Snorkeling with sea turtles, stingrays and jellyfish...Mexico days 2 and 3.

As I blog, I sit on our balcony bed, and can see palm trees swaying in the wind, and the ocean sparkling turquoise. Barrett is off taking a quick dip in the sea and snorkel around while I relax a bit...I got too much sun on my shoulders and face earlier, and was pretty worn out from our earlier trek. So, a catnap and writing seemed to be in order for me.

Our Balcony

Me in the water

Yesterday after I blogged, and we relaxed, Barrett and I headed to our beach to try out the snorkeling here. There is a dock that you can snorkel in and around and jump off of or climb the ladder down into the water (which we later found is nicer to get right to the snorkeling and skip the wading in part...as the beach does have some rocks and seaweed). Snorkeling was slow at first as we only saw a few schools of fish, and then many tiny, quarter-sized jellies swam by us. I was freaked out out first! "Umm...Bear? Are those jellies?" But they turned out to be harmless enough, and we were able to swim right through them. Barrett even picked one up in his hand and watched it for a moment before putting it back in the water. We found out today they are called thimble jellyfish (they are actually larval stage of bigger jellies...) , and rarely are a big deal unless you swim through entire blooms (I like that word! It's for a group of jellyfish!) of them , but can sting when they get stuck in your swimwear. Yeah. That happened to me while snorkeling today...and was like a million little pinpricks, but otherwise fine. The snorkeling picked up, and we saw schools of fish as we explored under the dock and outcroppings of underwater rocks. We later kayaked in the ocean, which was amazing and great exercise!

Kayaking in the ocean

Barrett holding a jelly

Last night we dressed up for dinner, and tried out Bordeaux, the French restaurant here. It was pretty good. We both ordered things we couldn't even pronounce, and mine was a flaky pastry stuffed with salmon and mushrooms with Hollandaise sauce on it. I told B, "It's like a fancy fish Hot Pocket!" You can tell that we are pretty low-key people. :) We visited the Sky Bar last night as well, a rooftop bar complete with Jacuzzis that look out to the ocean. I will say that though neither of us have had too much to drink, we have enjoyed a few Pina Coladas, since they are included! 

Our Iguana friend

B touching starfish

Today we awoke to an alarm at 7:30, and got ready for our excursion. At 9:30 we boarded the Miramar, a glass bottom boat to go snorkeling. We went way off the island shore, and snorkeled at three spots. The first, Cielo, was a sandy bottomed haven for starfish. It was okay, but (and I know this sounds spoiled) after how bright the fish and starfish are in Hawaii, these were dull in comparison. The fish here are not quite as bright...But the rest of the snorkeling was great. Cielo was a great place to start and get your bearings (especially if you were a new snorkeler), as the water was 10-15 feet deep and calm. Next we got back in the boat and headed out a bit farther to Columbia reef. It was amazing!!! My favorite reef we have seen so far. We saw a handful of sea turtles, a ray, and more colorful fish over the reefs that were about 25-35 feet down. From there we followed the current in our group, and swam to Palancar reef. This reef had literal mountains of coral, and was 200 feet down they told us with a startling drop-off (all I could think about was Nemo and the drop-off...but I digress) that went 2,000 feet down...just blue beneath. This reef was equally as cool as the last, albeit with things further down to see, though the Triggerfish come right up so close you could grab them! The water was really choppy here, and the current quite strong. An older woman on the tour got pretty scared and said she was done. Luckily, I LOVE the water, and have always been a fairly good swimmer, with a healthy respect for the sea as well, and I knew to stay calm and close enough to our trained guide, Veronica, just in case. 

Tonight there are vendors on the beach (it is almost time in fact! We are two hours later here than at home), and we will go see what deals we can make, as we shop for some souvenirs. We did already purchase the pictures the photographer took on our trip today, as we just couldn't pass them up! There is also an international buffet dinner out on the sand tonight, so we will likely partake. I am having a blast, as well as getting in lots of relaxation. Tomorrow I know we will snorkel more, swim more, and perhaps take a taxi to another reef off the shore. Hope you enjoy the pictures. And if you are looking to take a vacation soon, but money is tight...you might be surprised. I shopped around for over a month before we found this resort having a sale (50% off!), which made things much more available to us. Try cheapcarribean.com, and hang out on Orbitz. 

Cheers for now.