When taking a cruise there are multiple activities or excursions as they are called aboard the ships, for passengers to embark upon. The excursions of course vary depending on what part of the world you have chosen to travel to. You'll want to see glaciers, gold and whales while traveling to Alaska. The Colosseum, Pompeii and Pisa are very popular during a Mediterranean cruise. And while traveling to the Caribbean you'll want sandy beaches, snorkeling and sting rays.
We chose to meet dolphins on one of our excursions while on a cruise to the Caribbean when we made berth in Grand Caymen. This of course was done under some protest from the grumpy Gus of the family (yours truly) but as his son really wanted to swim with these very large porpoises who was he to get in the way?
While I didn't really want to swim with the dolphins I did find them interesting. They have an extreme intelligence that at times will astound you. This particular venue had you swimming in ocean water with only a very low rock border to break waves and keep you on the property. Why the dolphins don't make a break for freedom is beyond me. I assume they like being hand fed their meals as opposed to hunting for it because that would be the only thing keeping me around. Free food, easy food, what's not to love?
Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances not everyone in our group was able to actually participate in the swimming portion of the encounter, so three of us jumped at the chance to just meet the dolphins while the rest went ahead and swam with them. Which meant we were all happy in the end. The boy got to swim with dolphins while Dad just had to shake hands and make out with them a little and that really isn't a comfortable thing to do either. I mean we had only known each other for a few minutes and I don't remember any alcohol being involved but I do remember she tasted like salt water, at least I think it was a she.
Joking aside, it was a fun experience that while I think could have been made a little better (they seemed very unorganized and were late picking us up from the dock) I'm glad that we all got to do it. Will I do it again? Eh, not sure. At this time I don't think so. Some things just need to be experienced once but I'm not ready to say that I'll never do this again. I like to keep my options open and I still have others that I travel with that like this kind of thing.
Well we're off for another adventure. We'll see you on Friday!
Brandan
