Where the Wild Things Teach:
Wonder, Play, Rest, & Aliveness
A week-long retreat in the Bahamas to Swim with Wild Dolphins
May 23 - 29, 2027
With Michelle Cassandra Johnson and Cheryl Schirillo
So much is moving through this time and space. We are living through waves of uncertainty, grief, beauty, possibility, and profound change. A retreat to the ocean is not a departure from what is unfolding around us, nor is it an escape from the realities we face. Rather, it is an invitation to return—to our deepest, vibrant essence, to the vastness of the earth, to the rhythms of the sea, to the wisdom of our bodies, and to one another.
Held by Mother Ocean and accompanied by wild dolphins and the countless creatures who call these waters home, we will remember what the natural world has always known: that light and shadow belong to one another, that every wave rises and falls, and that play, rest, and joy are not distractions from the work of living, but essential to it.
During our week together, we will go out on a sailing catamaran Monday through Friday to swim with wild dolphins in warm, crystal-clear waters and snorkel over vibrant reefs with sea turtles, stingrays, octopus, and more. At our waterfront retreat center, we’ll gather each morning for yoga and storytelling, share nourishing meals, and create spaciousness for both reflection and delight. There will be time to laugh, to be quiet, to move, to float, and to simply listen, reconnecting with essential aspects of our true, free essence.
Two Zoom calls will take place before the retreat so the group can get to know each other and Cheryl can teach you about how to interact with wild dolphins in the ocean.
Join us for an unforgettable retreat experience with the Bimini Dolphins in Bimini, Bahamas, May 23-29, 2027
The Place
About the Island – Your Home for The Week
Some say Bimini is home to the ancient Lost City of Atlantis. You will have the opportunity to feel the energy that is still there and snorkel above the giant stones this civilization left behind.
Just a 25-minute plane ride from Fort Lauderdale, the horseshoe-shaped island is small, safe, and friendly. The Retreat Center where we are staying is located directly on the water and just steps away from white sand beaches, often deserted, where you can swim, sunbathe, and take moonlight strolls.
On the Retreat Center’s doorstep, nature treats us to a splendid sunrise every morning overlooking the bay, where our sailboat/catamaran, Dolphin Quest, is moored. This gorgeous vessel has a bathroom on board and wide, low steps in the back that make it easy to get in and out of the water.
The food always gets rave reviews. Our personal chef cooks all our meals on-site with abundant options for all dietary requirements (e.g., vegan, dairy- or gluten-free, high-protein).
The rooms are spacious, simple, and lovely, with a private bath, windows overlooking the water or the gardens, AC and a Fan, and a small fridge.
The Practice
This retreat is an invitation to step outside of our day-to-day reality and slow down enough to remember the truth of who we are—not separate from the living world, but deeply woven into it. It is an opportunity to experience respite without disconnecting, to cultivate presence instead of urgency, and to return home with the rhythm of the waves, the playfulness of the dolphins, and the strength of community alive within us.
Each day before heading out on the boat, we gather to practice yoga, meditation, and pranayama together and to share about our experiences with the dolphins. Then, we venture out to swim/snorkel with the Spotted and Bottlenosed Dolphins who live, eat, make babies, sleep, play, and enjoy hanging out with their human friends just offshore. At night, we bathe in the moonlight and continue to revel in the messages we receive from the ocean and her inhabitants.
Registration Details
All-inclusive model: The retreat price is per person and is based on double occupancy (two people sharing a room). A few single upgrades are available upon request. The price includes all your lodging, healthy, fresh food at the retreat center, and daily boat trips to swim with the dolphins. Sunday night at the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and Monday through Friday night at the retreat center on the island are included. The price does not include flights. You book your own flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, stay over Sunday night, and Monday morning take the 25-minute charter plane to the island with the group.
For detailed info on what is included and what is extra, CLICK HERE.
Cost of Retreat
The early bird rate for the retreat is $3,795. All you need to do today is pay the non-refundable deposit of $1,300 to the retreat facilitator, Michelle Johnson. Then Michelle will send you the link to the WildQuest website to pay 25% ($675) of the remaining balance. Your final payment of $1,872 is not due until 60 days before the retreat begins.
If you choose to take the charter flight to the island with the group, payment for the flight ($600) is not due until May 2027. You are also welcome to find your own flight to the island.
***The $1300 Deposit is the Early Bird Discount and is good through November 6th, 2027. On November 7th, the deposit increases to $1,504, bringing the total cost to $3,999.
*** With only 20 spots available, we expect the retreat to fill quickly.
*** Please note… You will not be fully registered with your space saved until both the non-refundable deposit AND the WildQuest Booking have been completed.
Traveling Alone?
Many of our guests travel solo to Bimini, so no worries if you don’t have a travel companion. You’re sure to make new friends quickly. We can match you with a roommate, or you can request one of the single rooms allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Send an email to Cheryl Schirillo, Cheryl@mybridges.net, or Michelle Johnson, info@michellecjohnson.com, with questions or assistance.
"What a heart-expanding adventure! We learned how to open our hearts, let down our guards, and interact respectfully with the dolphins on their terms. I highly recommend her retreats and can't wait to join in again."
– J.W.
About Your Guides
ABOUT MICHELLE
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant and educator, and intuitive and shamanic healer. She approaches her life and work from a place of knowing that we can, and must, heal individually and collectively. She is loved and respected for her embodied approaches to racial equity work, creating ritual in justice spaces, and enlivening our divine connection with nature and Spirit so we as a culture can heal.
Michelle facilitates workshops and immersions, leads retreats and transformative experiences nationwide, and offers an array of healing services for individuals and groups. For over 25 years as a racial equity educator, she has worked with large corporations, non-profits, and community groups.
Michelle leads courageously from the heart with compassion and a commitment to address the heartbreak dominant culture causes for many because of the harm it creates. She inspires change that allows people to stand in their humanity and wholeness in a world that fragments most of us. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, sweet dog, Jasper, and her honeybees.
ABOUT CHERYL
Cheryl Schirillo led her first WildQuest retreat in 2019. She has been working with dolphins and whales in the Dreamtime since 2013 and swimming with wild dolphins in the ocean for more than a decade. After touching a Grey Whale and gazing deeply into Her eye in 2024, she felt an even deeper calling to serve as an Ambassador for the Dolphins and Whales. Cheryl is a certified Dolphin and Whale Energy Healer, initiated by the Grey Whales in Mexico, the Spotted Dolphins of Bimini, and trained by Master Healer, Anne Gordon. She is also a 600 hr Certified Wholistic Health Counselor in the yogic-healing science of Ayurveda.
Now in her 60s, from the age of 17 years old Cheryl studied with Spiritual Masters in India, Integrative-Medicine Practitioners from Duke University, Buddhist Monks, Native-American Shamans, Pacos from Peru, and Ayurveda Masters.
Cheryl believes you are an essential part of this beautiful planet and that it is possible for each of us to play a role in promoting world-wide healing for all beings.
For more information visit https://cherylschirillo.com