It was going great. We’d kayaked out to an old wreck in the middle of the ocean between the mainland and Isla Mujeres.
Although the sea was pretty choppy & it was hard going I’d held my own, keeping pace with my husband, and loved jumping off into the cool water to explore the wreck.
Getting back into the kayak was challenging but with four guys holding the boat, I stood on my husband’s knee & unglamorously clambered back up into my seated position.
The way back was even choppier and the journey felt like it was taking forever, but I was feeling strong & proud of my kayaking efforts.
And then….
We must have caught a wave at the wrong moment & within a second I plunged into the water, the overturned kayak following suit & my new sunglasses sinking to the ocean floor.
Panic set in. I knew there was no way I was getting back into the kayak in the middle of the ocean with no leverage, & I was acutely aware that I wasn’t in the Andaman Sea anymore! (Thailand reference, where there are no sharks – or none that will kill you).
The guide quickly kayaked over to us shouting words of encouragement. ‘You can do it’ he said in his beautifully vibrant Spanish accent. ‘I believe in you.’
Unfortunately I couldn’t do it, no matter his belief.
He threw me his flippers and I decided to try swimming back to the shore. However after a few strokes I realised that the water was way too rough for me to make any decent headway without completely running out of energy. Plus I was extremely nervous of what might be swimming beneath me! (I feel much safer scuba diving!)
The guide jumped out of his kayak, held his side up to make it easier for me to grab on to, and using the flippers as leverage I was finally able to pull myself back up into the tiny vessel.
I was tired, bruised & embarrassed and silently shed a few tears on our way back in, as I berated myself for not keeping up my gym sessions & allowing myself to become weak & heavy.
Meanwhile my poor husband was battling the rough seas on his own behind us in a two man kayak, which kept lifting its front in protest at the crashing waves.
Poor guy was knackered by the time we reached the beach!
Also unbeknownst to me two poor Mexican lads had been taken completely off course by the winds & had to be rescued!
All in all a fun couple of hours had by all on what’s usually a short & uneventful kayak trip to a local wreck!
This was just one of many exciting events in our first week in Cancun Mexico!
Snorkelling With Whale Sharks
My daughter & I also went on a day trip to snorkel with whale-sharks. She happily saw them, but I, a split second behind her unfortunately completely missed them.
But I did meet two travelling Israeli lads & a Kiwi chap travelling the world with his family for a year.
We spent the entire boat trip swapping ideas, bucket lists, best places to visit etc, so all in all it was a great and fun day out.
Why are Pirates, Pirates?
Because they arrrrrrrrr… 😂
Another highlight was a raucous night out on a pirate ship called The Jolly Roger.
The evening consisted of a show, open bar & dinner and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself this side of the world.
The ‘pirates’ worked flat out to keep us entertained, the music & storyline was top drawer, loads of audience participation and probably a bit too much tequila! (Especially for someone who, as a rule, doesn’t touch the stuff!)
A brilliant and fun night out.
Other than that the Villa Del Palma resort in Cancun is fantastic.
They have music by the pool all day, different performances, pool games, Zumba and loads of activities.
All in all a fabulous first week. The only downside is that it went too fast!
On To Week 2
As I write I’m sitting poolside of our new hotel in the Hotel Zone – The Westin Lagunamar.
So far so good. It’s not quite as ‘Mexican’ as the last hotel. A little more sterile looking and to date no performances or music. But we haven’t explored all the pools yet.
It is however absolutely beautiful & the ocean & beach are stunning!
Tomorrow we take on one of my bucket list items – scuba diving MUSA, the Cancun underwater museum! I can’t wait!
Week 2 update next week! 😁
