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Natural Awakenings National

Dancing with Dolphins: WildQuest: A Vacation of Personal Transformation

Feb 04, 2011 11:58AM ● By Gail Condrick

Are you looking for something more in your next vacation? Do you have a week to spend on a travel retreat complete with crystal clear oceans, the gentle rocking of a catamaran by day, and a comfortable retreat center at night? Are you longing for days of healthy food, new friends, yoga and creative movement, all hosted by an attentive and professional staff who care deeply about you and your adventure?  Would you like to make a new connection that could transform you and your life, a Human-Dolphin Connection?
 

If so, WildQuest, connecting humans and wild dolphins since 1995, is waiting to welcome you into the pod of travelers who come for week long retreats in the Bahamas from April to November.   It is a relaxing and recharging immersion into a lifestyle where both humans and dolphins honor one another and find joy and gratitude in being alive. 
 

The week is about so much more than the dolphin encounters, it is the human pod connections and personal growth that draws you in. Whether you are a new solo traveler or a veteran adventurer you will experience a caring company from your first contact with WildQuest at www.wildquest.com. There is a commitment to honoring you that distinguishes WildQuest from other companies, a respect that is real and genuine and is held by all the staff under the direction of owners Amlas and Atmo. Take a look at the website and the photos of smiling faces, blue waters, and dolphins, dolphins, dolphins!   This is the WildQuest experience waiting for you.
 

Your adventure begins before you leave home with an easy to use on-line booking system where you can vision the many specialty weeks available to match your interests. Many weeks like Sacred Journeys are led by Amlas, with a hint of mystery and promise of the unknown.  Other weeks entice you with yoga, Nia dance, and personal awareness practices to create a vacation week that is both fun and educational and perfect for you.
 

Your journey begins in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where your pod gathers for the adventure.  We fly together on an executive jet to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, the island that mystic Edgar Cayce identified as the location of the Atlantis road, and the famed “fountain of youth” sought by Ponce de Leon.  On arrival, the WildQuest team meets us at the airport and we travel by water taxi to the retreat center where the bright and clean rooms provide air-conditioned comfort as well as the soft sound of the water outside your door.  You can come with another or be matched to a room-mate at registration.
 

The retreat center is also our community center, where healthy organic food by the WildQuest chef is served daily and group classes are held overlooking Bimini Bay.   Professional massages and energy healing sessions are offered by staff members at an additional charge to enhance your relaxation and your dolphin encounters.
 

At WildQuest we learn to soften into the natural world, to enjoy both interaction and silent reflection.  There is a schedule, and then there is the discovery of natural time. We float with the tides to move out into the ocean for our dolphin interactions.   The DolphinQuest catamaran departs daily, weather permitting, crewed by licensed and certified captains, ready for ocean adventures as we search for dolphins.   There is sun, shade, wind, and the rhythm of waves that brings you back to another time, a simpler life, where nature is in charge of your schedule.
 

On the first day we learn to snorkel, with staff members available for those new to water, to support and guide the experience.  We also learn how to treat the dolphins with respect and how to safely interact with them in the water.
 

As we sail, we and the crew look for the fin breaking water that signals we have found a dolphin pod. There is no describing the joy of seeing dolphins come to us out of the total space of the ocean, playful and curious.   Juveniles jump and play with the wake of the boat, surfacing and diving, and all aboard become kids cheering them on. In the water, so close we can see the eyes of the other, we are with the dolphins in their world as they swim and dive around us, reaching out to us with their special communication and playful spirits.   It is exciting, exhilirating, and stunning to make this special connection. 

We come for the dolphins and we find much more.  There is an overwhelming sense of wonder and joy to be in the presence of dolphins, free dolphins who are with you because they are curious and have chosen you. No matter how long the encounter lasts, face to face with a dolphin there is a place of no time, ordinary life vanishes, and the heart opens and expands with tenderness and love. It is you, the dolphin, and infinite possibilities captured in a moment. Later, on the surface and in your dreams, you will relive the moment, feel the joy and the sorrow of parting and have a deep longing for reunion. You will never be the same, and you will not wish to be.   Finding this connection can be the beginning of a new life, and many people report a shift in attitude and desire to make healthy decisions and choices in all areas once home.
 

If you are ready to dive in and join the Human-Dolphin connection, a week of vacation, dolphins, transformation and more, explore www.WildQuest.com and begin your personal journey.
 

Special Bonus Offer from WildQuest

For Natural Awakenings readers booking with WildQuest we would like to offer a free DVD to be awarded to you at the end of your stay. Our professional photographer will be taking still shots during the week - both above and underwater - and compiling them on a DVD for you to take home. This beautiful DVD will contain not only a slide show of your week - usually around 350-400 photos - but also dolphin video footage in high definition. A beautiful keepsake to take home and share with your nearest and dearest, and to remind you of this incredible adventure of a lifetime.

To take advantage of this offer use the promotional code AWAKENINGS when you are making your booking. Offer valid until August 31st 2011 and subject to availability.

 

Gail Condrick (www.niavisions.com)  has been swimming with wild dolphins and humpback whales with WildQuest since 2003 and will lead a Dance and Dolphins retreat week in 2011.
 

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