Cozumel - Day 6

March 20, 2008

Today was the day I had been waiting for the entire trip. It was our day to swim with the dolphins!! The excursion wasn't until 2:30 pm, so we were anxious all day for the time to pass.

We spent the morning lounging by the pool reading. It's a hard life, I know.

At 2:00pm, we all piled into the van to make the 1/2 mile trip over to Chankanaab Park, where the Dolphin Discovery is housed. I was SO excited!! We got checked in and then had to wait around by the pool for an hour. We watched excitedly as the dolphins swam around the pools in anticipation. Finally, it was 3:30 pm, and we met our Dolphin guide, Carlos. He took us through the different hand signals we would need to remember to work with our dolphin. He taught is the sign for kiss, hug, and swim. He also showed us how to hold on to the boogie board so the dolphin would push us through the water. We finally put on our life jackets and grabbed a snorkel mask and were on our way into the pool.

We met our dolphin, Estafan, and everyone climbed down the stairs into the chilly pool. One by one we swam out into the middle of the pool and the dolphin would either take you for a ride or push you down the length of the enclosure on the boogie board. Carlos was close by taking pictures, while Fernanda was busy shooting video of the whole trip. After everyone had their 2 turns alone with Estefan, we all swam out and danced with the dolphin and had a little free time. It was truly an experience of a lifetime!! On our way out, we all lined up and got our dolphin kisses. Mary, Chelsea, Amanda, and I really enjoyed ourselves! We bought a copy of the video and all of the pictures, which I will attempt to upload soon.