Is this love that I'm feelin'?

Yesterday morning, on a whim, we decided to join our Canadian friends, Dan and Lisa, on a sailing/snorkeling trip to Mexico Rocks, Tres Cocos and one other unnamed place after they asked us to go along.  I say on a whim because the boat was leaving near 9 AM and we found out about the trip at approx. 8:45 AM.  What the heck, we decided to join them.  The trip was to last from 9 AM until 1 PM which fit our schedule perfectly since we had another snorkeling trip planned to Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley leaving from three docks down at 2 PM.  That would give us just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat at Wayo's and hop back on the boat.

However, things didn't quite turn out as planned.  We set sail north to Mexico Rocks with the aid of the motor (yea, it was certainly cheating to the avid blow boater) and reached our destination within the hour.  Mr. Baxter, a native Belizean, was the Captain helped by Ricky, a Hoduran (more on these two fellows later).  Once we arrived at Mexico Rocks, Ricky hopped in the water with us to guide us around while searching for conch.  The water at this location was about 15 feet deep which was a welcome change from the very shallow snorkeling we did on our fishing trip.  Here we saw large plumes of coral teeming with life.  The diversity of life was amazing. 

After about 30-40 min. we pulled anchor and sailed south to Tres Cocos with the wind doing all the leg work this time.  This time Mr. Baxter led the expedition with the goal to find a lobster.  Another nice snorkeling area similar to that of Mexico Rocks and no such luck on the lobster. 

This is where things get interesting, if you will.  From Tres Cocos, we had a pretty long journey by sail to the next snorkeling location which allowed Mr. Baxter and Ricky (a sure rastafarian, wearing Bob Marley gear and dreads) to get into a deep conversation in Creole about something.  Well, first of all, they offered us weed and asked us what we did for a living.  After politely turning down the smoke, I told him that I worked in civil engineering and that Carly was a cop working for the DEA!!  hahaha.  His face turned quickly serious but I settled the tension down quite quickly after telling him I was joking.  At any rate, Mr. Baxter went on telling us about this situation he was in with a priest from Hondorus stealing some of his money (he's in the pearl and gold business).  After a long and confusing story, the one-sided conversation finally ended and I'm pretty sure that someone is going to die.  More on this story verbally...

At any rate, we finally reached the final snorkeling destination and this one was extremely shallow!  Ricky hopped in the water with us to take us through the coral passageways.  We were both much more comfortable in the shallows this time as we had a guide and more experience.  Mr. Baxter warned us back at Mexico Rocks not to touch any coral and drove the point home again this time since it was so shallow.  And by shallow, I mean we could literally touch the bottom with a partially bent arm in some areas.  We were no longer swimming above the the fish and coral but within it.  It was something of a breathtaking experience.  More fish, a Spotted Eagle Ray (more commonly known as a Manta Ray) and our first SHARK, which freaked the hell out of Carly!!!  It was a small one, however, as it was only about 3.5 - 4 feet long.  Dan also had a small run-in with the coral and was scrathed pretty badly on his back and arm.  It looks soft but supposedly is as sharp as a knife.  Well, Dan found out. 

After returning to the boat, Mr. Baxter dumped some anti-infectant on it and said "Don't worry, Man. It will be okay." in his best Creole accent! From here, we were quickly returned home at approximately 2:10 PM; 10 min late for our other snorkeling trip.  We were, to say the least, snorkeled out for the day and asked to reschedule the Hol Chan/ Shark Ray Alley trip until Saturday morning.  As is ordinary here in San Pedro, our request was granted with no problem, man.

We showered, grabbed lunch with Dan and Lisa at Fido's (pronounced Fee-Doze, as their shirts say) where Kristian made me a Pink Lemonade as a joke, walked back to the cabana and fell asleep to Bob Marley's original rendition of "Is this love" playing down the street. 

In the evening we headed down town to get our first taste of pupusa's; another recommendation of Javier who works here at the cabana.  They were fantastic, as is everything else here on the island.  Back to the cabana and, after struggling with the internet, we crashed for the evening. 

Here I sit today on the lounge chair watching the sunrise over the reef while all the children walk by to school; boys to the south and girls to the north.  I'll have to inquire about this today. 

Today is going to be a chill day for us as we are planning to rent a golf cart (San Pedro's main form of transportation) and check out the island north and south.  Check back later for today's good times.

Oh and yes, this is love that I'm feeling.  I LOVE this island!!

Salud!
Matthew and Carly