Day 5
Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel
My first question to a Snorkeling
tour company was – Can non-swimmers snorkel?
This was the day my wife was most
excited for in this trip and the one that I dreaded the most. We were going to
snorkel in Cozumel, an island just off Playa Del Carmel.
My first attempt at learning
swimming was when I was 9. It was in Pondicherry, India during my summer
vacation. After initial few days of playing around in the shallow parts of the
pool, my trainer took me to the deeper part and in the process, I drowned and spent
some time under the water until I was taken out to safety. Here began my water
phobia! Although I ended up learning how to save myself from drowning in a pool
later, water or swimming wasn’t something that I enjoyed. After going thru countless
YouTube videos and travel blogs about snorkeling and whether a non-swimmer could
do it, I decided it was ok to jump into the Atlantic and it was an experience
worth writing about!
The day before, we did some quick
shopping on the 5th avenue in Playa for some bio degradable sun
screen (our bit to save the fishes :)
), checked out the pickup point for the ferry to Cozumel, bought some snacks
and a 5-liter water can. In the street where everyone carried alcohol around,
we were walking back to our hotel room with groceries! This wasn’t the time for
parties. I was mentally getting prepared for my adventure next day.
The day started early, we quickly
filled up some water bottles and headed out to the ferry stop. We took the 8 am
ferry and reached Cozumel by around 8.40. we were told that the ferry was a
brand new one and it was the third day or so since it was being used. It was
very good.
From the pier in Cozumel, we took
a shared cab for around 20 pesos per person to Marina Fonatur, which was around
5-10 minutes on the road along the coast. It was a docking place and our boat,
Apolo was waiting for us. It was also waiting for 6 other people who were part
of the tour with us. We waited for a while to see if they were going to turn
up. Unfortunately for the tour company, they did not come. But, it worked well
for us. It became a private tour and more importantly for me, I was excited
that the guide could help me out more easily if I was in trouble in the ocean!
Apolo was a bigger boat meant for
10 or more people, so we took a smaller one and headed out. Cuchi gave us our snorkeling
gear and most importantly the life vest. He gave some info on how to breathe
using the snorkel and we were all set to take the dip.
After all the research, it was now
time to find out if a non-swimmer can really survive this! We reached the first
spot. It was a shallow part of the ocean and it was meant to ease us into the
snorkeling experience. Swetha jumped first and I was next. I put my mask, bit
the snorkel and slowly jumped into the water from the edge of the boat. It took
a minute or so to feel confident that the life vest will keep me up. With
snorkel you try to look under the water with a particular breathing pattern. I
learned that, but not before drinking some salt water. But after 5 minutes or
so, I was relaxed. I trusted my vest now, could breathe better and focused on
the beautiful world, under water for longer time.
We saw a wide variety of fishes
in the next two spots. It was a beautiful experience. Few times, a small group
of fishes came swimming towards us and just when I was preparing to defend
myself, they moved out. I was surprised to see so much activity just below the
water surface, which looks so still from above. It was truly a different world!
After two hours of snorkeling in
three different areas, we were done with the tour. I thought I would be in a
trance like Hrithik in Zindagi na milegi dubara.. but, for me it was a feeling
of Yay! I’m still alive plus the amazement of the views I just saw. Truly, no
camera can capture the beauty and the colors and if you are going for the first
time, ditch your camera and focus on the experience. I felt I was partly distracted
on bringing back my phone in working condition (of course! it was in a water
proof case).
Snorkeling was a calorie burning
experience. It was now time to get some food! Cuchi dropped us at a resort
along the beach and after quickly cleaning up our plates we were back to
touring the island. We walked around the places near the pier and found an
interesting mango - chilli flavored ice cream.
Back to Playa Del Carmen
We were back to Playa by evening
and were greeted to this awesome sunset view. The beach was buzzing with a lot
of people and a show was going on as well.
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| Sunset at Playa pier |
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| Playa Beach |
After freshening up, we were out
to explore the 5th avenue of Playa. We did some souvenir shopping. Got
some tequila and after walking down the street for a while, found a good restaurant
for dinner. We slowly grazed our food enjoying the views of the street from our
table. It was close to 9.30 – 10 pm and were walking past a travel agency
stall. They had half a day trips to Tulum which was perfect for our next
morning as we dint have any plans until our check in at Cancun at 3 pm.
Coming up
Day 6,7 & 8
Previous blogs from this trip
