Reef snorkeling in Tulum

After a morning amongst the Aztec ruins of Tulum, we make our way down to the beach. We sign the waivers, then climb into the boat. All eyes are on the dark clouds before us.

Slowly we motor on out to the reef. All eyes are full of apprehension and excitement, yet silence clings to the air around us. Suddenly a huge wave comes seemingly out of nowhere and crashes head first into the boat, drenching all of us onboard. We scream with delight after a quick realization that no one drowned. The boat stops.

The time to snorkel has come. I am feeling pretty good this time around, but realize that one shark fin will put me in “flight” mode rather quickly. The dark clouds have disappeared and the warm sun is shining all around us. I secure my mask and jump in.

I bob up and down in the ocean like a yellow bath tub duckie while my nerves calm themselves and I get oriented to the underwater surroundings. Dark shapes move quickly below me.

I chase a school of colorful fish over coral reefs when a large turtle stops feeding to look at me. I take in a gulp of salt water during my surprise gasp in seeing the creature, and have to quickly surface before I throw up. When I submerge again, the turtle is gone.

Before I realize it, our time snorkeling on the reef has come to an end. Some in our group fared better than others, and I am happy to report I was one of those that fared well.

The last day of 2018 is halfway over.