Day 3: Dolphins and Lions- oh my!

Day 3:
Port of Call: Cabo San Lucas- Woot!
We bought tickets to the Dolphin Encounter excursion! I was so excited when John found this one because although they offer "Swimming with Dolphins" excursions in almost every port, and we've always wanted to do it (but we always chose something else that seemed more exclusive to each specific port- so we've never done it)... well this time having the kids with us- we were sure that was "not an option" since the age requirement almost always is 8yrs+ or 12yrs+ depending on the place. I couldn't believe my ears when John read that BOTH kids were old enough to go- they have a shallow section! Okay, sign us up! Check!!


Cabo San Lucas is one of the ports where large cruise ships can't pull all the way in to dock. So the ship anchors in the middle of the bay and they use "tenders" (little boats) to shuttle you back and forth from the big ship to the small dock on the pier. The kids thought the tenders were fun (and they are).
As we walked ashore, we posed for some fun pics (some of our favorite cruise photographers were out there). The kids made friends with all of the photography staff! Sariah had 2 favorites that she called "the funny guys." She was always looking for her two funny friends all over the ship.

 We quickly posed for these "fun shots" as we stepped ashore Cabo San Lucas!

Right past them was the meeting place for our excursion, and it was a quick walk from the pier to Cabo Dolphins. Once we got into our wetsuits, we were greeted by our wonderful dolphin trainer Abril and we had a private session with our amazing dolphin Ukalaii! What an experience!! I was surprised by the amount of time and activities that we were given with Ukalaii! We played catch throwing toys to her, we fed her fish, we held her fins and danced with her and she even gave us kisses! Ukalaii blew us away with her stunts, she did a show for us (while we were in the water) too- she did super high flips and jumps, spun a hoop around he nose- she is one amazing dolphin! This was an experience that we will remember forever! We feel blessed to be able to create so many wonderful lasting memories for our family!


Slideshow:
Since our blog format cuts off part of youtube videos and slideshows, rather than embedding the players, here is a link to open the full screen...
Click here to see our slideshow!

***We have over 100 stunning shots with Ukalaii!! I will post even MORE pics here.... we also have amazing video footage I will add***
There is something special about collecting a few trinkets or treasures along your travels that will always remind you of that place and time when you look at them later. So we let the kids each choose another souvenir to commemorate this adventure. They each chose stuffed animal dolphins, we also picked up a beautiful dolphin carved out of wood as well.






On the walk back we found a "jungle booth" - it was an "animal habitat fundraising booth" where you could hold a baby lion.... um, yeah... sign us up for that too!!! You know you are not in the United States when you can hold a baby lion, haha! That was just so cool, the cub was pretty heavy- much more solid and heavier than any regular cat! I held the lion, and the kids sat next to me (one on each side). Funny, they were all excited to hold the lion, but then got nervous when I was being handed the cub. Then they were like, "umm, there's a lion right next to me" and they were a little uneasy. Maletch moved around (excitement and nervousness) and he scared the lion... um, not fun for mommy holding a freaked out lion, haha! We got Maletch to be still, the lion calmed down and Maletch did pet it, Sariah wasn't too sure about that! John took a bunch of pictures, although the kids could not take their eyes off the lion to look at the camera! :)
On the tender ride back, I realized how crazy our day was when I said, "We got to touch a dolphin and a baby lion in the same day!" Yeah that's quite a day!

Sariah's expression too priceless for words! 

For fun, complete this sentence, "Sariah was like ____"

Towel Animal: It was fun, after a long day of adventure- to come in and find this little bear waiting for us!

This is only Days 1-3! Be sure to click on "older posts" (just below this post) to see Days 4-8 - including our Pirate Adventure in Puerto Vallarta, the kids Talent Show, and LOTS more!


Or you can just click this link Cruise Days 4-8