Today was our free time! And I chose to spend it swimming with whale sharks. Yep, it's the thing to do around these parts. We had a number of choices of things to do, some people went swimming with the dolphins (in an enclosure), others were still sick and barely had the energy to explore the town. There were a few of us in the bus heading to the whale sharks, mostly the people who had been partying the night before.
It took about half an hour on the small boat before I vomited. The sea was rougher than I expected and, well, yes I was a bit hungover. The drive out to the sharks was fairly long, and by the time we spotted one we could no longer see land. If we really thought about it, it was a little daunting. And if I REALLY thought about it, I'd remember that I have a fear of deep water and sharks and what the hell was I doing out here with a flimsy life jacket between me and one of the biggest creatures of the sea?? Nah, they'e gentle giants, true.
So it was all anticipation, us watching the other boats splitting off into different directions and then mostly out of sight, seeing the occasional dolphin, then we saw the fin. Quite small in comparison to the rest of its body, we were all asking what it belonged to, the captain joking that it was a tiger shark, before saying "Kidding! Jump in." And literally yelled it: "JUMP IN!" Go, go, go, we pulled on our snorkels, propelled ourselves overboard and before we knew it, we were surrounding this beautiful, spotted beast of the ocean, seemingly unfazed by our presence, just slowly but swiftly moving through the water.
It was quite hectic, as the shark moved much quicker than you'd think, and they tried to rotate us so while some were swimming alongside, others were being driven in the direction the shark was heading, ready to jump in. It was surprisingly fast and hard to keep up, the water was still a bit rough and I was out of breath by the end of it. Feeling a bit sick, too. T said she vomited whilst in the water, ha!
And then it was all over. A shame, but as I was still catching my breath while hanging over the edge of the boat, I was kinda happy at the time. Now, I wish I could do it all again, but right then, it was a good decision. But I will never forget that feeling, jumping in and not knowing where the shark was, only to see it rise up from the depths and come straight at me, mouth open so I felt I could fall right in - but just so beautiful and harmless. I wonder how anyone can hunt animals like this.
After the sharks, we drove to Isla Mujeres. Now I'm from Australia. I've lived in the Caribbean. I've done a fair amount of travelling to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I've seen a few. Some may say I'm a bit of a beach snob. But Isla Mujeres has GOT to be right up there with the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. The water, yes it was clear but oh my gosh how did it get THAT clear?? T and I even saw a little sting ray rush past as we waded out to land, and after telling M, he was convinced he'd seen one too - only it was the anchor to our boat and its cord ha!
Lunch was served while we were still in the water - Corona in right hand, plate of prawns and guacamole in the left. What we didn't eat was fed to the fishies. The other boats, some of which had now reappeared, was pumping some random tunes while we danced around and appreciated life. Then it was back to the port.
A bit of a downer afterwards, when they tried flogging us photos of us boarding the boat in a cardboard frame printed with whale shark photos (even halved the price when we weren't looking interested), again and again. I'm sorry but I don't need a photo of me getting onto a boat, I want a bloody underwater photo! Then things got slightly more frustrating when the coaches that were "waiting to take us back" didn't arrive for over an hour. Nevermind, we spotted a pub and had a beer while waiting.
It was a shame, though, that we happened upon a group just coming back who had a video taped while they were underwater. Not only did they have a whole school of whale sharks but giant manta rays too, and an underwater video. And much, much longer in the water with the sharks. We were happy with our experience, but after seeing that, it was a bit disappointing and I'd certainly not recommend the company we went with ever again.
When we got back to Playa, I saw some of the others and we went to the beach for a cocktail. I enquired randomly about the price of a beachside massage and, upon hearing it was just $30, signed myself up right then n there. The masseuse was probably one of the cutest Mexicans I met, with a few little dreds sprouting out, and some good, strong hands on him. One of the girls brought over my pina colada and I positioned on the sand it under my face which poked through the massage table, taking sips every now and then. Oh yeah. Life is good.
At the end of it, the masseuse gave me a bead from his dred to remember Playa, how cute. I told T how good the massage was and she jumped right onto the table, admitting afterwards that her onset of sunstroke and sunburn was perhaps not the wisest state of mind to go into a massage in. Onwards to dinner time and I took it upon myself to make the most of the last shout by the tour company - lobster flambe! Another meal arriving on fire, it was prepared and cooked in front of us all, with tequila and white wine the main ingredients in the sauce.
We all headed to the Blue Parrot for our final night on tour. Situated in the heart of Playa's club strip, it was a slightly better option than some of the other trashy ones like Cocobongos, and the best part was that all us girls got an open bar tab just so we'd stay inside. Truth be told, we were quite early and pretty much the first people in the club. It was open-air largely, with some cool decorations in a Carnaval theme and, best of all, random acts by Carnaval style performers who just happened to also be quite well put-together. A drumming outfit, Carnaval dancer, guy on stilts and capoeira fighters...
I wasn't really feeling it, to be honest, and the drinks seemed watered down and a bit sweet. So I danced around in the balloon animal things being thrown onto the dance floor, and flung my arms about when they sprayed an oxygen bottle over the crowd (well, I think it was oxygen)... I got into it as much as I could. But had to call it a night, walking home by myself. Hey, what did I have to steal? My dignity perhaps. It was nice, though, to have some me time. I was about to go on another tour in Cuba, so having a moment to think my own thoughts was welcome.
