Swimming with JoJo,the Dolphin
By Lothar. Filed in Turks and Caicos |
We escaped the rainy summer in Upstate New York and flew from Kennedy Airport to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. The trip went smooth and we had a nice sunset prior to landing in Provo. We are in the tropics at 21degrees 50′ N and 72degrees 15′ W and the hotel shuttle is driving through the pitch black night to our resort. We are having a nice dinner al fresco at our restaurant “Hemingways” and afterwards move in to our studio at “The Sands at Grace Bay”.
On our first full day on Provo we are reading on the beach of Grace Bay. Relaxing on the perfect white sandy beach (stretching for 8 miles if you are energetic) and swimming in the warm turquoise Caribbean. All of a sudden, we see a dolphin swimming around a catamaran, anchored about 100 yards off the beach. We grab our snorkel gear and are meeting JoJo, the resident wild dolphin.
Jojo has been voluntarily interacting with humans in this area since the 1980’s and, in the meantime, is part of a research project. His action radius is about 250 miles and we consider ourselves very lucky to be snorkeling with JoJo on our first day in Provo. We keep circling the boat, but he won’t come close enough to be touched. He has quite a few scars on his back, the result of close encounters with boat props. This is a great experience for us: for the first time, we are swimming in the ocean with a wild dolphin that is not part of a tourist attraction. No entrance fee, no time limit and no other tourists! Jojo was hanging out there all morning and did not tire of our company! A very relaxing encounter! By the way, we never saw him again during the next 10 days!