Guest Blog Post: Dolphin Dancing

Note: This guest post is by Sarah J, who is staying with us right now.  This is her second contribution to the blog!  Maybe we’ll even get one more!

On the list of things to try in life, swimming with dolphins has to make my top ten.  As it was a Sunday morning when we departed for Subic, Nick was able to drive “like in the U.S.” which was a good thing since there were two women in the car who couldn’t hardly wait to get to Ocean Adventure where dolphins awaited us!

Never to be one to pass up a good show, Sarah made sure to time our arrival so that we could fit in the High Dive Show and the Sea Lion Show prior to our swim.  The dive team put together a fun routine with a mix of kid-humor and showy stunts, the most shocking being a dude who got his protective suit lit on fire before diving off the board.  The Sea Lion show was a total throwback to the days of the Como Zoo in St. Paul and the Sparky The Seal Show, so it was great for the memories but to be honest I could barely sit there knowing that there were dolphins right around the corner in the ocean.

Our dolphin swim lasted about 30 minutes and included: being carried across the pool while holding onto the fins, assisting the trainer with commanding tricks, learning the proper feeding technique (head first), “dancing” with the dolphin (you hold her fins and wrap your legs around her middle as she spins you both in a circle) and play time where you just swim together and splash back and forth.  Our dolphin was Misty and meeting her was such a powerful experience, that I nearly started crying!  The pictures do speak volumes, so I will let them tell the rest of the tale. Woo-hoo!