Given my dream and love of dolphins, what exactly was holding me back from jumping into a pool (or cove) with a dolphin at the first chance given? After all, most people dream of this opportunity. They are beautiful, magical, intelligent creatures. For me, I simply couldn't forgive myself for participating in caging up such a beautiful wild animal.
And then, I had a deep conversation with EQ about just that. For me, the only way I'd be able to experience swimming with the dolphins was to be very comfortable that they were well cared for and that they were not overworked. (i.e. that they were happy, not that you can really know that they are happy!)
EQ then asked how I felt about having an intelligent dog as a pet. After some discussion, and comparing dolphins to dogs, I couldn't deny that with the right care and love, a dolphin centre could be okay to participate in. We then tackled the subject of overworking the animals. My worry is that in an organized setting such as this, that the dolphins may be overworked. I needed to be reassured that this wasn't the case. EQ brought up the idea of working dogs and horses on a farm. His point, we've been using animals to work for much harder labour than simply showing off for people. His secondary point, not all these animals are abused and overworked. Many times, their owners care for them well, possibly even better than those owning non-working animals. And from personal experience, I know, just how proud some dogs can been when they've accomplished something. So maybe, just maybe it would be okay! I had a glimmer of hope at that point of booking in for the swim.
We finally dug in a little deeper into the subject and it came to my attention that most of the dolphins in these man-made coves are actually born in captivity. They are more domesticated than wild. And some organizations treat their dolphins with great respect and check in on their health frequently.
After that deep discussion, I was sold on the idea and once we watched the video from Dolphin Discovery about how their story and how they treat their dolphins, I was even more comfortable with the decision to participate in a dolphin swim.
And so, I signed up for an experience I've only dreamed of.
This is the cove for the dolphins in Anguilla. When we arrived in Anguilla for our dolphin swim encounter, I was happy to find out that we had some beach time first and that we'd be having our swim after the first group did. I don't know, I've always been one to save the best for last, so this timing seemed to be a perfect fit!
EQ and I had a couple hours of beach time to enjoy before slipping into the cove and meeting Aya, our female dolphin and playmate for 30-40 minutes.
I was the third person to get a dolphin kiss from Aya. INCREDIBLE. There really are no words to explain. I think I could have kept her in the palm of my hand for long, long time and had a silly smile upon my face the entire time.
That was my first moment with Aya. But, the best moment, by far with Aya, was the belly-to-belly swim. This is where she is on her back and I held onto her flippers on my front. Is was easy to feel her powerful tail pushing us along, we went so very fast through the water. I had a goofy-grin the entire time. (The photos taken of the experience proves this!)
We had picked up quite a bit of speed on our belly-to-belly ride and I was surprised at how far into the group she swam. As I splashed off the ride, the speed she had pulled with in vanished quickly as the water's drag caught me. But the smile forged during our ride together stayed with me for the rest of the day and evening.
Moments exploring old understandings and beliefs.
Moments realizing you can fulfil a dream that you never thought you could fulfil!
No comments:
Post a Comment