I was looking to kiss a mermaid, instead I found a dolphin!
The day started early, a few sun-rays before six. The sun peeped, ran an eye over Holguin beach, looked up, parted the curtains of our resort room, and summoned me to the window.
Our third-floor room offered a fabulous view, thick vegetation all around. Further ahead, the beach curved around from behind my right shoulder to the front as far as the eye can see. The white sands of the beach have turned pale, holding its breath at the beauty of the sea. The water was a brilliant blue closer to shore and turned sea green as it went deeper.
Let me backtrack a bit.
The first image that came to mind, when I heard of the company-sponsored vacation to Cuba, was the bearded face of Fidel Castro. It was soon smoked out by another image, that of a fine, fat Cuban cigar. Is that all about Cuba that comes to mind?
Watch out for the cows!
Our vacation to Holguin in Cuba changed my perspective about Cubans and Cuba. We landed on a Saturday night at Holguin airport. Our final destination, a five-star hotel an hour’s drive from the airport, was located in the resort area of Guadalavaca [which means, literally, ‘Watch out for the cows’!]. What followed was a week of blissful events. This rambling is one such event from my diary.
We had mixed feelings about this trip. But nothing prepared us for what we were about to experience.
It was the day we met nature’s other living creatures. For half a day we became strange creatures of the sea.
At nine sharp, the tour bus took us through the country roads to the open aquarium. Half an hour into the ride, we disembarked, close to the docks. The circular thatched outpost had one occupant, a smartly dressed girl behind a semi-circular concrete counter pouring steaming hot coffee. Outside, beyond a small patch of land, the sea gushed in and out through an inlet drowning the sound of my galloping heart.
As I scanned the horizon for a glimpse of the aquarium, I heard a rustle at my feet. Within snapping distance of my Nike-clad feet was a baby alligator! The wire fence, about two square feet wide and a foot high, barely contained its enthusiasm. I jumped back and gave it enough room to dream about chewing someone else’s legs.
What resembled a large white bathtub with a white metal roof propped up by metal rods and nothing else, approached the docking bay. Twenty people or more crammed into that floating tub, and we took off. The captain, a Cuban version of James Bond, sat at the stern of the vessel that hardly touched the water.
Some of the tub’s occupants sat on the edge of a metal bench. Others stood with hearts in their mouths. Our boat took a full turn and blindly drove between two tall buoys marking a safe passage between shallow waters and sharp rocks. At the end of that turn, we came upon a maze of wooden pathways and pens with a glass-house restaurant at one end. As we approached the labyrinth, we heard strange noises.
Seal of approval
The wooden pathway from the docks took us first to a huge sea lion wallowing in the water. The pool was about 25 meters long and 10 meters wide. Collecting an audience worth-his-while, the sea lion dove in and swam to the other end. He swam back underwater and slid up to his throne, a podium at one end of the pool next to the viewing gallery. It had a sloping metal sheet roofing upheld by metal poles and was a meter above water.
His throne, a wooden deck in the back, served as a nailed-down wooden winners’ stand with two levels. He raised himself from the water and slid up that deck as only a thick-skinned 180-pound mammal can do. He stood there surrounded by all his glory and whistling at the girls in the gallery; his pose worthy of the centre-spread of Discovery magazine. Then he gently slid into the water.
They call us Trinity!
The trip was in three phases: swimming with the dolphins, a sea lion show, and a dolphin show. We were divided into two groups of 10 each and taken to a pool of about 50 meters square. We saw the trainer couple in the water wearing shorter scuba suits feeding the dolphins. After every successful lesson, the dolphins were fed a piece of fish from a red ice-box.
It was then the turn of the family before us to enter the pool to swim with the dolphins. The parents and their 10-year-old daughter sat on the ledge with their legs dangling in the water. On either side stood the two trainers, whistles in their mouth and rapidly moving their right hands in small stiff arcs. The dolphins powered themselves up and stayed three-fourths above the water. They moved close to the parents and touched their chins with their snouts.
