Cancun--Reef Dive

Today was the first day of our diving adventures.  Because John and Mark gave up their airline tickets (to garner certificates for free flights), they only came in this morning.  I picked them up at the Cancun Airport in "El Diablo", our last-minute rental car that had no gas, no power-anything, and no shock absorbers.  Mark got a good laugh, riding in the back.  Should I have been concerned when the rental car guys ensured that I knew where the spare time was?

Gio (L) and our Dive Master

They just had time to drop off their stuff, and we were off to the dive shop.  We had two reef dives scheduled right here in Cancun.  The dive shop sits on a harbor, so we got our gear, got in the boat and rode out to the ocean.  I seriously think that our boat driver was the Mexican Godfather.  His name was Gio (an Italian name, not a Mexican one), and everybody and their uncle waved to him and called out to him.  Even on the way home, he stopped by a dock and some random dude gave him three huge tunas.  No payment of any kind was made.  No money exchanged.  It was like some kind of tribute, or honor.  The Godfather theme started playing in my mind, and I wondered if we were figuratively (as well as literally) going to be "swimming with the fishes".

There was a boy on the boat with his dad.  He was going out for his second dive, working on his certification.  Because of this, our guide spent a lot of time underwater with him.  However, it was good to go on an "easy" dive--only 40 feet--to get my swimming feet under me.

It was beautiful underwater.  Great visibility too.

When we came up, the surface waves were rather strong and something we learned quickly is to leave our regulators in our mouths until we're ready to get back on the boat.  Otherwise (and this happened to us), you swallow a lot of sea water and consequently get very nauseous.  Well, the boy didn't want to go back in the water because of the nausea, but we learned (again!) that once underwater, the nausea completely disappears!

The second dive was incredible.  We saw so much.  A lobster, a turtle, a sea urchin, and a STINGRAY!

A barracuda!

A Lion fish.  They are very cool to find, but they are actually an alien to the waters here.  They are eating up the reef.

See the sea urchin?

You would never think it, but it actually MOVES!  When our Dive Master put it in our hands, we could feel the spines moving over our skin.  It was my favorite "find" of the dive.

A lobster.  They only move backwards (to back into their holes in the reef walls).

Glo and the lobster

Mark and the lobster

You guessed it!  John and the lobster.

Our Dive Master found a turtle, resting under a rock.  Of course, when he saw us, he patiently waited for us to leave and when we didn't, he did!

Glo, petting el Tortuga

Can you see what's hiding?

A STINGRAY!