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Published: June 20th 2017
Red snapper
Red snapperGeo: 20.4286, -86.8792
Last night we sailed a south-easterly course across the Gulf of Mexico to the northern coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula then a south-westerly course across the Caribbean Sea to the Isla of Cozumel. Because we were delayed leaving Houston, we are about an hour behind schedule arriving here. No matter to us. Our first port of call is a place we've visited before and are comfortable doing our own thing.
We had a leisurely breakfast, packed up our snorkeling gear, grabbed a couple of extra pool towels and walked ashore.
A cab ride later, and less than 5 miles from the ship, we were at Chankanaab "Adventure Beach Park". It is actually a state park with a lot of stuff to do. There is a sea lion show and education area, a crocodile exhibit (some photos below), manatees, a small botanical garden, swimming pool, zip-lining, swimming with the dolphins, an area of archaeological prehispanic replicas, several restaurants, dive shops, and, of course, snorkeling. We're here for the snorkeling. :-)
I know the place sounds like a total tourist trap but it really isn't, and though there were 6(!) cruise ships in port it wasn't very crowded.
This is the
Gorgeous!
Gorgeous! first snorkeling we've done since our scary incident in Maui so we were both a bit apprehensive. We walked down the beach to a calm area, went down the wide stairs, put on our fins and slipped into the water. Brrr...that water felt cold but it wasn't long before we felt quite comfortable, physically and mentally.
It was overcast for most of our swim and right after I told Jeff I was getting cold, the sun came out. You'll see from our underwater photos that it was overcast. The fish live was wonderful and we had such a good time. Jeff spotted a stingray and pointed it out to me and a couple of other snorkelers. He is very good at spotting!
AND today he did his first ever surface dive! One minute he's asking me how to do it and the next thing I know he's mask down and fins up! I couldn't believe it! I am seriously thrilled and proud of him. (He pooh-poohs what I know to be an accomplishment, and I do hope he is proud of himself.
We eventually got out of the water. There are free outdoor showers so I shower the salt
Big school
Big school (Silversides?) off and rinse our gear in clean water. We walk around the park to dry off. Down to the dolphin swim area (too pricey for us!), through one of the shops - we aren't shoppers, we went in for the air conditioning. Then, though we've been here before, we walked through the gardens, said "hello" to a friendly iguana, stopped to watch the crocodiles do crocodile stuff, and wandered through the archaeological replicas, returning to our beach chairs to enjoy watching the ocean and a cerveza (beer). I hope you enjoy the photos below.
A quick taxi ride back to the pier where we laid our plan to buy a couple bottles of wine (permitted to do) and a bottle of gin (definitely NOT permitted) to take back to the ship. The wine was no problem. We found a small glass bottle of gin with a metal top. Hmmm... Will that make it through the metal detector? Jeff slipped it into his shorts pocket and away we went. YES! Booze successfully smuggled on board! Hahaha
We got cleaned up for real, that shower felt great and while I was sitting here writing Jeff disappeared. He reappeared carrying a bowl of guacamole,
Jeff spotted this stingray!
Jeff spotted this stingray! a bowl of pico de gallo, and a big bowl of corn chips. What a great guy! A nice late afternoon snack to hold us until dinner.
Tonight is the first night we've eaten in one of the ship's dining rooms. We shared a table with two other couples and had a great time.
I had a salad and some delicious salmon; Jeff started with a red snapper ceviche and his main course was sautéd scallops. We did have to hurry through dessert (sugar free coconut cake with raspberry drizzle for me and cream brûlée for Jeff) to make the 8'o'clock show on time.
The comic, Darrell Joyce, was funny and happily did not do the typical cruise ship jokes. We enjoyed him.
Time for bed. Tomorrow we are in Roatan, Honduras. Can't wait!
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jkutzik
non-member comment
Looks like a wonderful day and a great way to erase the memory of that last scary dive! Tell Jeff that the Jacqueline Windspear event last night was well attended - 315 - and received.