Rich and Cat's Travels: Mexico

So we had arrived at Las Vegas airport with plenty of time to spare due to having to return the car several hours before our flight but we know how to keep ourselves busy in an airport and when we finally saw our check in open we were second in the queue. While we were waiting Rich heard the dreaded words from one of the check in guys “oversold flight”. Glad to be there early we thought, hopefully this wouldn’t affect us. We got to check in and they told us they had oversold the flight and been given a smaller plane so they were trying to find other ways of getting people to their destinations. They offered to send us on American Airlines, rather than AreoMexico, meaning we would transfer in Miami and get there an hour earlier. We gladly agreed and off we went to check in with American Airlines and we managed to get to Cancun with no more issues. Once there we had to get a coach to the bus terminal then walk to the Ferry and get a boat to the island we were staying on. It was a fairly long journey by the time we arrived at our hotel but we couldn’t check in till 3 so we dumped our stuff and headed out in the blazing sun to explore the town and have some lunch. We found a very local little canteen were we managed to order our first bit of Mexican food and then wandered around town till we could check in and chill out for a bit. It was a Sunday so the town had a relaxed vibe to it and it seemed to be quiet. One guy even walked past us and said “its great to be off work and be wearing your girlfriends sunglasses”, we are not sure what it means as neither him or Rich were wearing women’s sunglasses but he seemed happy and chilled. Once refreshed we went back out into town had some beer and food and decided what we were going to do for the next few days.

Over the next couple of days we headed out to various beaches and snorkelled (even while it rained for two of the days) and we also went on a snorkelling tour of one of the outer reefs. We managed to see 2 turtles, 3 eagle rays and so many fish. It was lots of fun. We also explored the island a little and went to a Mayan temple, which was very small but around 1500 years old. We also saw some other wildlife on our drives including a huge lizard and possibly a coti (which looks a bit like a lemur) which ran across the road in front of us.

I should mention more about the tour as it was eventful. We started with just us and another young couple who had rented snorkel gear and had obviously never snorkelled before, but seemed to have some common sense so we thought they would be fine. Anyway we headed out on the boat to the reef but soon we turned around to pick up 4 more people, who turned out to be older Americans who all had their own expensive looking gear. I got chatting to one of them and he had snorkelled at the reef a couple of times so we all headed back out to the reef. Once there we all got ready and jumped into the water and that is where the problems began. One of the older Americans (not the one I spoke to) had not held his mask as he jumped in meaning it fell off and fell to the bottom of the ocean. The tour guide was very good at swimming underwater and managed to swim down and get it (it wasn’t too deep). Once he gave it him back and told him how to put it on properly we started swimming but it soon became apparent that he was struggling and needed his life vest inflating. His wife was also struggling and had not attached her snorkel which the guide had to do for her. Once we started swimming the guy kept complaining and essentially had to be pulled along on the inflatable ring as he struggled with the swimming. The guide kept going for 5 minutes before saying that he had to go back on the boat so the tour could continue and he could join later. Once we got rid of him we managed to speed up a little, although the older Americans did lag behind. Once we finished at the reef we jumped back on the boat and headed out to another reef but while we were on the boat the guide had to give the two Americans new masks as theirs, while expensive, did not fit properly. Once back in the water (all of us) we headed off on the new reef and apart from the slow speed everyone managed to get through it all. This just proves the point you can have all the gear and no idea.

On our last day in Mexico we were due to go swimming with whale sharks but due to some bad weather out to sea we couldn’t go so we just chilled out by the pool in the sun, ate lots of Mexican food and packed our bags as it is an early start in the morning.