It took about half an hour on the small boat before I vomited. The sea was rougher than I expected and, well, yes I was a bit hungover. The drive out to the sharks was fairly long, and by the time we spotted one we could no longer see land. If we really thought about it, it was a little daunting. And if I REALLY thought about it, I'd remember that I have a fear of deep water and sharks and what the hell was I doing out here with a flimsy life jacket between me and one of the biggest creatures of the sea?? Nah, they'e gentle giants, true.
So it was all anticipation, us watching the other boats splitting off into different directions and then mostly out of sight, seeing the occasional dolphin, then we saw the fin. Quite small in comparison to the rest of its body, we were all asking what it belonged to, the captain joking that it was a tiger shark, before saying "Kidding! Jump in." And literally yelled it: "JUMP IN!" Go, go, go, we pulled on our snorkels, propelled ourselves overboard and before we knew it, we were surrounding this beautiful, spotted beast of the ocean, seemingly unfazed by our presence, just slowly but swiftly moving through the water.
It was quite hectic, as the shark moved much quicker than you'd think, and they tried to rotate us so while some were swimming alongside, others were being driven in the direction the shark was heading, ready to jump in. It was surprisingly fast and hard to keep up, the water was still a bit rough and I was out of breath by the end of it. Feeling a bit sick, too. T said she vomited whilst in the water, ha!
And then it was all over. A shame, but as I was still catching my breath while hanging over the edge of the boat, I was kinda happy at the time. Now, I wish I could do it all again, but right then, it was a good decision. But I will never forget that feeling, jumping in and not knowing where the shark was, only to see it rise up from the depths and come straight at me, mouth open so I felt I could fall right in - but just so beautiful and harmless. I wonder how anyone can hunt animals like this.
After the sharks, we drove to Isla Mujeres. Now I'm from Australia. I've lived in the Caribbean. I've done a fair amount of travelling to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I've seen a few. Some may say I'm a bit of a beach snob. But Isla Mujeres has GOT to be right up there with the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen. The water, yes it was clear but oh my gosh how did it get THAT clear?? T and I even saw a little sting ray rush past as we waded out to land, and after telling M, he was convinced he'd seen one too - only it was the anchor to our boat and its cord ha!
Lunch was served while we were still in the water - Corona in right hand, plate of prawns and guacamole in the left. What we didn't eat was fed to the fishies. The other boats, some of which had now reappeared, was pumping some random tunes while we danced around and appreciated life. Then it was back to the port.
A bit of a downer afterwards, when they tried flogging us photos of us boarding the boat in a cardboard frame printed with whale shark photos (even halved the price when we weren't looking interested), again and again. I'm sorry but I don't need a photo of me getting onto a boat, I want a bloody underwater photo! Then things got slightly more frustrating when the coaches that were "waiting to take us back" didn't arrive for over an hour. Nevermind, we spotted a pub and had a beer while waiting.
It was a shame, though, that we happened upon a group just coming back who had a video taped while they were underwater. Not only did they have a whole school of whale sharks but giant manta rays too, and an underwater video. And much, much longer in the water with the sharks. We were happy with our experience, but after seeing that, it was a bit disappointing and I'd certainly not recommend the company we went with ever again.
When we got back to Playa, I saw some of the others and we went to the beach for a cocktail. I enquired randomly about the price of a beachside massage and, upon hearing it was just $30, signed myself up right then n there. The masseuse was probably one of the cutest Mexicans I met, with a few little dreds sprouting out, and some good, strong hands on him. One of the girls brought over my pina colada and I positioned on the sand it under my face which poked through the massage table, taking sips every now and then. Oh yeah. Life is good.
At the end of it, the masseuse gave me a bead from his dred to remember Playa, how cute. I told T how good the massage was and she jumped right onto the table, admitting afterwards that her onset of sunstroke and sunburn was perhaps not the wisest state of mind to go into a massage in. Onwards to dinner time and I took it upon myself to make the most of the last shout by the tour company - lobster flambe! Another meal arriving on fire, it was prepared and cooked in front of us all, with tequila and white wine the main ingredients in the sauce.
We all headed to the Blue Parrot for our final night on tour. Situated in the heart of Playa's club strip, it was a slightly better option than some of the other trashy ones like Cocobongos, and the best part was that all us girls got an open bar tab just so we'd stay inside. Truth be told, we were quite early and pretty much the first people in the club. It was open-air largely, with some cool decorations in a Carnaval theme and, best of all, random acts by Carnaval style performers who just happened to also be quite well put-together. A drumming outfit, Carnaval dancer, guy on stilts and capoeira fighters...
I wasn't really feeling it, to be honest, and the drinks seemed watered down and a bit sweet. So I danced around in the balloon animal things being thrown onto the dance floor, and flung my arms about when they sprayed an oxygen bottle over the crowd (well, I think it was oxygen)... I got into it as much as I could. But had to call it a night, walking home by myself. Hey, what did I have to steal? My dignity perhaps. It was nice, though, to have some me time. I was about to go on another tour in Cuba, so having a moment to think my own thoughts was welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment