Alegria

 Busy day today!  This morning, Tristan and Tessa got a special behind the scenes look at the tigers.  Deemian, the tiger trainer here is a really nice guy.  Pablo the dockmaster arranged everything, and Ocean World even took pictures that they might use in their advertising.  Seeing the tigers up close was a thrill for all of us.   They make an incredible mewing sound that I had never heard before!  They were very playful, they have been raised in captivity since cubs, and Blanco, the white tiger, really wanted to get out to play with the kids.  There wasn’t a chance of that happening!!!  Blanco weighs around 360 pounds and Bravo (the orange one) weighs 340 pounds.   Surprising to me, they are very long and very lean.  Not skinny, just lean and graceful.  The two tigers are both male and have been together, and with Deemian since they were a few months old.  They are over 3 years old now and absolutely beautiful!!  Tristan and Tessa were in awe, and a first were hesitant to get too close.  A thin cage was all that separated the tigers from the kids, and Deemian encouraged them to put their hands near the cage to feel Blanco’s breath.  I really like Deemian.  You can tell he really loves these tigers, and really loves his job.  He has his own adorable 10 month old daughter and he is great with kids.  It was a lifelong dream of his to work with tigers and he is really good at it.   If I haven’t said it before, I will say it now.  Ocean World is really top notch, especially when it comes to the animals/fish at the park.  The animals aren’t exploited, and you can really see a bond with the animals and the trainers.  The dolphins and sealions are served only the freshest fish.  The tigers eat top beef from the US.  One major impressive point is that Alfred Meister, owner, founder of Ocean World, lives right on the grounds, in a very modest apartment above the operations building.  This guy is worth millions and that is where he chooses to live, simply because he loves the park he created so much.  Around the marina you will also find a few dogs and some adorable puppies.  You can see the guards playing with them sometimes and I wondered how they treated them.  Mr Meister loves them, and every stray that comes here, becomes an Ocean World dog. 

We were gushing about Ocean World later with Renee and Mike on Jacumba who had come over to visit us.  They are not having a good time in Luperon and I feel bad for them.  They are headed to Puerto Rico and we hope to meet up with them there.  We all went up for a drink, and Patrick, our favorite dock guy, took the kids up to the office and set them up on the computer playing games.  That was so nice.  The kids were safe, having fun, and we enjoyed a good visit with new friends.  I am sure it helped that I made Patrick brownies earlier that day!!  The kids said he loved them! 

We truly say it everyday here, “This is a little slice of heaven.” 

 My camera wasn’t working very well that day but we do have some good video we will put up later.