Monday, November 16, 2009

Dolphins!

At Atlantis one of the most popular activites is the Dolphin Encounter.  Our kids were so excited to get up close and personal with one of their favorite marine animals.  We decided to go ahead and do the Dolphin Encounter where you get to feed, pet, hug and get a kiss from the dophins.  I know there can be very mixed feelings about this kind of program, however the program we did was very educational and the dolphins were not kept in small pens.  They were in a large lagoon and only brought into a smaller area for the purpose of interaction.  I have always felt that this type of program can bring awareness to children and adults the beauty of marine life that they would not necessarily get otherwise.  Dolphins are amazing animals and one of my children's favorites in part due to this close encounter.



We had a great boat ride to the lagoon and after arriving had an educational program about the dolphins.  And then we learned about the program.  Afterwards we went out onto a platform and the dolphins swam up to us and we could pet them.  My kids were shocked at just how big they were!  At this time the kids were only three and five years old.  So the size and noise that the dolphins made was a bit surprising in comparison to the size of the kids!  The kids were tentative and a bit hesitant at first.  With some guidance and patience from the trainers, they finally did get to touch the dolphins.  And then when it was time to hug the dolphins, the size of them was just amazing.  They are such graceful and beautiful animals.




We then got to feed them.  They gently took the fish from our hands and swam by a few times. 

We were in the water with them, on a platform for about thirty minutes.  It's still something our kids have wonderful memories about, and talk about five years later....


2 comments:

  1. nice experience! =) im always looking forward for ur posts..actually i am a follower! =) coz im also into photography.. but im new to blogging..if u got d time, feel free to follow my blogs as well. thnx!

    edzzie
    http://edzzy.blogspot.com/

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  2. You have an wonderful blog. I like the dolphin and the kid having fun


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