Swimming with Dolphins :

If you ask most children what they want to be when they grow up, you will undoubtedly hear a wide range of answers. There is always at least one kid bold enough to declare that he will be President of the United States one day. Other children want to follow in their parent's footsteps and become doctors, lawyers or teachers. I even knew a girl who wanted to be a cement-truck driver, which I'll probably never understand why. For me and countless other children, however, our dream was to be a dolphin trainer like the ones you see at Sea World.

We visited Sea World in Orlando for the first time when I was ten years old. We were there on a trip to Disney World but I was intent on seeing some dolphin trainers in action. I remember experiencing this sense of intense excitement, a feeling like I had somehow discovered a hidden world secret or figured out an unsolvable math equation. That day, there was a girl about my age who was picked out of the audience to come up and touch the dolphin. I jealously watched as she petted the dolphin, wishing that I were the one chosen to assist the trainers that day.

A DREAM COME TRUE
Fast-forward to fourteen years later and I was finally staring a dolphin in the face. During a five-day trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, our group took part in as many outdoor activities as we could cram into our schedule. After a morning of snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez, we learned that there was one open slot in Cabo Adventure’s Dolphin Swim session. To some, playing with a dolphin for an hour may not sound too appealing, but for me it was a check off my bucket-list. Viewing this as a dream come true, I dragged my legs, twitching in anticipation, over to the dolphin tank.

For the next hour I drifted between reality and fantasy. I existed in a dreamy haze where every moment dragged on for a second longer than it should. This was not because I was seriously bored, but rather because the selfish part of me wanted this hour to last the whole day.

"NACHO" MAN
After being introduced to Nacho and Minerva, our dolphin and his trainer, the eight of us swam into the cold water. We were instructed to space ourselves far enough away from each other so that Nacho could swim around the circle we created. Once Nacho and our group became well acquainted, it was time for our individual dolphin swims. Guests can either hold onto the dorsal fin or they can choose to grab hold of the side fins while the dolphin swims belly-side up. Even though I watched as everyone had his or her ride, when it was my turn, the sensation of holding onto the rubbery fin was a strange one yet simultaneously thrilling.

FALLING IN LOVE
Next, we each had the chance to show Nacho a little love. By crossing our hands across our chests, this told Nacho to come up and kiss our cheeks. After he kissed us, we turned and kissed his nose. A personal highlight for me was being told by Minerva that she thought Nacho might have a serious crush on me. He kept letting me kiss him over and over again. She told the class that I must be a good kisser because he seems to be enjoying himself.

I felt special in this moment, like somehow Nacho's acceptance of me justified my place in the world. It was a childish thing to think, but then again, the inner child in me had taken over the adult version and allowed me to feel care-free and innocent again.

Near the end of the class, Minerva took a few minutes and educated us about dolphin anatomy and marine mammal behavior. This is a good aspect to incorporate into the sessions because it reminds guests that these are real animals and not just performance actors.

AMBIVILENCE 
As much as I enjoyed swimming on Nacho’s tail, petting his skin and planting kisses on his rubbery bottlenose, there was a part of me that felt guilty for having so much fun. I wasn’t expecting to feel this way, especially since my dream for so long was to be a dolphin trainer. Somewhere along the line I think I started viewing the whole process differently. Seeing these extremely intelligent creatures dumbed down to a performance act just didn’t sit well with me.

Unfortunately, I don’t see an end to marine mammal captivity anytime in the near future. With this in mind, I’m comforted by the fact ....