Wednesday.
This morning we had Rise and Shine with the dolphins. Set an alarm for the first time since our travel day, we didn’t really need it but it was a good kick in the pants to get up. The three of them matched in their blue Atlantis shirts and we headed back to Dolphin Cay. We were in the female area this time and got to meet Tracy (26) and her calf (17) and a few others. We couldn’t touch them this time, but we learned a ton more. Like dolphins exfoliate/turn over their skin every 2 hours. Which is good because they are pretty physical with each other so any scratches they get heal quickly. We discovered that each section has it’s own reef that they stock with fish, so none of the dolphins need to cooperate with the trainers in order to eat. They have two love languages - food and attention. Our trainer had been with Tracy for 10 years and he said all she wants is his attention- she gets depressed when he goes on vacation. We got SOAKED, which I wasn’t expecting (we all had a swim suit on but our clothes still on on top). Abby was turned off after that. At the very very end Lauren asked a great question that extended our time - she asked how old the youngest dolphins are and he told us they have 2 that are almost 2. They live in their own section with their moms, but because they are first time moms, they have 4 more experienced moms in there with them. They are conscious breathers, so they have to teach the babies to go to the surface to get a breath - and the older moms help with that among other things. He let us walk down to their section to see them - we couldn’t get very close, but it was cool.
Atlantis is certified to have up to 50 dolphins - no other facility in the world is authorized to have more than 8! They started when Hurricane Katrina washed several dolphins out into the gulf. They were rescued and temporarily housed in the Bahamas while Dolphin Cay was built.
We got our same seats at the pool. Spent the day there and headed back a bit early so everyone could shower and nap. We slept 3-5 and then fed the girls and got ready for our evening- the girls went to kids club and we went to dinner. The theme for the night was Willy Wonka and from what we heard, they played games (including getting chocolate squirted in their mouth and then having to say a word and their team had to guess), they made their own chocolate bar, and generally had a good time and are asking to go back.
Jeff and I had reservations at Nobu. We had a nice dinner, then walked around a bit and played blackjack for an hour or so.
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