They won't tell me where we are going, and my nerves are just about shot. It's not that I hate surprises, but the wait just about kills me. When I was little I would literally stay up all night on Christmas Eve, not with the intent to see Santa, but because I simply couldn't wait to find out what I got for Christmas. Mostly, of course, hoping that I would get that one big dream item that I had asked for.
Hobi looks tempted to pull me into his lap, but I think he realizes that action won't keep me from squirming. I confirm my thought is pretty much correct when his eyes get a look that is both heated and somewhat annoyed.
When we stop I am immediately leaning over Jimin to be able to look out the window. He casts me a secretive sexy look before smiling widely when my eyes light with enthusiasm. "You brought me to a Zoo!?!?" My eyes drift over Hobi, Tae, and Joon. Jimin's on my other side, now behind me since I am mostly leaning forward, so I turn my head to look at him also. "What about the patrons? What about the staff?"
"The staff has all signed NDAs simply stating they aren't allowed to take pictures of us, tell others about us being here, nor approach us regarding anything other than their jobs. We are the only patrons today. Big Hit reserved the zoo today for us and us alone." Joon quickly explains.
I cast my eyes at the window past Hobi that looks over most of the parking lot, and realize if I had looked there before becoming worried and jumping to conclusions I probably would have figured this fact out for myself due to the nearly empty lot. "It's not a big zoo. But, they do have one of the best rainforest exhibits supposedly." Jimin explains to me as they assist me out of the vehicle.
"I bet. It probably was easy to get the appropriate flora, and bringing in the animal species from the rainforest probably wasn't overly difficult either." Probably not the most intellectual comment I have ever made, but I honestly was at a loss for how to respond. I love animals, and I hadn't been to a zoo in years. "Do you think they have a petting zoo?" Who am I asking this question for? Myself? Or am I just wanting to see how they interact with small animals (aside from the puppy interview and videos of their interaction with Yeontan)? Probably both...
"We can grab a map when we get inside." Tae offers.
Joon nods. "Yeah, that will probably be the easiest way to find out for certain."
Apparently we have been lingering in the vehicle too long because Jk is opening the door and looking inside only a moment later. I can make out Yoongi and Jin shadowing just a step or two behind him. "Let's go!" Jk enthuses, and I can't help but chuckle at how excited bunny looks.
Jimin was definitely right regarding the size of the zoo. There are three main habitat buildings: plains, oceans, and Amazon rainforest (which I'm not surprised is significantly bigger than the others). There is also what appears to be a corralled off area behind the rainforest building labelled as 'Jardim Zoológico' which apparently translates loosely to petting zoo. It's so silly that I am just as excited about the petting zoo as I am about the rainforest.
We decide to visit the Oceans area first, which unsurprisingly is for the most part an understated aquarium. In the first area we find small tanks of different fish. Jin shouts across the room. "I found Nemo." Which makes us all chuckle.
The blue tang tank happens to be right beside me so I respond with, "I found Dory!" Jin sends me a flying kiss for playing along, which I pantomime grabbing out of thin air and holding close to my chest.
In the next room we find several tall cylindrical tanks which happen to hold one of my favorite small aquatic animals. "Oooh, I love seahorses!" I exclaim as I run over to them. "Did you know that like a marsupial they have a pouch? The female lays her eggs in the male's pouch and the eggs hatch after they incubate from the male."
Yoongi arches an eyebrow at that and starts fiddling on his phone. His need for information seems to be a strange thing to be attracted to, but for some reason that is exactly how I am feeling. "You are partially right, Daisy. The female lays her unfertilized eggs in the male pouch, and the male fertilizes them. After that they incubate in the pouch."
"They take all the fun out of the process." Hobi groans and begins to walk away from the tanks. All of their faces went from highly impressed to pretty much disinterested with that educational comment. Their very male thoughts won't deter me from still finding seahorses interesting though.
I am unable to keep myself from outwardly squealing when we come across the next part of the exhibit. "Oh my god! They have penguins!" While I can't keep myself from outwardly gushing out my excitement, I am pleased that I have been able to muffle the sound of my voice a bit.
I don't know how many species of penguins there are off the top of my head. But, I do know of at least three and the zoo only has two. Once, again not surprised since they are a lower scale zoo. On the plus side both of the kinds they have are my known favorites. (Rock Hopper penguins, while still sort of cute I find a bit strange looking honestly.)
The Gentoo Penguins are currently being fed, and I coo in delight as I watch them toddle over to the zookeeper taking care of them. She either heard my excitement through the glass or sensed it, because she turns and smiles at me through the pane before going back to her task. The most recent one fed turns back towards the glass, and I swear he looks right at me.
Tae wraps his arms around my waist from behind. His chin resting on my shoulder. I don't have to turn to see his wideset grin. I honestly can feel it rising on his face.
