Snorkeling

On Tuesday the boys and I went snorkeling.

We got on a bus that was to take a group of about two dozen people from the resort to a spot by Puerto Morelos, about half way back up the coast towards Cancun. There were problems, though. First, the air conditioning was broken on the bus. A lot of people were complaining about this, but it didn't bother me. You think this is hot and humid? Get on the C-Train during Stampede Week with a bunch of sweaty tourists and the heaters blasting.

We stopped on the highway, though, and transfered onto another bus. I assume this was arranged and we didn't just commandeer the bus of some other tourists who were wandering around the jungle beside the highway. Boy would they be surprised!

After a forty minute drive we got to Puerto Morelos. The captain met us at the highway turnoff and told the tour guide that the transmission on the boat was broken. So we drove twenty minutes back to another place that had alternate transportation.

We got onto a boat there and were handed life jackets, snorkels, masks, and flippers. While these were being handed out, the captain tried to start the boat. And tried some more. It eventually became clear that this boat wasn't going anywhere either, so they brought us over to yet another boat. After we all got settled and got the spiel about where we were going and what was going to happen, the captain told us that this boat was broken too. We couldn't believe it.

"Just kidding," he said and started the engine. Funny guy.

At the first reef, Calvin didn't want to go in the water (because of the sea monsters). A crewman said he would stay with him, so Donnie Darko and I jumped in. This swim was guided, but Donnie Darko and I straggled behind. Donnie got tired and too much sea water in his snorkel; I turned to bring him back to the boat when another crewman told me he would and that I should catch up with the group. I felt kinda nervous about leaving Donnie with someone else, but off I went.

I was really far behind and struggling to catch up when I realized that I was exhausted and would probably die out there on the reef. It was pretty, though. Fortunately, the guide stopped now and then to show people stuff so by the time he turned back towards the boat I had almost caught up to him. This actually worked out well as I ended up in the front of the group and got a good look at a ray he scared out of hiding on the seafloor.

Back on the boat, we headed to the second reef. Calvin got over his fear when we came back with no bite marks, so we all jumped in. The second swim was unguided, which was nice as we could go at our own slow pace. The boys thought it was great, swimming around looking at the coral and fish, but the time seemed to go by quickly.

On the way back to shore, the crew went around asking for tips. How embarassing. I didn't bring any money. I mean, where was I supposed to put it? So when the guy got to me, I said, "lo siento, no tengo dinero." I don't speak Spanish, but thanks to the Dutch blood in my veins I can be cheap in any language.