Ote Makura River

We had likely our earliest morning on this trip, waking up at 4:30 so we could check in for our tour by 5:15 (and we got to watch the start of the sunrise as we arrived as a bonus). We chose the earliest tour option with the hope that the sea would be the calmest. While it likely did get more rough later in the day, the sea was rated as "moderate" when we arrived, which meant that there was a high risk of sea sickness, and we wouldn't be able to travel outside the more protected area. We took the motion sickness meds they offered us and hoped for the best!

We found what the guides referred to as the main pod of dolphins much closer than expected. Apparently they typically stay further out than we would be able to get with the moderate swell, so they expected we would only be swimming with a smaller group. This pod was huge! It was maybe a few hundred dolphins, all hanging out near our boat! We jumped in to join them!

I probably should have expected it since they had us in thick wetsuits with hoods, but the water temperature definitely took me by surprise - it was freezing! I pretty quickly forgot how cold I was since, within moments it jumping into the water, we were surrounded by dolphins! I enjoyed diving down to swim alongside them and even swam some butterfly with them! They were putting on a show the whole time - doing jumps and flips out of the water all over the place!

After about a half hour, I noticed that Keanan had gone back to the boat and I started feeling queasy from riding the swells. My body decided the best course of action was to completely empty my stomach on the spot. The dolphins seemed interested and curious, and one even escorted me almost all the way back to the boat. I found Keanan in a similar state, so we hung out on the back of the boat with a few other passengers - all clutching these lovely blue buckets they carry for exactly this purpose. I definitely did not envy the guide whose job included emptying and cleaning out buckets...

We don't have many pics to show for this trip since we were both puking our brains out for the photo taking portion of the trip, but swimming with these guys was incredible and totally worth it!Read more