphins?
10 comments:
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for sharing some more fabulous photos of your time in the Caribbean.
My former spouse and I, honeymooned in that area. Cancun, Tulum, Isla Mujeres etc.
Somewhere amongst my old photos collection, I have a picture of her petting a shark...hmmm....
Cheers dude.
Gary :-)
klahanie- You are most welcome, sir. Did you like your time in those towns? Do anything cool? See anything cool? I won't ask what you meant by the 'petting the shark' line. :)
Anyway, as I've said so many times before... We had a great time with the sharks and we were surprised how much they wanted to get close to us. The instructors did a terrific job giving us details about their life and how to have them do tricks for us and so on.
HAVE A NICE DAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! Hahahaha.
I loved my time in those towns. It brings back many fond memories.
On, I think it was Isla Mujeres, there is an aquarium there, that my then wife, actually really did pet a small shark:-)
I'm in the middle of doing a blog, right now. I think you will like it. I shall be over to your other site, later, to comment.
Take care, dude.
klahanie- That's great that you have those memories from there. There's nothing like a trip in the Caribbeans. That's cool that she was able to do that. My wife and I were able to pet baby Hammerhead Sharks at the huge aquarium in Cincinnati. They were swimming around in circles in this oval tank. At first, I was kinda freaked out by it, thinking they were going to bite me... but they didn't. They even allowed kids to touch them.
See ya at the other site. And I'm bettin' I will like your latest blog. I usually do, dude. Later.
I've always wanted to do an excursion with the dolphins! We have them in our back yard all the time and once (before all the silly laws) my kids jumped into the river to try to get next to them. They are a sight to see....
MarytrMom- You should do it sometime. Btw, you have dolphins in your back yard? How are they surviving on dry land? :)
Hi Kelly, Fantastic photo essay on your day with the dolphins. No not the movie. BTW, did you ever see that film? My kids have frolicked in Mexico with the dolphins and had a blast. They also learned a thing or too. I love your close up photo of the two dolphins-They look like a cool duo who would be fun to hang out with for the day.
That must've been awesome. I'm green with envy! I'm hoping to take my nephews to Discovery Cove (near Orlando, FL,) someday.
THE SNEE- Ji Rebecca... Heh heh... I remember that movie. It was pretty cool. I'm sure your kids did have a blast with 'em in Mexico. I believe the experience is a very positive one in many respects for children and adults alike. My nieces had a great time with them last year in Belize. The only bad thing that happened during their time was that my niece got stung by a jellyfish while she was having fun with one of the dolphins.
And yeah, I like that one particular photo a lot, too. It's like they were our very personal dolphins that day. We had them all to ourselves.
Lana Gramlich- It was great, Lana! I've heard of Discovery Cove. I didn't know it was a dolphin sanctuary type place. You'll have an amazing time if you ever go. So will the nephews.
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