Dolphin Discovery

Today was a nice and lazy morning. It started with my friend knocking on the door to pick equipment up from the dive shop and asking if I'd be up for a two tank dive tomorrow afternoon. Ecstatic about the prospect of getting 2 more dives in, I happily and readily agreed.

Next up was a delicious breakfast of pancakes at the restaurant next to the hotel. So yummy! Our day didn't start until 11:00a so we had plenty of time to sleep in and get a good breakfast. We took the 12:00p ferry over to Cozumel to visit Dolphin Discovery. They gave us a tour of the facility first and then we got to get into the water with the dolphins! We started with physical exams - dolphin skin feels so smooth and slick! Not like the rays and sharks. They were super playful and full of energy. After the PEs, they let us go through a dolphin encounter! We got hugs, kisses, dances, dorsal tows, splashes, and foot pushes! It was all very magical and exciting. I of course had to find a snorkel mask to keep my face dry during the tow and push haha. It was so much fun!

They did a special sea lion show just for our group. Diego, Rocky, and two others showed off their best tricks. They were so cute. They staged their entrances so that the smallest and youngest went first all the way up to the largest and most impressive sea lion. At the very end, they lined us up and we each received a kiss from their female sea lion.

We got to observe an endoscopy procedure on a dolphin. Unlike dogs and cats, the procedure is performed awake. The animal is surrounded by his trainers and has been trained to swallow and accept the endoscopy scope. It's really impressive - you'd never catch me willingly swallowing a tube! The camera showed beautiful pictures of the esophagus and 1st stomach compartment of the dolphin. Dolphins basically have 3 compartments in their stomach. The first one is tasked with digesting everything that enters into a gruel because dolphins swallow their food whole without even a single chew. We could see lots of fish in the stomach including the tails! Pretty neat!

We took the evening ferry back to Playa Del Carmen and by then it was time for a late dinner. After showers and a refreshing break, a bunch of us decided to hit up 100% Natural for dinner. Such a delicious restaurant. Their menu is at least a dozen pages long and in addition to having tons of yummy dishes, they have multiple pages with fruit juices and smoothies. Healthy and delicious!