Thank goodness for the turtles!

Awesome day today!

My aim was to start early and drive to Akumal Beach to swim with giant turtles! As the bus tours turn up the sand gets kicked up and visability is not the best!

The night before I had to walk all around town in the dreaded heat trying to find a rental car as its peak season at the moment. After about five attempts I finally got one then staggered back to hotel and collapsed!

Next day I arrive at 7.30am to pick up the car and 45 minutes later I am off! Yes you have to allow abit of time in Mexico when renting a car! Everything is done in triplicate followed by lots of time on the computer. Then you sign contracts invoices and heaven knows what else. On some forms I was initialling twice and then signing and of course its all in spanish! And like the wise lawyer I am I signed it all!

Then you do a detailed inspection of the car where every single scratch and dent is pointed out to you and then marked on a car map in triplicate. You then sign that. My map had so many markings I am not sure how they would notice a new scratch!

So off I go........ to Walmart! Yes Walmart to buy cheap snorkle gear. Everywhere else is a rip off so this is where you go! If you hire all the time you end up paying the same and the hire stuff is the bare basics. Belize is meant to have some of the best snorkeling in the world. But more to lug around.

So with my new pink snorkle gear, because females, even adult females, only want pink apparently, I finally set off.

Mexican drivers. The worst. If you dare to make a turn you get honked. If you are not doing twice the speed limit they come up an inch behind you. And they hate letting you in! My god you have to be aggressive and fast! All of this is exhausting me!

Arrive at the beach and set off. Just me in my costume with my snorkle gear - everything else in the car.
First I get stopped and told my fins are illegal! So not wanting my new pink fins to be stolen I go back to the car. I will just point out its 35 degrees with 90% humidity.
I make it back to the beach and start swimming out. After a while I get stopped by the turtle police and am told a life jacket is mandatory. So back I swim find a hire place, get the price then trek back to the car to get my money. These turtles had better be good I am thinking!

Finally life jacket on I am swimming out to sea like there is no tomorrow!

I swim up to groups as that is probably where the turtles are. After a while I finally spot one but there is so much sand it is hard to see. This might be it I am thinking sadly.

I see people further out so I think even if I have to swim to the carribean to get into some clear water I'm doing it! I see a few in clear water with some other people around and then I swim out further.
Thank god for the life jacket I am thinking as its choppy.
Then I finally strike gold. A turtle all to myself in cystal clear water! Brilliant. If you watch long enough it will surface then go back down to keep on feeding. Its fascinating and I can't take my eyes off it! Its about a foot from me when it surfaces.

I could have spent the whole day staring at them but I had cenotes to visit! Will cover them in my next entry!Read more