Our Family Snorkel Trip in Cozumel in March - Part 2
A while ago, I wrote my first post about our snorkel trip in Cozumel in March of this year.
You can find it here:
Our Family Snorkel Trip in Cozumel in March - An Eagle Ray!
In this post, I'd like to share a little more of our experience there.
My sister and my eldest daughter came for a visit in March, and we visited a cenote, and on this particular trip, we went to Cozumel for a snorkel trip.
We'd been on one before, but this was a different tour, and to slightly different snorkel spots.
I preferred this one over the fist one. So let's get right to it!
First stop: Palencar reef
The day started out with rain, but it soon got much better. However, this first stop was in the rain. But it didn't make any difference, everything was just as visible as without rain.
Our tour guide fed the fish a little, so they'd come closer to us. One bumped into my mask!
Here's an image of my youngest son and his fishy friends.
He is the most avid diver/snorkeler in the family. He loves anything that has anything to do with water. He's just like me in that regard. Put me on a boat or in the water (clear water, I might add) and I'm a happy camper. He's exactly the same. He wants to free dive, and to be honest, he's well on his way with it. He also has no fear, so while I'd have moments where I'd sit one out, he'd probably be swimming with sharks if he could...
Second Stop: Colombia Reef (not to be mistaken with the country)
At this second reef, there were completely different kinds of fish. The kids saw a moreen eel, but I didn't see it. However, I did see this guy...and then I realized there were three of them.
They kinda look the same, you know. These beauties are nurse sharks. Mostly harmless and friendly.
Of course, they could hurt you if they wanted to, but lucky for us, they don't really want to.
These following images are video screenshots. I'll show the videos in another post.
As you can see, the shark is just minding its own business. Nurse sharks are bottom feeders and prefer crustaceans like lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. Expensive taste! And the same taste as me! I'd prefer the same kind of seafood banquet if I had the chance.
Here's one nurse shark following his buddy.
Here are some more images of different kinds of fish, all found in Colombia reef.
I'm not 100% sure, but I believe the bigger one was a barracuda. Good on their own. Not so much in a group haha.
I had to look this one up, but it's a French angelfish. Very pretty!
There were more photos of the creatures in this reef, but I will keep those for a next post.
I'll also have more images from another reef, and my favorite place in this region. So please come back for more!
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nothing as swimming with the sharks! great post! Cozumel is on my travel list. tks for sharing this experience
I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, well, I like these sharks, but there are dare devils who dive with bull sharks, and that is just a few steps too far for me haha. I do however want to swim with whale sharks one day.
Cozumel is wonderful, especially for snorkeling and diving. But there are so many other beautiful islands in our area as well. So when you do come out this way, let me know and I'll give you some tips!
Wow! Great photos! I like looking at your photos of the fish and the clear water! I, however, would not be able to get in the water and snorkel! Ha! I've tried and it freaked me out to have fish that close to me! It looks like your son is a natural!
To be honest, I've had panic attacks in the past when attempting to scuba dive. And then later as well when snorkeling. Then I started using certain breathing techniques (for normal life and for divers) and it helped me tremendously. I love having the fish around haha, so maybe that makes a difference.
My son is a natural. He wants to free dive, and he's set his mind to it, so he's practicing a lot. I've done certain breathing exercises with him, and within hours, he went from being able to stay under water for 34 seconds to 1 minute and 10 seconds. So that's only just the beginning! He still has a few years to grow and build strength. He taught himself how to swim too, and now he swims faster than any of us. Home & world schooling for the win!
Wow! That's great - what an improvement in his breathing! And so cool he taught himself to swim!
Yes, I know! It's incredible. And it was only a few hours later. He got really frustrated not being able to hold his breath for longer than 30-34 seconds or so. So I told him we'd take a break and do some breathing exercises. So we did. We did 2x 15 minutes of Wim Hof's breathing exercises (and later, I found out it was for intermediates, not beginners). I wanted to call it quits for the day but he had set his mind to doing this, so we went back into the pool, and the very first time he did 1 minute and 10 seconds, and then again, and again around the same mark. Now this is 2 years ago, so he was just 8 years old. It's amazing what the power of the mind can do if you believe in yourself. I'm trying to keep this in him, because the older we get, we all seem to lose it. So I'm doing my very best to keep him believing in his powers and a little of magic haha, so he won't lose it.
As for the swimming. He did take some advice from me, but then developed his own style. And I realized that it's not up to me to tell him how to do it, as long as he was learning. I mean, whoever came up with the breast stroke and breast crawl etc. also just made it up at some stage. My daughter said: 'But he swims like a dog.' I was like: 'It doesn't matter, because this little dog swims faster than any of us!' And I was right not to worry, because he doesn't swim like a dog anymore, it's somewhere between the breast crawl and breast stroke, and he swims really fast under water, but is still faster than me with his head above water. The only thing I keep pressing on is that the ocean is not always friendly, and that even the best swimmers can get into trouble sometimes. As long as he heeds those warnings, I think it's all good.