Madrid Zoo

Last Sunday I took my 3 year-old son to the Madrid Zoo, or as it’s known by its official name, Zoo Aquarium Madrid. We had planned to go on Saturday but after arriving at 1:00 p.m. and seeing the large lines (before having even found a parking space), we opted to go the following day. If you’re planning to go to the Madrid Zoo yourself, I recommend buying the tickets over the Internet. After seeing the throngs of people in the “normal” lines and nobody in the “entradas Internet” line, I wasn’t going to show up empty-handed on Sunday.

Throngs of people. Multitud, gentío
Empty-handed. Con las manos vacías

Prior to Sunday’s visit, I hadn’t been to the Madrid Zoo in ages; at least 15 years. I was looking forward to it, mostly for my son’s sake, since I can’t say I was overly impressed with the zoo the last time I went in 1992. But that was before the Exhibición de Delfinos (1995) and the Exhibición de Vuelo Libre de Rapaces (1998). These two additions -along with inclusion of the sea lion and penguin facility (2003), the complex that houses primates from Southeast Asia (2006) and the Giant Panda complex (2007)- have tremendously improved the overall “zoo experience.”

In ages. Hace siglos
To look forward to. Tener ganas de
Overly. Demasiado
To house. Alojar

I’d have to say that my favorite part of the visit was the show they put on in the dolphinarium, which features bottle-nosed dolphins. Those marine mammals- they’re not “fish”, as we were reminded during the show- are very intelligent! Afterwards, we headed over to see the birds of prey show featuring more than 60 species from five continents, including falcons, condors, vultures, owls and even a bald eagle, the symbol of the United States. As we took a seat in the auditorium, a woman’s voice on the loudspeaker warned us to remain seated during the exhibition, since the birds would be zooming over the tops of our heads, flying at extremely low levels from falconer to falconer. And she was right. An Andean Condor passed right overhead, almost knocking my baseball hat off my head! Before the final bird of the show appeared, the loudspeaker issued another warning: anybody wearing the color red must cover up, since the bird is easily distracted and not doing so could result in an unpleasant surprise. As everyone in the audience looked around -almost feeling sorry for those dressed in red- we were all wondering, “What kind of bird could it be?”

Birds of prey. Aves de rapiña
Owl. Búho
Bald eagle. Águila de cabeza blanca
To zoom. Pasar volando
Falconer. Cetrero
Overhead. Encima de la cabeza
To cover up. Taparse
To feel sorry for (somebody). Compadecer a alguien

Needless to say, I was much more impressed with the Madrid Zoo this time around. I had at least as much fun as my 3 year-old did. By the way, if you’re interested in having your children learn more about the animal world, why not combine it with learning English? Vaughan Systems is offering its Zoo Camp this summer and I’ve added the link for those who are interested.
http://www.vaughanjunior.com/espana.asp

Needless to say. Ni que decir tiene

Oh, and that bird that we were warned about? I can’t spill the beans here. You’ll have to go and see it for yourself.

To spill the beans. Revelar el secreto

Published by: Drew Crosby