Once the zookeeper is done feeding the Gentoo penguins Tae and I pivot together to turn to the other glassed in tank on the opposite side of the hallway. I'm pleasantly surprised that she goes into that one next. The Emperor Penguins seem to proudly parade over to her, and while I don't get the same impression with one of them as I did with the Gentoo. I am still in awe of how majestic the royal penguins seem to be. "Is it weird to say that they actually look as royal as their name suggests?"
They all weigh in some level of agreement that for some reason my observation seems exceptionally relevant. Of course Yoongi goes a step further and starts spouting off facts. The two that settle with me, and I am sure I will end up remembering are that there are seventeen species of penguins and the Emperor penguins are the tallest of those species.
We arrive at the end of the Oceans habitat, and I find myself frowning because the last two oversized tanks are empty. "I bet they are either closed for now, or it's something they are planning on in the future." Joon supplies as he strolls up beside me. He notices that my expression has turned downward. He reacts by threading his fingers through my own.
We walk into the Plains habitat and while it is pretty warm, somehow the air inside the building isn't as humid. I'm assuming that is why this area is in a building and not outside. Climate control. The first two exhibits we come to are empty, and that fact some depresses me. I am, however, pleased to see that they are oversized in nature. Whatever animals they do have in this building will still have a decent amount of area to roam in.
The first exhibit we come to is filled with a herd of gazelle. This exhibit is open air with only a waist high fence surrounding it. "I wonder if most of the plains exhibits will be open like this."
"For the more docile creatures, probably." Jin nods.
"They are so cute!" Jimin enthuses.
I smile at him and nod. "They are. Near my hometown there was a small zoo, well it was called a park so perhaps zoo is a bit of a stretch. Anyway, they had one of the largest petting zoos I had ever seen. It included several fawns." I shake my head wondering why I prattled on about that specifically.
But Jimin's face is only looking at me in wonder. "You got to pet a baby deer!?!"
I smile widely. "And feed one."
"Maybe the petting zoo here will have fawns in it."
I don't want to discourage him, but I honestly highly doubt it. "I'm not sure about fawns, but maybe they will have some baby gazelles." I look back at the ones in the exhibit again before we move on to the next one.
We happen across the giraffes right before feeding time. The zookeeper on duty even ushers us over to feed them ourselves. Jimin and I are both having difficulty keeping our excited squeal of laughter at bay. But, neither of us want to spook the beautiful animals so we coax each other to reign in our excitement. (With the help of Yoongi and Joon both helpfully pointing out that we might scare them away.)
When we come up to the rhinoceros pen we find it empty. There isn't a zookeeper currently around, so we don't have anyone to ask where it might be. I'm only mildly disappointed we don't get to see it. I don't dislike rhinos, but they aren't really my favorite animal to see at a zoo.
The elephants in the exhibit more than makes up for the lack of a rhino however. There is a whole elephant family. The baby is the cutest thing too, and I am mentally naming the guy Peanut. I am sure that isn't his name. It's probably something in Portugeuse, but I let myself have my fun with it at that moment. I only plan on getting his actual name if a zookeeper comes by so I can ask them.
The last exhibit in the plains is a pride of lions. There are three beautiful lionesses visible under a tree. One looks slightly bigger around the middle, and I am guessing she may be pregnant. I can only barely make out the solitary male's mane behind a rock. But the rest of him is blocked by the obstruction.
"Let's get something for lunch before we head onto the rainforest." Joon suggests. My stomach makes a loud grumble of agreement that has all of my soulmates laughing. I blush and pretend to pout which has the polar opposite effect I am hoping for. Hobi lifts me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carts me away. Following Joon who is leading us to the closest restaurant in the zoo.
Many of them order more Americanized staples and fruits. Jin, Yoongi, and I all choose to be adventurous and order more local cuisine. We order coxinha (chicken croquettes), tomate recheado (stuffed tomatoes), and quindim (coconut flan). I quickly decide that I may have to replicate the dishes, even though the flan may elude me a time or two. I may be able to cook well, but baking is a completely different beast.
The other four all end up sampling from our dishes also, which didn't surprise me in the least. Hobi goes back up to the counter and places an order for something else. When he brings back a set of four round shaped brown mounds I frown. "It's brigadeiro." He smiles wildly. I remember seeing the dessert mentioned on the menu, and I instantly knew they weren't something that would interest me. They are basically chocolate bon bons.
We all relax for a bit longer. Not quite ready to move due to our full bellies. Not to mention the fact that between the sun and humidity it was starting to get really hot at this point. Jin points out that we should apply sunblock before heading back outside. This time Jimin ends up winning the chance to apply sunblock to my shoulders and arms, and Tae gets second so I apply sunblock to his.