Close Encounters of an Unforgettable Kind

The majority of the public has seen images of dolphins in movies, on television, books or photos or has had the privilege of viewing them in person at one of the many dolphin shows across the country at aquatic parks. Most are familiar with what dolphins look like, act like, and what ‘tricks’ they can perform. However, to gain knowledge of the true essence of a dolphin, you must experience them first hand - in person.

Here is one such adventure....

"Crysty's Dolphin Adventure" Dolphin Encounter of the Sandals Resort in Nassau, Bahamas

We began by taking a ferry to a lagoon where the dolphins live. It is a lovely place with a fantastic beach and exercise areas for the dolphins. We attended a short lesson about dolphins where we learned about them and about what would take place during the encounter. This particular dolphin encounter was started with 3 rescue dolphins. This family of dolphins still resides there and the oldest is now 33 years old (the average lifespan of a dolphin in the wild, we were told, is only 15 to 17 years) and the youngest is only 7 weeks old - we did not get to see the baby. We did get to see about 8 dolphins during a training session though and it was wonderful.

After the lesson, we were lead to a pool where 10 at a time, we entered the pool and stood on a walkway. A 5-year-old dolphin named Andy was brought into the water with us and as we stood there each one of us was able to pet him! Then, he went down the line, giving each of us a hug and a kiss and he even danced with us. Occasionally, he would decide he liked hugging one person better than the last (usually a woman, rather than her husband...all at the trainers instruction) and he would chatter away at the man and then splash him all over with the water and go back and kiss the woman. It was such an amazing sight.

When Andy hugged me, I was so shocked that he put no weight on me at all. He gently rose out of the water, rested his head on my shoulder and touched his fins to my sides. He stayed there until I let go, then he gently slipped away and into the water. What a glorious time it was! It is such an awesome feeling to be in the presence of such a creature - so powerful and so gentle that even the two year old who was there was able to participate fully without being helped or held by his mother.

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