My 2 cents

Posted by Trudy on November 29, 2000 at 19:56:27:

In Reply to: dolphins posted by judy on November 29, 2000 at 01:51:58:

: we're planning our first trip to Cozumel in December....I heard that you can interact with the dolphin....is it a myth, or possibility? We've will be snorkeling, but have never tried scuba diving....

You're gonna love snorkeling in Cozumel. The waters are crystal clear and aquamarine to turquoise. Photos don't need to be retouched to have stunning shots. The water is full of the most amazingly colorful fish and invertabrates that you could ever imagine. Paul Humman has published a great carry along fish identification book that sells at our dive shop for $12.95.

Secondly, you can do a resort dive for $50-$70 at most dive shops. They give you training before you go into the water. Then they take you on a shallow dive so you can get up close and personal. Well worth the money and will give you a taste of an awesome sport. However, I haven't done one yet...lol...but am hoping to during my Easter trip.

Now for the not-so-fun stuff. In Cozumel and on the mainland you can "swim with the dolphins" for a significant fee. The program is geared to entertaining and thrilling tourists...for a fee. They will tell you how much the dolphins enjoy the experience and how well cared for the dolphins are. The Humane Society is adamantly against this sort of operation.

These dolphin programs cater to those who truly love the animals...as I do. But what they fail to tell these dolphin lovers is that these are dolphins who have been captured in the wild...taken from their pod...starved into submission...so we can have a good time. Isn't that special?

During hurricane season, when there is serious threat of a hurricane, dolphins are taken from their pens and placed in swimming pools so that the owners don't lose their investment... protection of their capital resources. If a dolphin should become ill, medicine is more expensive than replacement. So they just go buy another dolphin.

The pens the dolphins are kept in look large until you take a good look at the size of the ocean they were stolen from. Then it merely looks like a jail cell with a life sentence...all so we can be entertained.

I know how you feel about this. When I first heard about this sort of program, I was eager to sign up. The only thing that stopped me was my limited budget. Before I returned to Cozumel...with cash in hand, I found out the truth of the matter...one that saddens me. So I have decided that I must wait...and hope...that someday I'll be in the ocean and a dolphin will decide to swim with me.

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