December 21, 2009

Cruise Adventures: Day 4, September 2, 2009

Because of Hurricane Jimena’s weasly antics, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta in the late morning. This gave me plenty of time to wake up, feel seasick, feel homesick, and have anxiety about roaming around in a foreign country. Nonetheless, it was dolphin day. As much as I was ready to throw in the towel and book the first flight home, I had to fulfill my couple-of-years dream of swimming with dolphins. Besides, who am I fooling? I’m deathly afraid of flying.
As soon as the Mariner of the Seas was safely docked, we left the ship and set foot on Mexican soil. While we waited for our excursion to begin, we quickly roamed around the outdoor market. When I say quickly, I mean lightening speed. The merchants were super aggressive and nothing makes me more cranky than pushy salespeople (ok, so being tired AND hungry turns me into a complete monster, but I digress). You know the ones who can't take a polite, "no thank you," "no thanks," or "seriously, did you not just hear me say no" for an answer? It turns out that agressive sales tactics aren't just limited to mall kiosks in Roseville. After our jaunt around the shops we waited in the humid Puerto Vallarta air and people watched. Soon after, we were whisked away to Aquaventuras Park for our dolphin swim experience.
Upon arrival we had a brief lesson about dolphins and a quick overview about the facility and our adventure. They didn’t leave us in suspense for too long and seeing those beautiful creatures made me glad that I’m a sissy about flying. Had we left we never would have met those sweet little pieces of pumpkin pie:


We were allowed to pet the dolphins, feed them, and swim with them. We were also able to take pictures with them for the bargain price of $ 50 a pop. The icing on the cake, however, was that we were lucky enough to get to do the belly swim with them. The dolphins selflessly rolled onto their backs and carried us around the pool on their bellies. Human belly to dolphin belly. What can I say? It was love at first sight.

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