Fantastic Beasts of the Oceanogràfic

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved animals. She didn’t become a veterinarian or zoo keeper but she did have a dog once, and, when she grew up, a cat or two. The hardest goodbye she had when leaving for sunny Spain was with her beloved Lucy, a beautiful (if difficult) feline who just couldn’t understand what the heck was happening. What better way to go visit many animals all at once is there if not at the world-famous L’Oceanogràfic in València? OK, OK, none of these animals are nearly as cuddly as Lucy and many wouldn’t have survived a cuddle anyway, but it is better than nothing, right?

Putting out of my mind the duplicate cost of entry to L’Oceanogràfic, I knew that it would be worth it … and had I known Wednesdays are discounted, I would have gone then. Except it had rained on Wednesday so maybe a gorgeous sunny Friday was OK too. Unlike the first time around, I arrived without a ticket in hand but I was also one of only a handful of people actually trying to get in, so no waiting was necessary. And when I mean a handful of people, I mean a handful of people. I submit the following as proof:

On Sunday, there were hundreds, probably thousands milling about here and now I had the place all to myself. Totally worth the money. I am not going to describe every little bit of the place, the photos in the Gallery speak for themselves, but I will give you a general overview of the place.

L’Oceanogràfic is the largest, and, I would venture to say, the best aquarium in Europe, offering not only a feast for the eyes through the creatures that live here but also through its architecture. It is a place dedicated to the conservation and preservation of all sea life, a centre for scientific research, education, and recreation. It is no wonder so many people, locals and tourists, come here every year.

Built on the waterbed of the Riu Turia (now a park), L’Oceanogràfic covers a large area, with various buildings and structures dedicated to different habitats or activities. The main building by the entrance that looks like a shark’s tail has shops and other facilities and it is connected, via tunnels, with other parts of the park. From there you can go to the different areas that interest you. Or, like I did, wander aimlessly hoping you see everything. I was able to wander aimlessly mainly because there was nobody else for me to influence my movements – no waiting, no running away from loud children, and definitely no avoiding large groups. I strolled around looking at the various birds hanging out in the many ponds between buildings, sometimes catching glimpses of fish or other critters in the water, but mainly taking as many photos of the buildings as I could. I think I got myself a nice collection of postcard-worthy (i.e. people-free) images.

Remembering how popular the shark exhibit was on the weekend, I made my way there first. On the map it shows it as “Oceans” which sounds pretty generic, yet it is one amazing place. This is where you get to walk under the swimming sharks and other fishies, hoping that the glass is stronger than it looks. Having flashbacks to an early scene in one of the Jaws movies didn’t help with my feeling a little out of sorts. It was also fairly dark and without other people around, it did feel spooky. It was also exhilarating. I felt I could just reach out and touch the sharks and other fish, had I been only a couple of feet taller …

After the sharks I made my way to the Dolphinarium, as I thought the next show was about to start soon, and I had chosen that over the 4D Sharks movie. For some silly reason they run the two at the same time … you’d think they would want people to see both shows without having to stay at the park an extra 4 hours. On the way to see the dolphin show, I walked by an external exhibit of crocodiles and another one of turtles. These big bois were something: very large and very old, apparently. I had no idea some of these species could live 100 to 250 years!

Unfortunately for me, I had totally misjudged the time and had another hour before the dolphin show so I turned around and went back to see more fishies, this time in the Temperate and Tropical Seas building. This is where all the colourful critters are. It is also where I learned how to clean the corals, should I ever need to: very gently with a brush while wearing a diving suit. I was fascinated by how much cleaning went on; even the sand at the bottom of the aquarium is vacuumed and cycled, and the glass is cleaned by a human, and not by one of those weird fish or mollusks or whatever they are that do so in small aquaria. I also found Nemo here, and a whole bunch of his buddies. I’m sure if the poor fishies could hear all the Nemo comments they’d be screaming for us all to shut up about him … Sorry, not sorry, blame Pixar!

Now was the time to go watch some dolphins, so off to the Dolphinarium I went again, finding a spot high enough to have a good view of the main show pool, and also far from all other visitors. That was mandated anyway; rules about distancing are pretty strict around here. Before the show started I had a chance to observe the tanks beyond the main one: there were a number of dolphins hanging out in them, all of them apparently having a blast playing with their toys (balls and other floating things). Watching them made me feel good that they looked happy — the level of comfort and happiness exhibited by wild animals in captivity is very important to me so seeing them clearly enjoying themselves without any humans interacting with them reassured me this place knew how to do it right. I could watch the show in good conscience. I had seen a performance here 9 years ago which was a lot of fun. This one, too, was fun, though definitely on a smaller scale as it didn’t involve humans diving in tandem with the dolphins. What they did do, however, was lovely and really highlighted the personal relationships between trainer and dolphin. I really enjoyed seeing that and the dolphins seemed to be enjoying themselves too.

Next I paid a visit to the Arctic where I got pretty close to a lovely beluga whale all the while thinking it was a very long way to visit with one basically native to BC. Here belugas are considered super exotic and draw big crowds. They have a very large exhibit partially shared with some penguins–who are also quite adorable–and other cold-loving fish. One of the belugas had a toy (a ball on a rope) and was playing with it the whole time. In the wild that ball on a rope probably would have been a dead baby seal or something but I’m glad it was having fun 😳.

The Mediterranean display was next: again, lots of colourful fish, many weird creatures, beautiful jellyfish, and interesting flora. This whole exhibit is beautiful and I really loved the jellyfish. I especially enjoyed their variety: some looked like mushrooms, some like big buttons, and some like cupcakes. I wish it had been easier to adequately capture their beauty; I did what I could. But my favourite resident here was a certain cuttlefish I named Walter (don’t ask my why “Walter,” and I hope it was a he). We had a lovely chat though I wish I could have promised him I wouldn’t eat any of his relatives, but, alas, I could not … they simply taste too good. I hope he understood. By the way, do you know how to tell cuttlefish apart from squid? Just look into their eyes! Squid have round pupils while cuttlefish ones look like the letter W. And maybe that’s why I named him Walter?

The last main attraction is not below ground but rather high above it. They call it Wetlands here but really, it’s just a huge aviary with some water-loving critters below, mainly turtles. From afar it looks like a huge round lampshade, but up close it’s a spherical cage, with massive trees and lots of cool looking birds inside. The whole time I was inside I was very aware of who exactly was perched above me … I did not wish to be a target for any one of them. I have no idea what any of these birds actually are, maybe my bird expert friend, Chris, can help with that … suffice to say they were super cool and so strategically spread out on the limbs of the trees, they allowed me to take some very nice pictures. I am very grateful for that. And the fact they didn’t poop on me even once. The turtles were also cute, but then turtles often are.

There were lots of birds outside the aviary as well, many of them either pelicans, flamingoes, or ducks. I particularly enjoyed the flamingoes though I must say most of them looked defective, their legs sticking out in weird directions and their necks twisted uncomfortably. It was as if someone had bought them at IKEA but then lost the instructions. I also found a small building full of baby turtles being cared for (so cute!) and another pond with some seals playing with a couple of large turtles.

Everywhere I looked, the fantastic beasts were having a good time.

Here is a map I stole from another site; I hope it gives you some idea how big this place is: