The Ocho Rios Dolphin Experience at Dolphin Cove
by Tarek Khaleel

The Island of Jamaica, if Paradise were confined to an island, if beauty and Nature had a true home, this would surely be the place. Never will you behold a place like Jamaica, the lush grass, and continuous green pastures that stretch for miles on end. The trees and ferns that grows so tall that their limbs seem to stretch and reach for each other without end. The endless little shops on the side of the roads, all marketing these exotic and very foreign type of merchandise. But most notably, are the people, the islanders of this tiny paradise, so warm and friendly, and always trying to offer a helping hand. Life in this world is much different from the life we know here in America. Everything here is a rush, a rush to go to work, a rush to get your job done, a rush to get home, a rush to watch you favorite movie, a rush to make it to dinner with family. But in Jamaica there is no rush. Everything is calm, and slow paced, as the light rays of the Jamaican sun reach your body, you feel a calm and a sensation that lets you know your on vacation, that lets you know there is no need to rush, only to have fun and be happy.

If you can fathom for a moment the ocean, the crisp blue seas, and the unrivaled white sand beaches of Ocho Rios, you will then not find it hard to picture these creatures, the bottlenose dolphins. As I entered Dolphin Cove with my family, it did not take long to see the dolphins, all practicing their maneuvers with the trainers and swimming so joyfully as if not to have a care in the world, and in that moment I realized, that is the gift of coming to Jamaica and experiencing the dolphin swim here, you feel as if all your troubles have passed away, and just for the day you are free. As the hour passed, it was time to go with the trainers; we entered this somewhat plain room, with concrete windows and a ceiling fan. The cool clean air brushed across my face, and the Sea breeze from the window constantly kept us cool and refreshed, as one Jamaican put it, “why pay for air-conditioning, when God gives us a better supply”? I laughed at his comment, because I knew it was true, and just then the trainers walked in the room, all dressed colorfully and with a grin on their faces, as if they knew we were in for a treat. They lectured us for about an hour on the do’s and don’ts with the dolphins, what we were allowed to do and what we could get in trouble for; they seemed to be very protective of the dolphins.

After the lecture we got our time to swim with dolphins in Ocho Rios Jamaica, thirty minutes of absolute bliss and excitement. The most exciting part for me was the actual swim, where I held onto the dorsal fin and the dolphin pulled me from one end of the pool to the other. I recall screaming to my family on the return trip “when are we coming back here!!?” Both my family and the trainers watching began to laugh, it was clear I was having a blast. After the swim we got to experience the sting rays, these creatures I had only heard about and watched documentaries about on Animal planet, but here I was actually holding and petting stingrays, it absolutely blew my mind. Next up was the glass bottom Kayaking, if you looked up the word beauty in a dictionary, surely a snap shot of this would be there, I never new water could be so clear, and the glass acted almost like a magnifying glass, so we could scrutinize all the exotic wild life and plant life even closer.

Ocho Rios Jamaica is a great place for many Activities and Food

After that we had the famous Jamaican snorkel session, we got on the appropriate apparatus, and the trainers walked us through the procedures, we may have seen all the wildlife before, but now we got a chance to get right up and personal with them, almost face to face. It was truly an experience to remember. As the day began to wind down, I remember trying to think of a time where I had this much fun, as I was struggling to contemplate this, my sister at that moment gave me a quick tap on the shoulder, apparently the family was ready to get some food.

We saw this quaint little villa style restaurant, and they served us Jerk Chicken, and pumpkin rice, with festivals, and some homemade Jamaican lemonade. It was so spicy, I had almost 8 glasses of lemonade,. But for some reason that didn’t stop me from having even more of their unbelievably good chicken. With our stomachs full and our hearts happy and light, we thought for sure that was the end. We were wrong again, Round 2 had begun, and we got to see the exotic shark show, where various species of Caribbean sharks were put on exhibit, including the Atlantics Great white, the hammerhead and various others. Then to top it all of we got to ride through the dolphin cove jungle, where we saw all the different types of iguanas and reptiles that inhabit the area.

It was truly an experience of a lifetime, and I only hope I will be able to share this adventure at Dolphin Cove with my family and children 1 day, and show them the true magic and splendor of this wonderful little tropical paradise known as Jamaica.

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