After an intense two days at TBEX Cancun, we headed to Isla Mujeres for a tour of Dolphin Discovery and Garrafon Park. Isla Mujeres is a beautiful small island off the coast of Cancun. The day was gorgeous and we embarked on a boat on our way to the island. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and the boat was packed with locals as they take advantage of the low season to discover the Riviera Maya sans tourists.
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| My new friends at Dolphin Discovery |
As we disembarked the boat, we were welcomed by the dolphins swimming near the shore of Isla Mujeres. I was hesitant about the tour when we were invited by Dolphin Discovery to join, especially after the discussion at TBEX Travel Blogger Conference. However, I think the best way to judge something is to see it for ourselves. We were able to see that the dolphins were in large areas in their natural habitat. We also had an opportunity to talk to the manager and trainer which shared with us that the dolphins are in a schedule which allows them "time off" between their human interactions.
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| Dutchman Making New Friends |
Before meeting the dolphins up close and personal, we had a 15 minute orientation on the program and the do's and don'ts of the demonstration. Once done with orientation, we hopped on the platform to meet our new friends, Merlin and Ramses. The trainer quickly went through the basics again had had us greet the dolphins. We had the opportunity to rub their bellies, swim with them, and have them swim us to the platform. The dolphin swim experience was 45 minutes. We enjoyed the experience and we got to learn a little bit about dolphins (such as they eat 10 kilos of fish a day!).
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| Living the Life! |
After the tour, we were had the opportunity to see your pictures with the dolphins. As my picture with the Koala in Australia, I think it's a fun memento to have from the experience. The only downfall was how expensive it was ($40). After sticker shock, we went to have drinks and wait for a taxi to takes us to Garrafon Park, a five minute ride from Dolphin Discovery. The park has a variety of things to do: swim, zip line, pool, all you cat eat buffet, snorkeling, bike rides, and even a temazcal (Mayan sweat lodge).
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| Windy Day at Garrafon |
Unfortunately, the waters were too rough for snorkeling so we did the zip line, which had a beautiful view of the island and the ocean. We also just sat by the ocean and had some margaritas and ended our day with the temazcal experience. We did not know what to expect from the temazcal, given that I am also slightly claustrophobic. The shaman put us at ease in the temazcal and explained to us the purpose of the lodge and the spiritual connection to nature of the Mayan culture. I usually get really claustrophobic in a sauna, but I really felt at ease during the experience. After 30 minutes in the lodge, we left dripping in sweat but we both agreed that we felt cleansed and re-energized.
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| Dutchman ziplining over the Caribbean |
Tired and suntanned we boarded the boat back to Cancun. We truly enjoyed the day trip to Isla Mujeres. We felt that we did so much in one day: swim with dolphins, margaritas on the beach, zip line over the Caribbean, and even have a spiritual experience in just one day. Thanks to Dolphin Discovery for such an amazing experience!
* Disclaimer: This experience was sponsored by Dolphin Discovery. Views are completely my own.
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