Journeys›Photograph

Winter Trip Swimming with Dolphins in Cabo

·San José del Cabo, Mexico·#winter#travel#family trip#swimming#dolphins
A dolphin jumps high out of a blue pool as a trainer and three participants in life vests watch and clap.

Our winter trip to Cabo landed us at the dolphin center on the Malecón in San José del Cabo — the newer one, right in front of the Hyatt Ziva in the Zona Hotelera. Cabo Adventures runs it, and they had all four of us in blue life vests standing waist-deep in the pool before the briefing had fully sunk in.

A Pacific bottlenose. It cleared the water over our heads at one point, high enough that the splash coming down felt like its own event. Then the slower part: the dolphin rolled on its side so we could rest a hand on its belly, and each of the girls got a turn holding it in a kind of hug, cheek against the melon. Both of them were still grinning about it long after we'd climbed out.

The trainer had it wave a flipper at us and we all waved back like that was a normal thing to do. The water in that pool is an unreal shade of blue, warmer than I expected for January. The girls have already asked when we can come back.

Two people in blue life vests interact with a dolphin in a bright blue pool.A bearded person in a blue life vest gently touches a grey dolphin in bright blue water.Four people and a dolphin in a bright blue pool, all people wearing blue life vests.Two children and an adult in blue life vests are next to a splashing dolphin in bright blue water.A smiling person in a blue vest hugs a dolphin in clear blue water.A smiling person in a blue life vest hugs a dolphin in bright blue water.A smiling child in a blue life vest hugs a dolphin in a bright blue pool.A child in a blue life vest hugs a dolphin in bright blue water.

More Entries