Day 4: Snorkeling Adventure
Today was to be our Snorkeling Adventure excursion. It was leaving at about 10:30 from our hotel, so we headed down for breakfast after we got up. Same stuff for breakfast, but it was filling.
A guide from Apple Vacations pulled up in a shuttle to take us to Puerto Moreles where we would be spending the day snorkeling and relaxing on a private beach. It was a short ride, and when we arrived, there were other guests getting settled in from other places, and a line of small boats lined up on the beach. The beach water was VERY warm here, unlike everywhere else! I don't know why, but it was very nice! The beach was okay, pretty but nothing spectacular. Of course, we weren't here for that. We came to see THE FISH!!! And that we would!
The only part I was annoyed with was the fact that we had to wear life jackets during our snorkeling. Apparently its a Mexican law or at least a law locally... The problem with the jackets were that the smallest one was large on me, and kept floating up over my head. I finally managed to tie it down... but it was still kind of annoying. The group provided snorkels, fins, and life jackets - and after a brief talk about the reef and how we were to 'act' around it, what to do, what not to do, etc., we loaded up about 10 people to a boat and headed out to the reef. It was about half mile off the beach, and only took about 5 minutes to get to. Our boat was stocked with beer and sodas/club soda, but no bathroom! You can guess where the bathroom was for some people... huh! The really nice part about this particular tour group is they paid special attention to making sure there weren't too many people snorkeling at the same time in the same place - so that you could swim without getting someone's flipper in your face. About 3 boats to a section, and the other boats went to a different part of the reef. So there were about 25-30 people in the water and the reef section was huge! I didn't have anyone around me. You could wander off on your own, or follow the guide who could identify and point out things to you. Our one guide found some sort of sea spider, and picked him up and let us handle it!! It was really wild! We saw barracuda, sting rays, and one group reported seeing an octopus or 2! I saw a HUGE school of blue angel fish, probably about 200 together swimming along the reef! I hope that photo turns out, I took my underwater camera in hopes of getting a good shot or 2 here and there! I saw some fish that were bigger than me! The coral was beautiful, in many different shapes and sizes, and so were the fish. I saw big ones, little ones, long ones, short ones, man, I sound like Dr. Seuss here! I also happened upon a school of pipe fish floating. These guys are long and skinny, and actually float vertically, and look just like sea grass! I swam up and thought it WAS grass, and went to touch it, and then they MOVED!! I was amazed... these were fish, not grass!!! And of course, I had just taken my last shot, and had to wait till I was back on board to change my film.... ah well. And on top of that, there was NO ONE around me to show them to!! How frustrating!!
After our first 45 minutes, we went out to another part of the reef. We saw more fish, more coral, and then headed back to the beach for lunch. Lunch was good. A rice, with shrimp, fish, veggies, and fruit for desert. One of the better lunches I had all week. Of course you had to get what the guides called your 'bus ticket' for home. They made you line up to get your 'ticket'. When you got to the front, you could finally see what your 'ticket' really was - a tequila slammer! You could even get in line to get an extra ticket - JUST to be sure you wouldn't miss your ride home. HAHA! After we ate, we sat out on the beach and some people played volleyball - waiting for our food to digest before our last trip out to the reef. Again, we loaded up the boats, and went out. Apparently late afternoon is when the fish swim in to the reef for protection during the night, and we saw the most fish at this time. We spent another 45 minutes here, and then back to the beach again. We had another 'bus ticket', some more cervesa, and then we headed home around 5 pm. It was a great day! The best one so far, and the snorkeling was the best I've seen besides Hawaii.
Back at the Moon Palace, we grabbed dinner at Bougambilias - apparently they were serving a mexican dinner a la carte that night - and we had some pretty good mexican food here. This dinner was one of the better ones. It still lacked in flavor, and wasn't nearly as good Mexican as we got downtown, but it was filling and not bad. I had chicken fahitas, and they were pretty good. After dinner we visited the lobby bar again, and off to bed! As you can tell, we are not much for night life and partying at clubs. That's why we stayed at the Moon! Of course we did make good use of the jacuzzi instead...
If you are interested in taking the same tour we did, the company Apple used for this tour is Best Day Tours. You can also go directly to the section of their page with information about prices, times, and things included. If you are staying at the Moon Palace - they will pick you up at the Moon, and take you snorkeling from there. You shouldn't have to go all the way up to Pat O'Briens to meet up with the group. Try to book through Apple Vacations at the hotel, they always do a great job of organizing everything - and the prices are the same whether you book directly through Apple, or through Best Day.
* none of these photos may be used for any reason without permission -
all are copyright, Amy Newcomb or Ray Newcomb, 2000
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Check-In - Lobby, Room, Pool Photos More Pool shots, and Grounds Photos Cancun Palace Beach Photos Snorkeling Photos (Underwater) Mostly advice about downtown Sunset/Sunrise Photos, another day at the Pool Trip to Chichen Itza and Photos Packing up, and Going Home