Have you ever been kissed by a dolphin? This is it! Another rapid movement of the hand and both the dolphins aimed for the small cheeks of the girl. The little kid was tickled pink. The family then clapped their hands, and the dolphins followed suit! With their fins, they splashed water till the family stopped clapping.
Dolphin symphony
Our turn came soon after. Donning orange life-jackets that covered the pride of our bulk [or, the majority of our pride!], we sat down on the edge of the pool to test the waters. The dolphins seemed especially fond of my son, who got a kiss from both dolphins on either cheek. The female dolphin may have just got its snout blistered from my unshaven chin. The kissing session over, we slid into the water propped up by life-jackets. [Life-saving equipment they may be, but have you ever tried to stand in water with such a jacket?
Straitjacket may be a better term. It takes about 5 minutes to master the art of balancing inside a life-jacket. The instructors then asked us to clap, the dolphins followed suit. They asked us to wave our hands in the air, and the dolphins emitted this shrill sound, which in animal parlance was singing.
Tempted to join the chorus I began stretching my vocal chords, but the grip on my throat smothered it before the tune took flight. [Later on, I expressed my distaste to my wife at her dissuading my fledgling career with the dolphin symphony. The complaint fell on deaf ears.] More instructions from the trainers and I too may have received a piece of raw fish for my troubles!
Perpetual smile
After the initial introductions, the trainers asked us to turn the dolphins on their backs! Imagine this extended body of fish with a perpetual smile asking you to rub its belly? We obliged delightfully! Delicately, the five of us [three of us and an east-European couple] stood on either side of the dolphins and turned it around.
The dolphins were very much amused. “Come on, guys. We are not so delicate. Now go ahead and scratch our bellies.” We touched the pinkish-white under-belly of the dolphins, and I thought I heard it gurgling at my touch [or the female touch, depending on the gender, of course!]. The skin felt quite hard, and there is nothing slimy about it. The best fitness centre in Cuba could not have produced a more athletic body.
The trainers now asked us to swim to the far end of the pool. Life-jackets are suitable only for floating. All of us lined up at the far end. Before this, the trainers explained the two stances to adopt for the ‘ride with the dolphins.’ Stand straight in the water with both arms outstretched. When they do this, the dolphins were visible at the other end of the pool. The trainers then did this thing with their hands, and the dolphins disappeared.
From our vantage point, we saw the dolphins emerge behind the person with the outstretched hands and dive down again. They went to either side of the person and positioned their top fin exactly inside the person’s palms. The person holds on to the fin, and the dolphins drag them to the other end of the pool!
The second stance, which we chose, was also simple. The first one to go was my son. The trainer told him, “Lie on the water flat on his stomach. Put your hands in the water in front of you. Lock your knees, so they do not bend.” The rider got in position. The trainers rapidly motioned with their arms, and the dolphins disappeared.
They appeared behind my son, positioned their snouts right in the middle of the feet and pushed him up above the water. He, however, bent his knees, and the dolphins dropped him halfway. My wife was next. The dolphins propelled all of her above water, and she squealed in delight. [The dolphins joined the chorus!] Just before they reached the end of the pool, they dropped her.
A less classic version of Titanic!
My turn was next. I heard the sound of the water swirling behind me and tensed. I lay flat on my stomach; arms stretched forward. The next thing I felt was two soft pokes under the feet with hard snouts.
The dolphins propel with their noses, more like pointed chins. One needs to be under a constant exercise regimen to drive one’s body above water. These two dolphins lifted me [described by many as a sack of mashed potatoes] entirely above the water and propelled me to the far end of the pool.
With outstretched arms, the wind in my face and water all over my body, I rode the waves on two dolphins [a less classic version of Leonardo di Caprio on the deck of ‘Titanic’ although for only a few seconds. When I thought I might go and smash against the railings, I jumped ship, unburdening them of their precious cargo!
After the ride, we completed the trip with the sea lion and dolphin shows. Ordinary fare when compared with our ‘ride.’ That was one experience I will never forget. My wife was so impressed that she is all set to have her show: ‘Swimming with the lady’!
