Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — Although repairs are nearly complete, the Dolphin Discovery park of Isla Mujeres continues to wait for reopening approval. The rebuilding of the park’s palapas and smaller structures that were burned in a recent fire, continues.
Claudia Sosa, commercial director of the company, says with work nearly complete, the company is still waiting for the green light from Civil Protection to reopen to the public.
Sosa said they are hoping for approval by Easter, which is a very busy period for them. She said that if not, if Civil Protection does not allow them to reopen by Easter, they have a Plan B.
“We are ready with a secondary plan, which is to combine our Garrafon Park, which is on Isla Mujeres, with one of our habitats in Riviera Maya, which fortunately allows us to continue offering the experience of swimming with dolphins,” she explained.
She explained that after the March fire, 80 percent of the facilities were found to be in perfect condition, including restaurants, change rooms, a boutique and a photo room.
“Right now we are doing cleaning work and as soon as that part is finished, we will have a visit from Civil Protection authorities that allow us to reopen the operation,” she said.
Sosa said that smoke from the fire did not put any of the marine life in danger.
“We have very strict security protocols, and as soon as the incident was detected, obviously the guests were evacuated by boat to the Garrafon Park and the dolphins, with specialists, were moved away,” she said.
On March 28, a kitchen fire sparked flames that quickly spread to a nearby palapa that spread to other small structures of the Dolphin Discovery complex due to strong wind gusts.
