Day 13 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
1.18.11 - Today we got to play with sea lions!!! What an awesome day!
When we looked out of our room today, we saw ... mountains and ... Walmart! Go figure. Who would have thought. Travel all the way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to see Walmart! Too funny!
So we headed to the Dolphin Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta, a short drive away. There we got in a pool with 9 total adults and, 2 female sea lions, Cassandra and Marina. This was a totally amazing experience. We were told from the get go that they thrive off of positive reinforcement, so we were encouraged to touch them, pet them, interact with them as much as possible. So cool. We spent a good half hour in there with group activities as well as individual and couple activities. We got to make funny faces (including sticking out our tongues). Then they kissed each of us. They'd give the men a little extra attention, but make "icky" faces after kissing us ladies. We also were able to go out to the deep end and then they jumped over us.
It was just soooooo cool! I loved every minute of it. There was also a baby seal in the pool with us, which was just adorable.
We were not allowed to wear sunblock in the pool, as it is bad for the sea lions, so this is the only time I got some sunburn on the trip. Alas, it quickly faded! :)
After heading back to the ship we grabbed burgers at Plutos Doghouse for lunch.
As we left Puerto Vallarta that afternoon, we had a whistle war with a neighboring ship. Their puny little whistle just couldn't compare to our "When You Wish Upon a Star" whistle! I was also able, from our verandah, to watch the pilot jump off our ship onto a pilot boat after guiding us out of the harbor. Kinda neat.
Tonight's dinner was at Tritons (Mexicali theme). Barkley had a caesar salad and I tried the green bean and potato salad. He had plain oven-roasted chicken and I had a sirloin steak with fried potato patty (so yummy, like mom used to make!).
The show was a crew talent show. A gentleman from housekeeping had written a song about the wonderful memories he's made on the ship and wishing his friends and family could be here to experience it too. Very touching. A man from the dining team performed on the piano - AMAZING. He performed classical piece after classical piece, mixed in with Disney pieces. It brought tears to your eyes. What a gift that man has!
Tomorrow, whale watching in Cabo San Lucas!
When we looked out of our room today, we saw ... mountains and ... Walmart! Go figure. Who would have thought. Travel all the way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to see Walmart! Too funny!
So we headed to the Dolphin Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta, a short drive away. There we got in a pool with 9 total adults and, 2 female sea lions, Cassandra and Marina. This was a totally amazing experience. We were told from the get go that they thrive off of positive reinforcement, so we were encouraged to touch them, pet them, interact with them as much as possible. So cool. We spent a good half hour in there with group activities as well as individual and couple activities. We got to make funny faces (including sticking out our tongues). Then they kissed each of us. They'd give the men a little extra attention, but make "icky" faces after kissing us ladies. We also were able to go out to the deep end and then they jumped over us.
It was just soooooo cool! I loved every minute of it. There was also a baby seal in the pool with us, which was just adorable.
We were not allowed to wear sunblock in the pool, as it is bad for the sea lions, so this is the only time I got some sunburn on the trip. Alas, it quickly faded! :)
After heading back to the ship we grabbed burgers at Plutos Doghouse for lunch.
As we left Puerto Vallarta that afternoon, we had a whistle war with a neighboring ship. Their puny little whistle just couldn't compare to our "When You Wish Upon a Star" whistle! I was also able, from our verandah, to watch the pilot jump off our ship onto a pilot boat after guiding us out of the harbor. Kinda neat.
Tonight's dinner was at Tritons (Mexicali theme). Barkley had a caesar salad and I tried the green bean and potato salad. He had plain oven-roasted chicken and I had a sirloin steak with fried potato patty (so yummy, like mom used to make!).
The show was a crew talent show. A gentleman from housekeeping had written a song about the wonderful memories he's made on the ship and wishing his friends and family could be here to experience it too. Very touching. A man from the dining team performed on the piano - AMAZING. He performed classical piece after classical piece, mixed in with Disney pieces. It brought tears to your eyes. What a gift that man has!
Tomorrow, whale watching in Cabo San Lucas!