Cozumel! Mexico! Dolphin Swim!
Bienvenidos a Mexico, mi amigos! Today’s port of call: Cozumel, Mexico (well, I guess the latter part goes without saying, huh?) Today’s excursion: Dolphin Swim & Ride!! AHHHHHHHHH!!
I think the photos pretty much speak for themselves, but yes. I got to touch, feel, be splashed by, kiss (and be kissed by), hug, swim with, and even RIDE an upside-down dolphin!
We went to a place called Dolphinaris, where they had a total of 19 (I think) dolphins living in captivity there. The set-up they had was pretty cool. It was a collection of interconnected man-made coves set up with an underwater gate straight into the sea (so it’s direct seawater in the cove pools). In one of the back pools were all the baby dolphins, and we were able to see them playing with each other and swimming with their mamas. Two of the dolphins started play fighting and it seriously reminded me SO much of Harry and Daxter, it wasn’t even funny. Well, that’s a lie. It was hilarious. 
I did fight with myself a little between feeling bad/guilty about taking advantage of the dolphins, but on the other hand just being amazed at the experience. The trainer we had said that their dolphins live for about 45 years in captivity, though, whereas they only live around 35 years in the wild. And each dolphin only works for 3 hours each day (so she told us, at least). I’m going to stick with those thoughts… Anyway.
It really was a special experience. Here’s more proof that it actually happened:
That’s me, Jen, Ben, my dad, and my cousin Ellie cozying up to our 780 pound Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin! (Really puts my weight into perspective, huh? Hahaha!) We also got a DVD of the experience (set to some sweeet Jamaican-sounding jams, mon! Aaaahahahahaha.) I’ll try to see if there’s a way I can piece together some of the clips of me to show you guys (in other words, try to see if there’s a way Ben can help me do that) but take it from me. It was awesome. Like, more than awesome. Like, I can’t even come up with a word awesome enough to start describing how ABOVE awesome it was.
… I <3 dolphins. We spent the largest amount of time just floating in the water petting the dolphin as it swam by. He (the dolphin) actually seemed to really enjoy being stroked! His skin was soooooo soft and smooth. Auuuugh, I want one!
Hokay. So. Getting ahold of myself, and moving on. The dolphin excursion took a while between getting there, getting instructions, and actually getting to spend time in the water with the dolphin, so after we got back we were pretty much done and ready to get on the boat. Not before we did a little shopping, though!
The port at Cozumel was a lot bigger and had more stands and shops than Grand Cayman did, so we wandered around a bit, and made use of Jenny’s fantastic bargaining skills (I think I’m too accommodating to every be good at bargaining, sigh.) After all was said and done, we headed back to the ship!
Dinner! Appetizer:
A citrus salad, with grapefruit, orange slices, and apples (not sure why they got included in a CITRUS salad, but they were good!)
Soup:
Creamy Baked Potato Soup. It was only okay. I didn’t finish it. I also obviously forgot to take a photo before I started, which is why it’s a little messy, haha.
Entree:
New York Strip & Creamy Garlic Rigatoni. This was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, I was soooo full from other eating throughout the day that I could only eat a few bites. Sigh. Probably a good thing, all in all, considering how rich the sauce was (darn you, cream! So delicious. So dangerous.)
Dessert:
Coconut Creme Caramel. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I could only eat literally 2 bites, but it was smooth and creamy and delicious. I seriously could eat nothing but custard for the rest of my life and probably be okay. Well, you know, aside from dying after like a week from a massive coronary. But otherwise! 
Okay, another one down. Tomorrow, get ready for Costa Maya and the Mayan Ruins! It’s about time I add in an educational portion of this trip, ahahaha. TTFN, ta-ta for now!
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