Swimming in the sky

I had a rather excellent day today, swimming in the sky.

Cozumel is a Carribean island some 15Km off the coast from Playa del Carmen. I caught the 8am ferry out to the island, a trip which took about 45 minutes. Then I had some time to get an a really tasty cup of coffee before catching a taxi South to a marina. There, I joined a group of snorkellers heading out on a tri-maran to the reefs at the Southern end of the island.

Our first stop was Columbia Reef which was brown and disappointing. Second, was also quite unpreposessing and I was getting worried. But this second stop was a complete winner because we got to swim with sea turtles. There is something timeless about watching a turtle paddle majextically through the water. I could spend forever placidly following turtles around.

Third stop was El Cielo, the sky. This area is called that because it’s white sands are home to countless starfish. It was a throughly beautiful place.

And the final stop was El cielito, or the little sky. There we just stood in the water sipping on a beer while rays glided past our feet. The water is perfectly clear and, when the Sun shines on it, it glows like it is radioactive.

I returned to the main town salty, slightly sunburnt, and very happy. I had a couple of hours to wander around the cute streets – which are touristy, but in a nice way – and then caught the ferry back to playa del Carmen..

Today was a really beautiful day.

(By the way, the underwater photos were taken with my phone a bag contraption – and none of them really reflect the clarity and colour very well. And you try taking photos when you are underwater and not wearing your glasses…!)