I confess. I love dolphins. I always have and I always will. I also confess to having a deck of Doreen Virtue’s Magical Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle cards; I like to choose randomly from the deck and then meditate on the pictures and affirmations. Doreen Virtue calls dolphins, “The Angels of the Sea,” and I agree--just thinking about dolphins makes me feel happy, peaceful, and joyful, all at the same time. So when my pal, Sue Brennan, and I noticed Native Vacation’s dolphin-watching tour on Living Social, it was a no-brainer-- we immediately bought our tickets and piled our husbands into the car for what we knew would be a great adventure.
We made the trip from Orlando to Crystal River in less then two hours, and had a great time checking out the little towns along the way. At 3:00 p.m., we arrived at Native Vacations, and after a brief check-in process, we boarded Captain Traci’s pontoon boat and quickly found ourselves cruising at a leisurely pace down the Crystal River, headed for the Gulf of Mexico. Since the boat holds no more then six passengers at a time, we felt like we were on a private tour, and Captain Traci even had blankets available, which we laughed about at first, and then were happy to have once we got going!
Even if we hadn’t seen one single dolphin, the trip would have been worth every penny and more. On our quest, we cruised past miles of magical-looking mangrove trees, little islands populated by cormorants and pelicans, and Captain Traci pointed out a bald eagle nest and a bald eagle. Captain Traci’s keen eye also spotted a loon, a bird that I had never seen before, as well as many manatee and dolphin footprints on the water.
Our Captain stayed in constant contact with the other boat Captains, continually trading information about dolphin sightings, and finally, she got a call about a couple of amorous dolphins that were spotted nearby. Off we went, and we were treated to the sight of not just two, but five dolphins frolicking and playing together. We first saw the male and female as they swam away from the boat (maybe they wanted to be alone?), and then we were treated to watching the other three circle and corral fish for their dinner--quite a sight. We saw so many wonderful things on this nature safari that when our two-hour trek was over in what seemed like the blink of an eye, we immediately started making plans for our next excursion. When you call to book your tour, don't forget to ask for Captain Traci!
Dolphin Watchers Note: We asked Captain Traci how she knew which dolphins were males and which were females, and she informed us that the dorsal fin on the female dolphin is more curved then the male’s (look at the photo at the top of this article). Now when you go dolphin watching, you can amaze your friends by telling them which are the boys and which are the girls!
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Native Vacations, Inc. is located at 2880 N. Seabreeze Point, Crystal River, FL 34492; 866-466-2848; www.NativeVacations.com
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Doreen Virtue's Magical Mermaid and Dolphin Oracle Cards are available at Amazon.com: www.amazon.com/Magical-Mermaids-Dolphin-Oracle-Cards/dp/1561709794
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