WE SWAM WITH DOLPHINS!!!!!

Yes, we swam with Dolphins and it was so, so cool!  It was one of those things you want to tell everyone about, but then you know it just won't sound as cool as it actually was.

We swam with the dolphins in Cozumel, Mexico.  We did the Royal Experience at the Dolphin Discovery Center in Chankannaab National Park.  It truly was a Royal experience.

We were taught six different hand signals we would give the dolphins to direct them.  The dolphin kiss, the handshake, the nose tap, the hug, the pull, and then best of all the foot push.

Mitch and I each holding one of the two Dolphins.  Our dolphins were Danny and Emiliano.

The handshake. The nose tap.
The Kiss. The Pull. We swam out in the bay, stuck our arms out to the side, and the dolphins would come and swim up next to us and pull us in while we held onto their dorsal fins. So Cool! And now for the Super Cool, foot push. Again we swam out into the bay. This time we we floated on our bellies with our arms out in front of us ( Superman style.)  The dolphins swam behind us, pressed their noses to our feet and pushed us up out of the water. It was amazing. I came completely out of the water! It was hard to believe that these amazing creatures could do this. We floated above the water! Seriously, so cool.
Mitch rode the dolphins almost to the dock and knocked the rest of our group over with a wall of water, he was moving that fast. I could feel that I was completely out of the water, however, our photographer, (we were not allowed to take our own pictures) was just not very good, and cut me off at the knees for my picture.  I find myself a little annoyed with these pictures. He didn't get the money shot, and he should have been shooting portrait and not landscape, to capture the moment correctly. But I have the memory, and that is really all that matters, right? (says the photographer).   I should also consider that we are lucky to have these pictures. It was such a great day.   Such an amazing experience. I have to admit, I kept thinking; I can't wait to bring my kids to do this. They love sea animals, I just knew they would love doing this.  Considering we were all as giddy as kids, I couldn't help but imagine how much Jackson and Asher would love it.   They were very jealous when we showed them these pictures.

We also recieved an added bonus and were able to touch a Manatee.  The lovable cow of the sea!   They are cool creatures.  Did you know that they have fingernails?  They are actually closer related to elephants than dolphins or whales.  Cool, huh?

We had so much fun with our group. We went with Jon and Melissa, (Jon was so excited for this, I seriously thought that he would tear up at one point.) and Myles and Dana.  We were also joined by another couple, Eric & Erica (who we discovered, quite awkwardly, were not married and then it got even more awkward when we couldn't figure out if they were even dating.

One of the best quotes of the day, "Only three things are cute; babies, puppies and Dolphins" -Jon Anderson