The Gift of Adventure

Well, Nikki and Zoe set foot in a country other than the US for the first time in their short little lives. After alighting, we found the dive agency and were escorted to their boat. Zoe was full of excitement and kept saying, “I’m so happy. I’m so happy.” She repeatedly stood to photograph the turquoise waters. It was a beautiful day; there were sporadic clouds, which occasionally floated past, interrupting the intense Caribbean sun. There was little wind and the surf was mild.

Our boat delivered us to Palancar Reef, where our shipmates were divided into three groups of seven. Dave took responsibility for Zoe, and Nikki was assigned to our watch. Kim and I spent a few minutes making sure Nikki understood all the expectations. She made it clear that she was very interested in seeing a turtle. I didn’t want her to be disappointed, so I let her know that she might not see one. I’ve been diving for 35 years and have seen turtles on a fraction of the dives I’ve made. She was still optimistic, as we dawned our gear. One by one, each diver took a giant stride into the blue abyss. I was the last one in, and we quickly descended. Before we even reached the bottom, I saw the guide pointing upward. I lifted my gaze to meet the silhouette of a large turtle paddling above us. I tapped Nikki and pointed. She looked back at me and produced a very satisfied thumbs-up. But the show wasn’t over. Another turtle came gliding by before we could get ourselves horizantial. It appeared that we were in for a nice dive. The site is called Palancar Caves, which was fairly descriptive. I was initially worried about the kids maneuvering around the fragile coral and sponges, but they found their way like experienced divers. The coral heads loomed high overhead, as we kicked through holes and crevices, exploring the growths and protruding sponges. Yellows, reds, and greens popped from the coral skeleton, with a variety of fishes seemingly dancing around the biodiversity. As I rounded a corner, the wall dropped below me and from the deep blue came a rounded figure. The turtle soon came into detail and beat a path right to my camera lens. I switched on the video and took in the graceful movements of this creature. With little apparent effort, the turtle came toward me and then took a hard right at the coral head, floating upward to a crevice in the structure. And it was gone. I turned back to join the group, following them in and out of tunnels and touring along the wall. Nearing our safety stop, a sinking watch caught my attention. I kicked furiously to grab the wristband, snagging it in my fist just before it was out of reach. I recognized it as Nikki’s but couldn’t imagine how she could have knocked it off. As we surfaced and made our way to the boat, the word “magical” came to mind. I was happy for the kids to have experienced such a beautiful dive so early in their sporting career. For me, it made me eager to plan a dive vacation sooner than later.

During our surface interval, I asked Nikki about her watch. She recounted, “I looked down and saw it sinking and wondered who lost their watch.” Obviously, she didn’t know how it got lose, since she didn’t even realize it was hers. Consequently, I demanded Zoe’s watch from her to prevent a second loss. Our next dive took us to Paso de Cadrel. It was disappointing only because the first dive was so beautiful and relaxing. The drift dive kept us relatively shallow, floating over coral mounds set into a sandy plateau. Fish were more abundant on this dive, but no turtles were sighted. We floated by a giant grouper hiding under an outcropping. I flicked on the video and slowly kicked into the crevice. I kept expecting him to swim off but he didn’t spook. He stood firmly until I could almost touch him before he lazily meandered across the camera lens. As he swam away, a school of wrasse came through the tunnel in the opposite direction. I followed them out of the hole and surfaced on the back side of a large coral mound. In the distance, I could see the bubbles from the other divers, so I expended some energy to return up and over the coral. We continued to move north, along the reef, frequently meeting large fish and hidden crustaceans. The guide pointed out barracuda, lobster, lion fish (boo), and a rock fish. Forty-five minutes blew by, and it was time to abandon the watery universe for the sunshine and fresh air.

Once our diving excursion was completed, we met up with Deb and Kathryn over some guacamole on the pier. We spent a bit of time shopping before boarding the boat and closing out our stop in Mexico. But the fun wasn’t over. After dinner, we headed to the bar for a cutthroat game of “Name that 80’s tune.” Dave and I were feeling confident with our abilities, but Kim, Nikki, and Deb were there for back-up. As we got close to the end, Kathryn and Zoe came to add their input. We managed to get 17 of 19 songs correct, but we weren’t certain it was enough to win. The host began, “Who got 10 right?” And there were many howls and hoots. “15?” brought fewer responses. “16?” he asked and then “17?” There were still other players left, so we were about to admit defeat when he asked, “Who got 18 right?” Nobody answered. That’s right, we were tied with a couple of other teams and went to sudden death. A few songs later, and we walked away with prizes. Although the prize was lame, the intrinsic satisfaction of the team effort made us all happy. Especially Dave.Read more