Swimming with dolphins in Ocean World / Dominican Republic

Today I want to tell you one of the best experiences that I have ever had in my life, since I was a child I dreamed of being able to swim with the dolphins one day and it was not until I was 18 that I could make it come true in Ocean World, a water park located in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

As soon as I arrived to the park I knew immmediately that it would be an unforgettable day, because when you are getting into to the park there is a waterfall that wets the whole vehicule where you are, giving you the feeling that you are reaching an exotic place, because everything the park is set as a kind of "jungle".

Since you are buying the tickets for the park, beggins the interaction with the animals because there is an imposing macaw giving you the welcome in differents lenguages.

The attractions within the park vary according to the animals, the main ones that steal all the attention of tourists are the sharks, sea lions and dolphins, but, although I really enjoy the shows, all my emotion was focused on the dolphins because they were the main reason why I went to the park.

Here we are watching the fishes and the sharks, but from afar and by means of a fish tank since we did not dare to swim with them because they scare us.

Finally the dolphin show began and I was so excited and surprised of the mental capacity of these animals to learn all those tricks and perform them without even hesitating.

At the end of the show, they proceeded to call us to put us the lifeguards to swim with the dolphins.
The activities were carried out in two different saltwater pools, so that you would have the opportunity to meet all the dolphins that live in the park, where you could hug them, give them a "kiss", caress them (which excited me very much, since all my life I had had the curiosity of how was its texture), take them by their fin to give you a tour of the entire pool, and even be driven into the air thanks to the strength that exerted the dolphins in our foot.

These animals seem incredible to me, since beyond the entertainment they can provide us, they achieve significant benefits in the psychological, neurological and even emotional, especially for pregnant women and for those who have some condition or disability.

Without a doubt I feel very happy and fortunate to have had the opportunity to cross out this activity from my "check list of life", and above all I hope to be able to live this experience again in a future (not very far).

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Curious fact:
The dolphins' main dilemma is to "stay awake so they can continue to breathe or die while they sleep," thanks to the fact that breathing for them is a voluntary act, a difference from us, humans, that's why at the moment of sleeping only a hemisphere of their brain rests, while the other half stays alert. This ability to "twist" the cerebral hemispheres to sleep partially is known as unihemispheric sleep.

[All the pictures were taken by me]