One Tuesday shortly after lunch I found myself Tom and 2 of our friends running breathlessly from angry mexicans and confused police officers. I didn’t want to end up in a mexican jail this evening! I wanted to swim with a dolphin! How did I end up running with all my might towards a mexican freeway?

Earlier that day bad weather had hampered our entry to Cozumel harbour. Today was the day I was going to fulfill my dream of swimming with dolphins. Giddy, I paced the starboard corridor on the phone to Chankanaab National Park… yes we would be late but yes we still wanted to swim with dolphins.. would that be ok? The answer was, “Sorry you can’t book. Make a booking in the port.”… Reassured we boarded a tender and bobbed painfully slowly towards land. Chankanaab is a place where rescued dolphins are rehabilitated and kept in sea pens where they are available and willing for one on one swimming and contact with the public. They are as free as they can be under their circumstances of health. They are happy and healthy and not overcrowded in anyway. After much research we knew this was the right place for such a great experience. HOWEVER there are other establishments in Mexico where the mammals are kept in glorified swimming pools and petted by huge numbers of tourists every hour.

Now Mexico is a wonderful place but as with any place which has a huge influx of toursist at any given time, there are characters that will do anything to take your money. As we landed and made our way to the taxi rank, a man stopped us.

“Chankanaab National Park? Dolphins?” he shouted. Our heads turned in his direction. His outfit boasted a logo and his clipboard seemed to match… I admit we were fools to be taken in. However we were.

He took our booking and deposit. Phoned ahead and assured us the taxi was included in the price. The 4 of us got in and heading out to the park. We realised something was wrong when the taxi slowed barely 5 mins after setting off. It pulled into a swimming pool complex full of american tourists trailing past n obviously distressed dolphin. He started to drive away… I got back in the cab. “No!” I said hotly “This is NOT Chankanaab! We paid for chankanaab! Take us there”.

Suddenly his english failed him. He started shouting in spanish. Refusing to leave we all piled back in to the cab. Tom in his fluent spanish made it clear we would go back to the taxi rank and find the man who sold the tickets to us. Huffily he agreed and we set off back again.

Once back at the harbour, needless to say all hell broke loose. He demanded to know where our money was the cab driver asked for $100 for a 10 min round trip. The alleged Chankanaab rep has lost his reference for us and began shouting with the driver and Tom. Some where withing the melé of spanish I heard Tom shout:

“RUN!! They’ve called the police saying we’ve refused proper payment. RUN!”

So there we were, running down the boulevard of Cozumel port dodging taxis and glancing over our shoulders. Friends of the rep joined the chase as we increased speed towards the highway!

As we reached the slip road Tom shouted a barage of spanish at a passing taxi. It slowed… opening its doors. We piled in. We had 4 hours till sail away and I was bloody well going to swim with a dolphin! I gave the driver the name of the National Park and tried to breathe and the police disappeared from view in the rear mirror.

 

 Chankanaab is beautiful. It comprises a lagoon for snorkelling, a rehab centre for sealife and over 30 happy dolphins. We paid our money and changed. Suited and booted we made our way to training. As we sat learning the commands we would use with our respective dolphins 3 security guards walked slowly up to the group. All 4 of us I’m sure stopped breathing. I gripped Toms hand. For a split second the image of us being hauled in my mexican authorities stopped my heart! They clocked us… seemed to relax and without a word, left. It must have been our lucky day!

 

Tom flying with the Dolphins!

Well from then onwards I had a thoroughly lovely day. My dolphins we called Aztecca and Athena and they kissed, jumped and splashed so that he 12 year old girl inside me could not stop smiling! I swear I have never smiled so much in my life. The highlight of the experience was lying flat on my belly while 2 dolphins took one foot each. They they pushed with their noses on the ball of my foot propelling me forwards, (faster than my bikini appreciated!), then they jumped. I mean the flew into the air with me balanced on their noses! My bikini was falling off but I have never been happier.

Hours later truly wrinkled from the water and exhausted, we made our way back to the port. A yard of cocktail and some wrestling masks made us slightly calmer about wandering around the port unrecognised.

 

I don’t really remember the rest of the evening. Whether it was the excitement of the day or that yard of cocktails… Either way, I was looking forward to the next stop… New Orleans!