Swimming With the Fishies

I happened upon a discovery whilst in the land of fruity drinks and suntans. It was a discovery that opened up a whole new world for me...

It is a little known fact that I am scared to swim with fish. That's right folks, you heard it here first. They say acknowledging the problem is the first step, you know in all of those "12 steps to over coming your fear of fish nibbling on your toes" programs. I have always fought the fear and tried not to let it keep me from water adventures. When I go out on a lake and happen to fall off of a tube or wakeboard or jet ski or other fun lake traversing object, I tread water calmly all the while trying not to imagine what could be lurking beneath me. And then, I'm back on said water traversing object quick as a water ninja, before the nibbling of the toes can begin.

Well, in Cancun my discovery was this...I'm only afraid of swimming with fish when I can't SEE them. I attribute it to my overactive imagination and all the stories of toe nibbling monsters of the deep that I've heard over the years. Snorkeling was my whole new world, and I, like my favorite mermaid Ariel, thought about bursting into song (I refrained since I've heard that lungs and sea water are ardent enemies.)

And, the next day I went swimming in some crystal clear water when we went on an island adventure, and I felt no toe nibbling anxiety whatsoever. I can't promise I won't fall off the wagon the next time I'm at the lake though, have you heard what lives down there!?

We got to drive these little speed boats out to our snorkeling spot. This is Matt's "Don't mess with me in my Mexican speed boat" look.

This is me NOT being scared of swimming with the fish!

Snorkel Matt. We had a cool guide that let us take our life jackets off. And, I swam and swam and swam and at one point when I came up, I was in the middle of the ocean and couldn't see any land or any people. At that point I thought I would avoid being the subject of a Mexican rescue drama and decided I better return to my group. On the way, I saw a sea turtle! Naturally, I dove deep and chased him. Unfortunately, the picture is quite blurry due to my swimming speed and stealth...and the increasing lack of oxygen in my body.

After our snorkeling adventure ended, we headed back to the hotel and each took a nap. Ocean swimming was enough to tire us out! That night we enjoyed a fabulous Mexican dinner with the whole clan. After dinner, a few in our group ordered Mayan coffee, and man alive what a production that turned out to be. It is a drink that involves some burning of the ingredients, so lucky for us we got dinner and a show!

Our group of girls after dinner, minus Aly and Colleen.

The following day, we took a trip out to Isla Mujeres and got to take a boat trip around the island. Again, my words aren't adequate to describe the beauty of this place, so I'll let pictures do most of the talking.

We got to see a bunch of dolphins playing in their natural habitat!

This is the beach where we swam. You might recognize it from the Corona commercials.

Notice how you can see my shadow on the floor of the Ocean...nothing scary down there!

Matt had a bit of trouble getting his tooshie to float. He likes to think it's his buns of steel.

We had fun playing with the underwater camera.

It was such a fun and relaxing island excursion, can I go back please?! We did a little shopping after our boat tour. And, what kind of shoppers would we be if we didn't bargain a little? When in Rome...err, Mexico...

Happy because I got a good deal on a hand painted Nativity set.

My stomach churned with a bit of nervousness when Matt stopped at this street cart to get a special Mexican treat. It was like a crepe but crispy. With Nutella and bananas, it was by far the best dessert we had while we were there and we wished we would have bought more than one. Matt almost went back to the stand, but he would have missed the boat back to Cancun, and since I'm a fan of having him with me, he acquiesced.

So, I guess I overcame two fears while in Cancun! Eating from a Mexican street cart and swimming with the fishies...obviously Cancun made me a better person so, much to my chagrin, I have to return!