They call him Flipper

Actually, they call him Paulo. And he lives at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. And apparently I scared him.

One cold blustery January, we traveled to the Bahamas to stay at Atlantis. Aside from endless pools to lounge and play in, Atlantis has heaps of aquatic animals to see. Of course, upon learning about their friendliest residents, we signed up for a day with the dolphins.

Afters what felt like hours of waiting, endless paperwork, and safety videos that went on and on and on (side note: patience is not my forte). It was finally time to meet our new friends!

As my family tells the story, that is when the squealing started. At first the trainer thought the dolphin was making the odd noise. Parents came forward checking their children. That’s when, much to everyone’s chagrin, they realized it was me… a late-20s adult, beside myself with joy.

It threw off poor Paulo so bad that they had to bring over another, more mature dolphin, Echo  (who was actually born in August 1988 – the same month as me!). Echo helped calm Paulo down so we could continue with our day.

My recollection? I’m pretty sure I blacked out from the excitement. All I remember was that it was one of the greatest animal experiences of my life.

// Onward & Upward \\

~ K