Day 91 - Snorkel tour - Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
One again the weather was cloudy and drizzling with rain. We had to be at Roberto's tour desk halfway along the strip by 9.30am, so after breakfast we walked down. Once we got there he told us that the rain won't be too bad and the tour is still on, he pre paid our taxi and we headed to the ferry which would take us to Isla Cozumel, leaving at 10am. We got to the ferry terminal, waited 15 mins then left for the 45 minute ferry ride to Cozumel. The boat was a bit rocky from the weather chopping up the sea but it wasn't too bad. We arrived on the Isla Cozumel and walked in with our adventure stickers on our chest so the tour company can recognize us, we were looking for a Mr Bigotes. As we walked out of the ferry terminal past all the guys trying to sell tours and bike/car hire, we came across to young girls who called us over and asked for our names that were on the list. They gave us wrist bands and told us we would leave in 5 minutes, so we used the bathroom quickly then boarded the boat. We only had 4 other people in the group, 2 of which were the mother/daughter Mexicans from the jungle tour 2 days before, which we all had a laugh about when we saw one another. We headed out in the boat not far off land, there was a captain and tour guide. The tour guide told us we would be snorkeling 3 different spots today, 2 shallow and 1 deep. He informed us of the rules and gave us our equipment and not long after that we were ready to get in the water. The boat had a glass bottom so we could already see the reef under the boat and some fish swimming around. There were a few other boats around with other snorkeling groups. Once the guide had got in and checked the currant he gave us the signal to get in. As soon as I got in and put my head under for a look there was tropical fish around us everywhere and they were not scared of us like I thought they would be, in fact it was the opposite, they were very inquisitive of us and came up close to check us out. We stuck together as a group near our tour guide who had a floating ring if anyone got tired. We swam over the reef area that was probably 5 - 10 meters deep, the coral and sea plants were not amazing but the amount of different tropical fish was blowing me out, you could actually reach out and touch them. Our guide would occasionally swim down to the sea bed to point out something for us to see like a sea horse or baby sting ray and even one of those big eels that lives under rocks. Bobbie and I both had under water cameras with 27 shots, I was blowing out over the amount and diversity of fish I was snapping photos like crazy. After about 45 minutes of snorkeling the guide got us all back in the boat, I had taken 15 photos in the first part, luckily Bobbie had been a bit more conservative and only taken 6, so she still had heaps left for the next two spots. The weather was cloudy, still warm but not hot and the rain was holding off, when we got back into the boat wet and the captain took us to the next area it was a little cold but it didn't take long and we were at the next area and back in the warm water. This was the 2nd shallow area, again it was 5-10 meters deep with lots of fish getting around, the reef and coral in this area was better and there seemed to be lots of upside down pots with holes on the seabed with plants growing off them and lots of fish swimming around and in and out of them. By the looks of it they were put there a while ago for plants to grown in to sustain the fish population for the snorkelers to see. At one point I saw a Mexican swimming around various groups and he had a ton of fish following him swimming all around him, like he was catnip for fish, he swam over to Bobbie and I bringing the swarm of tropical fish with him and said he will take our photo for us, which we accepted, he got a few feet away from us, we got together ready for the photo then it became clear why he was so attractive to the fish, he put a bunch of fish food out in front of us between his camera and us and all the fish went straight for it as he took the photo with all the fish swimming under us, he then informed us we could get the photo on land when we get back and off he went with the swarm of fish following. Not long after the guide informed us we would be moving on to the last part if the tour, the deep area, instead of getting in the boat he told us to all grab onto the rope and flotation devise attached to the boat and the captain would drag us there, we all grabbed on and the captain slowly moved the boat for about 5 minutes out into the deeper part of the reef. Here the depth had to be at least 15 - 20 meters deep, there was sand mostly on the bottom but a large coral and sea plant area that was about 10-20 meters wide and we basically swam over it following like a path for a few hundred meters. The fish out here were a bit bigger and didn't seem as many, or maybe in was because it was a lot deeper. At one point some big fish came up to us to see what we were, they were a lot bigger that the smaller tropical colored fish we has seen, they were silver, at first I was a bit worried but they just seemed to wanna check us out then just swam along with us for a bit. I also saw some long skinny fish, fish that looked like they had small beaks like a bird and black fish that swam funny, almost sideways, I also saw a jelly fish which I got well away from and then kept a good eye out for any more. We swam along the reef for probably an hour then got back in the boat, just before getting in the boat Bobbie got stung by a jelly fish, she yelled in her snorkel under water and the tour guide must have heard her and told her she got stung by a jelly fish, she said it didn't hurt too bad and the only had a small red dot on her forearm. Once back in the boat we headed back to shore and the captain gave us a few beers for the journey, we also stopped at a point to look under the glass bottom boat at some of the area destroyed in a hurricane that was left underwater, it used to be a shark farm. We got back to the dock briefly after and after getting changed and using the toilet we checked the return time back to playa which was 2pm. It was now 1pm and the weather was drizzling and we decided instead of staying until the 5pm ferry in case it keeps raining and we can't do anything, we will head back at 2pm. We headed across the street for something to eat, all the swimming and snorkeling made us hungry. On our way out of the dock the man taking photos in the water came over and showed us our photo which we liked a purchased. We found the worlds smallest Hard Rock Cafe and had a cocktail and shared a mixed chef special entree which was really good, with things like potato skins, onion rings, spring rolls and chicken dippers. After lunch we headed to the ferry and got on board not long after for the 45 minute ride back. When we got back to playa, on the beach were a bunch of really amazing sand sculptures, we checked them pit for a bit then walked back to our hotel. We had showers and chilled out and started to get ready to head to Tulum tomorrow. The night we went to a Cuban restaurant on the strip I have been wanting to try. I loved it, I had the house special which was a traditional Cuban chicken dish cooked in orange served with rice and beans as well as a Mojito and couple of beers, all while listening to a band playing Cuban music which I also love. Bobbie enjoyed the evening but not as much as I did. We didn't have a late night.