Description:
Xcaret, Mexico is an all-natural water park and zoo. It is the ultimate place for an aquatic adventure. You can spend an hour lazily drifting down the river in an underground cave, snorkel in a coral reef, meet a manatee, or my favorite, swim with dolphins.
It was a childhood dream of mine to come to face to face with one of these amazing creatures and at Xcaret I got to spend nearly an hour actually swimming, touching, playing, and learning with several of them. When we arrived at the beautiful lagoon, where the dolphins lived, my excitement started to elevate. Just as we set down our bag with such essentials as eco-friendly suntan lotion and waterproof footwear, a dolphin leapt out of the water only feet away from us. There is a semi-circle amphitheater around the lagoon so family members can watch while you have the adventure of a lifetime. The moment I saw the dolphins a big Christmas morning grin had formed on my face that stayed with me the whole time.
The swimmers were separated into two groups Spanish speaking and English speaking and we went through an eight minute safety lesson about how to interact with the dolphins. We learned important things like: Never touch the dolphins eyes or blowhole. Then into the water we went. Each group worked with three dolphins. We stood on a platform just below the water. The water came up to my shoulders. It was the perfect place to begin our interactions with the dolphins. The trainers introduced us to the dolphins and gestured for us to swim out to the center of the lagoon five at a time (10 in each group). We did just this, not knowing what was about to happen we all waited in a line. All of a sudden we felt a rush of water underneath us and three dolphins exploded out of the water leaping in a full arch right over our heads. The water dripped down from the sky off their bellies and they splashed down into the water not six feet in front of us. It was amazing!
Then the trainers taught us how to tell the dolphins to splash, jump, come here and even speak. We all sang a rendition of "La Cucaracha" dolphins included. After careful instruction by the trainer we were each given a chance to hug the dolphins and plant a kiss on their lips. The cameras poised on the docks above us caught everything. After this we spent about 20 minutes in a free swim. I was surprised how soft their skin was and how affectionate they were. The best part was the foot push. We each laid down in the middle of the water until all of a sudden two dolphins were behind us pushing us across the water by our feet. We soared across the lagoon. It felt like flying! I was elated. My adventure in Xcaret was all I had dreamed it would be.
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