When asked in a poll for BBC television recently, what is the one thing you would like to do before dying, the Number 1 choice of people was swimming with dolphins.

When you consider what else was in the poll, i.e. visiting the Taj Mahal, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef or even seeing the earth from space, you have to wonder what strange hold Flipper and his friends have over us. Will our lives remain incomplete and our destinies unfulfilled until we have all frolicked in the water with a large mammal?

It is a serious question but it was one I was determined to get to the bottom off. So, in November just as winter began its icy grip on the land, I set myself the arduous task of flying to the Gulf of Mexico to bathe in the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean ocean. Only by doing this, I determined, could I discover the true depth of feeling of man for his fellow mammal.

Mexico is one of the few countries in the world where you can actually swim with dolphins. Dotted along the popular Yucatan peninsula on the country’s eastern front, there’s no shortage of advertisements and promotions for dolphin encounters.

After comparing prices, time in the water with dolphins and the amount of people with us in the pool, we decided to go with a company called Delphinus, who brought us to an enclosure a short drive away from where we were staying in Playa De Carmen.

After changing into our swimwear and being issued with goggles and a lifejacket, we caught our first sight of the dolphins as an earlier group played in the pool with the creatures. It was my first time to see one up close and even from a distance, it was a real thrill to see a dolphin in action.

They look so attractive and move with such grace and speed through the water it’s impossible to take your eyes off them. Apart from chimpanzees, is there any other animal on earth with such charisma?

Before we took the plunge, we were shown a short video presentation welcoming us the centre. The mammals are brought in when they are young and trained for up to two years before they interact with the public. Up to 50 dolphins are kept in Delphinus at any one time with more than half born there. They are cared for by the staff with much of the entrance fee going towards their upkeep and welfare.

Their life expectancy is about 45 years, the same as in the wild and from what we could see, the dolphins did seem to be healthy and well looked after. The dolphins, we also learnt, loved to be touched but not on their faces and we were warned to stay well away from their blowholes! This is the orifice on top of their head where they take in fresh air.

Dolphin school finished, it was time to play with Lucy, our 5 year old bottle-nosed friend for the day. The magic began as soon as we entered the water. Our female dolphin Instructor got the 6 of us to line up before she called Lucy over to join in. It was amazing to be this close to a dolphin and when she weaved in around us allowing us to touch and stroke her, it was a special moment. Her skin felt like rubber, smooth and sleek and supremely aerodynamic.

It was then time for a bit of individual attention from Lucy. We took it in turns to line up separately and as the instructor called out, Lucy came over and pecked me on the cheek. If you have never been kissed by a dolphin before, you are in for a treat.

With a photographer preserving the moment close by, Lucy then returned and rested in my arms for a cuddle. This, I realized, is why we love dolphins so much. Okay, we are paying big money to be here, it’s an artificial environment and the animals are trained to do it, but holding a half tonne dolphin in my arms is a moment I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.

The fun got even better when we were told to keep our feet together and our heads well above water. Again, on a whistle and a shout, she sprung into action. Lying in the water, I felt Lucy’s nose pushing at my feet. Within a couple of seconds, she had gained enough speed to propel me across the top of the water at a rate of knots. I was water skiing with no rope and no skis. It was over too soon but I loved every second of it.

Lucy is 5 years away from sexual maturity. When she does become pregnant, she will carry her young inside her for 12 months and the baby will be born with the umbilical cord attached, just like all mammals.

Dolphins communicate with each other by means of high-pitched clicking sounds, which we could hear by placing our ears just below the water. Scientists have discovered that dolphin brains are comparable in size to humans.

Studying their communication systems, their social interactions and complex behaviour patterns, it’s clear these are highly intelligent beings. To test her smarts we all sang a song to Lucy. All we could think of was ‘Happy Birthday’, but she responded by twisting herself round in a circle on top of the water and ‘clapping’ her fins in appreciation.

As a finale, Lucy then rose out of the water like a rocket reaching a good 10 feet in the air before splash landing and swimming off for a well-earned break..

It was a long way to come, we spent an awful lot of money but for an hour in the pool with dolphins it was worth it all. Lucy, darling, I will never forget you. XXX.