Not at all pleasant.
That aside the temperature is already getting warm at 10am and it is time to get up and head out.
We went down to Cafe y Te for brunch. They have free wifi which means I could catch up on news of home by reading NZ newspaper over the Internet. It felt like luxury to have data available outside of the hostels.
The day was already baking down as we walked to our destination, the open space means that we often have no shade except the umbrella we bring with us.
Today was the day to visit Oceanografic, the largest aquarium in Europe. The aquarium is divided into sections, Tropical, Mediterranean, Ocean, Wetlands, Arctic, Antarctic, and the Dolphinarium.
I thought it was spaced beautifully. Here are some photos of each section.
The Tropical Aquarium.
I really liked this 3D turtle model!
It was already 2pm by the time we finished in first aquarium. We ventured back up to the surface for some food. The food in this place is overpriced as expected of such theme parks. A word for the thrifty, buy some food from the mall nearby and bring into Oceanografic.
This is the Wetlands, a giant spherical cages that houses turtles, small fishes as well as birds of the Wetlands.
This is the Mediterranean Aquarium.
Look! A Sea turtle! It is here only for rehabilitation and will be returned to the sea once it has recovered.
This fish has the scientific name of Boops boops.
Here is Patrick and Mr Crabs! I know, I know, lame and childish but I can't resist.
A cuttlefish
Me crawling out of the children's tunnel!
This is the Ocean Aquarium. This is the Shark tank!
This very interesting looking feller I believe is the Sun Fish, any Marine Biologist/Enthusiast who can confirm for me?
Next is the Arctic Aquarium. Here you will find walrus
and the Beluga whale!!!
I think it is absolutely beautiful! It may look like an inflated dolphin but it is classified as a whale and does not have a dorsal fun. This is the only aquarium in the world where you can view the Beluga whale. At adulthood they reach 1500kg.
The Antarctic Aquarium.
I found it a little disappointing as they only contained penguins. Kelly Talton in Auckland is much more interesting.
Aside from aquatic related animals, they also have some falcons and owls on display. They are tied to the stand which means they cannot fly. I didn't really liked this set up as I believe not allowing a bird to freely fly is almost like tying a person to a chair all their life. It should not be so.
This is where I think Auckland Zoo has done really well in the aviaries.
Watching a day time show at the Dolphinarium.
You can tell by watching the trainers that both animal and human really like working with each other. A sense of fun and playfulness can be felt as you watch the show. Its like watching a group of children play. This was definitely better than the Ocean Park show in HK.
We wanted to see the 'las noches', a night time performance that runs only from 15 Jul to 31 Aug. The Aquarium allows visitors to enter and exit the park as long as we wear the wrist straps provided at the information desk.
We went to the nearby mall and found a Brazilian meat kebab restaurant. Brasaylena is a little like Wildfire in Auckland where they cook the meat and they bring it out to you and it is unlimited until you have enough.
We chose the Silver menu which offers 10 different kinds of meat which cost 9.90 euros per person. The Gold menu offers 20 different meats for 12.90!
There were sides of salad, chips, rice, beans that came with it. We ordered an extra Brazilian Sangrias without alcohol which is like orange fruit punch.
The Las Noches cost an extra 3.5 euros for entry.
The show features synchises swimming and dolphin performances. The story line follows the path of some sea nymphs who were worried about the destruction of the marine life by humans and their adventures to travel the seas to promote a message of conservation to the people. Along the way they receive assistance from the friendly dolphins.
It got quite difficult to photograph due to the lighting.
It's a good show to watch if you do not attend the day sessions, but because we just saw the day session, it felt like we were watching the same thing with fewer dolphin performances and more swimmers.
That night we managed to find the night bus N9 which stops outside the Science Museum to take us back to the city centre.
Whilst waiting for the bus to arrive, the Spanish lady next to me saw me typing away on my phone blogging and started to chat with me. My limited Spanish and her limited English meant it wasn't really a conversation, but we both enjoyed talking to each other about ourselves. I told her I have been traveling Spain and the typing was to put onto the internet for my family and friends. She tells me she comes to the Ciudad with a concession pass had visited the Science museum and Oceanografic. She said the swimmers were beautiful.
I learnt anther important lesson that evening, communication does not require a person to be eloquent or to have people speaking the same language. All it requires is the desire to listen and to desire to understand more of each other. Often we blame language barrier as an obstacle to reaching to certain people in our lives. This can be true, but if we also try to listen with our hearts, it is very surprising how much we actually do understand afterall.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Calle de Palafox,Valencia,Spain
Totally agree with your communication point of view. I'd experienced the same many many times while I was working, walking the dog, or traveling too. If both party are really eager to understand each other, nothing can stop them. This happens between female mostly, since we really like sharing and chatting.
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