Ooooo Barracuda

And so I come to the last Isla Mujeres post. It's so so hard to let go, reliving the trip has been really fun, a trip back in the future is inevitable. A few last important things to note:

Snorkeling and Scuba diving, you have to do one or the other and ideally both while you are there. We snorkeled right out in front of the hotel, mostly seaweed but there were some spotted flounders and other small fish, and down on the Garrafon Reef (even though the park was closed we could still swim along the protected reef). Down there we ran into some snarl-faced barracuda and saw parrot fish that must have weighed 150 lbs (not kidding, they were giant and purple and biting off big chunks of the coral reef), along with many other types of marine life. We went Scuba diving with Cruise Divers, and we had a really good experience. My parents were avid divers when I was a kid and we lived a short drive from a coast crowded with incredible reefs. Consequently I spent most weekends snorkeling on top while they dove down below and then using the last of my dad's air to dive a few feet down on the reef to practice. My better half learned to dive in the murky and frigid waters of a Connecticut lake, and moving back to the States put a cramp in my diving style, so we were excited to have a chance to dive in Isla Mujeres. Since neither of us had been in a while, we signed up for a refresher lesson where we joined by a couple of German guys who had never been diving before. If you've never done any diving you can take a brief lesson and go out for a shallow open water dive with the guide/instructor so you can see whether or not it's really for you. They are used to people who just want to test the waters and they offer several levels of certification as well, so you can do whatever your time, budget and psyche allow. We only did one dive but it definitely whetted my appetite for the next time. It was on the Manchones Reef and the water was about 40' deep, with giant coral outcroppings that you could swim along and over and in between. The water was warm and clear as glass, I was sad to return to the boat when our air got low. The tranquility of the underwater world and the rhythm of my own breathing relaxed me to my core.

One thing we didn't have time to do, that I really regret, is to take a day trip to Isla Contoy an island bird sanctuary just to the north of Isla Mujeres. Reservations need to be made in advance since only a limited number of visitors are allowed each day. Many places on Isla Mujeres can make the arrangements, we could have gone through our hotel, or other tour services on the island. There are also Isla Contoy dive packages where you visit the sanctuary and do a dive in the same day. I guess we had to save something for the next time... adios Isla Mujeres!