Discovery Cove

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Due at Discovery Cove at 8am or thereabouts to prepare for our Dolphin swim. Car Service booked for a 7.45 pickup so it's up early and out to meet the car. No need for breakfast as we are expecting a light breakky when we get there.
8.10am and we are in the line at Disocvery Cove. Its a short line, thankfully, we register, have our photo's taken for our ID cards and get diirected to another short line to pick them up. Off to the service desk where we are given directions to the buffet breakfast. Okay breakky with another few hundred people consist of croissants, coffee and fresh fruit (cereal if you want it!) That was satisfying enough, now its back to the service desk to be escorted to our private cabana and given a quick tour of the park.
Our Dolphin swim time is set for 9.20am so we are out of time to do anything other than head to the cabana where the trainers are preparing people for their swims. We watch a short video, listen to some safety rules and instructions for how to and how not to treat the dolphins and with buoyancy vests covering our upper torso's we head to the Dolphin pools.
First it's a quick dip into freezing waters (Dolphin loveable temperatures of course) and a little instruction on hand signals, then it's individual photos of kisses and cuddles with Tyler (or Sushi as LC likes to call him....... spot the Japanese fisherman), our Dolphin for the morning. A quick tow from deeper waters to shallow waters and the dolphin swim is all over.
Back to our Cabana. A quick drink and then we head off to the Aviary so Mrs C can get in some photography and Jnr can hand feed the birds. Lots and lots of bird photos later and we leave the Aviary to lock the camera away. Another quick drink and we decide to take a slow leisurely float down the river that surrounds Discovery Cove. Ahhhhh it's like having a warm bath, heavenly! LC has a run in with a lifeguard when they tell him he has to wear his vest in the river, so he skips the river experience and opts to meet us at the next exit. We continue in this fashion until we end up back where we started.....
Lunch, back to the same area we had breakfast in for a buffet lunch. About 10 different dishes to choose from, and options that both adults and kids will eat as well as being mainly healthy. 3 helpings of black bean jumbalaya for LC and he is a happy a satisfied chicken.
Back to our Cabana and its off to swim with the stingrays and snorkel the mini coral reef. We must have timed our trip to the Stingray pool right because while we were there, we were also lucky enough to be able to feed them.... Tuck that thumb in, you don't want them thinking your thumb is a prawn (not that it hurts, it's a bit like I imagine someone without teeth munching on your finger feels).
More swimming and fooling around in our warm bath and we are all starting to feel the sun. Time to get out of it for a while so its back to the Cabana for a rest. More sunscreen won't save Jnr this time from being burnt and after much protest we finally get her into a shower and some fresh clothes. Shampoo, Conditioner, Bath gel and Moisturiser is all supplied so you can leave the park feeling fabulously refreshed.
Just as Jnr and Mrs are getting into showers, Jnr decides that she'll go for a little slip along the wet tiled floor and hurt her wrist and back. It's Okay girl, Hot Shower and we will see how you feel. After a hot shower and still a little soreness we head back to the cabana and then off to first aid on our way out of the park. Incident report done, paracetemol ingested, wrapped wrist and cold pack appplied and we are headed to our car and back to Portofinio Bay.

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