We decided to go on a sailboat ride and see animals by snorkeling. The first thing we saw were the manatees. They were so cool! They were round. They had a flat tail and they were gray. The next thing we saw were the nurse sharks! They were also amazing. They were red! To get the sharks around the boat, the captain threw pieces of fish at them. The last thing we saw was one eel. It was a green moray eel. Moray eels bite. I did not see it because it was beyond the reef and the waves were too big, but I got to see the video. We sailed with people from all around the world including Holland, Canada, Switzerland, England, and Australia. -Riley
A couple of manatees sighted as part of the “bonus stop” on our way to Hol Chan.
After spending a few days hanging out in Mahahual, I knew I had to do at least a few dives. One of the main reasons I put Mahahual on our trip plan was because I wanted to visit the Barro Chinchorro but also knew the ride was long and expensive. There are several dive shops all along the beach so I asked around to determine my options. Everything changed when the folks at Pepe told me they were doing a lionfish hunt with two other divers from Mexico City. For the same cost of the trip to BC, I was able to get 3 tanks and dive all day. To be honest, I was sold at the idea of hunting lionfish alone but why not get some value out of the transaction too. The dives were a lot deeper than I expected with the second dive reaching a max depth of 85 feet but the average was around 50 feet for the day. The reef was gorgeous with many walls and hiding spots for the lionfish. I spotted a turtle cruise by me and another diver saw a ray and large Barracuda cross his path. The views alone would have made for a fantastic day of diving but there was more to this trip Each dives consisted of 4 hunters and one person holding the stringer. Once a fish was on a spear, the fish was transferred to the stringer and the hunter went back to work. After three dives, there were over 15 fish in the boat and smiles on every face. That count doesn’t include a couple of really small fish that were killed but fell off the stringer. Since the dive sites were only about 10 minutes from the beach, we were back to the dive shop in short order. The restaurant next to the dive shop was able to cook up some fantastic ceviche that everyone from the boat enjoyed. It was so much fun that is a highlight of my diving experiences.
I might have missed out by not visiting Banco Chinchorro but this is what happens when you have a budget. I will say from speaking with others, the diving in Xcalak was fantastic at the reserve. That dive is only an hour away by boat and Pepe offered that trip as well. More than one shop said that the diving was not exceptionally better at BC than the local sites. However, one of the fellow divers made a great point that, “Not diving Banco Chinchorro when in Mahahual is like not visiting the Eiffel Tower when in Paris.” For the record, we did climb the Eiffel tower when we were in France. We took a cheaper ballon trip to get the city view.
Here are the lionfish filets before and after being transformed into a delicious ceviche.
*Many people don’t realize that the Lionfish is actually an non-native species in the Carribean, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. They are and very bad for the reefs they live on. They have no predators and kill anything they can get their mouth around.
On Friday, September 8, 2017, my mom, my dad and I all went to the Dolphin experience in Costa Maya, Mexico. Dolphins 10,000% DO NOT speak our language, so I had to learn sign language! If you want to give the dolphin a kiss, you put 1 hand on top of the other with your palms facing up. If you want to dance with the dolphin you have to put your hands out as far as you can. The trainer told the dolphin to swim upside down so I can hold on to their fins and swim with them. I learned that dolphins are mammals and they only have a mustache when they are only babies. Dolphins are warm-blooded and have live babies. They also live 20-30 years in the wild, but with people 40-60 years. At first, I was so excited and happy! If was an awesome experience. -Riley
We began our adventure by walking through the forest. There were some Mayan ruins that we visited. We walked on a plank path. When we got to the lagoon, we came upon three girls from Nice (N-eese) France. The girls told us about a long boat tour. We had only heard of the short tour so we decided to go with them. When we got on the boat, it started to rain. We had to put on covers. When we got to the river, we started floating along. We then took another boat ride through the channel of the mangrove. We also saw manatees and a cenote in the lagoon! Last we went to the beach. I rode the waves! -Riley
Boardwalk to lagoon
You can see the channel on Google maps by zooming in. Is starts on the far north-east side of the lagoon:
While we were in Valladolid, we visited a natural area called Xkopék. It had bees that were so tiny that you almost couldn’t see them! You might think it was a mosquito. There was also a wasp nest on the little tree. They would sting you! The reserve was in a dead or dry cenote. There were bees that did not sting. One type of bee is called the “fly bee” because it looks like a fly. The Mayans called it something different but it means the same thing. Another kind of bee that doesn’t sting is called “white tip” bee. It lives in wood. The last kind we called “skunk bee” because if you get too close, they will fly in your hair and make it smell bad.
Yesterday I swam with the sea turtles. The turtles were big. The color was greenish. It also had fish on it’s back! I think they held on by sucking it’s shell. Anyway, turtle in Spanish is “Tortuga”. Now let’s talk about us swimming with the turtles. So, to actually see the sea turtles we snorkeled! I was also very excited. But I was the only one who spotted out two spotted manta rays. -Riley
A cenote is a natural underground pool. The water is rocky, deep and cold. Yesterday, we visited a cenote called X’Canché. It was an open roof. That means it is not in a cave. It wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be. There were also vines and roots hanging down. My favorite part was trying to catch the catfish!
Here is a video of Toni on the rope swing and me chasing the catfish:
