Today was my first full day in Puerto Morelos and therefore my first planned day of snorkeling! We actually ended up driving to la Playa de Carmen to catch a ferry over to Cozumel – a small island known for its snorkeling. It was here that a little boat took us along the coast of the island, dropping us off at certain points to explore the reef. For our first day, we saw a lot of different fishes; our trip was divided into three stops:

The first stop was my least favorite since it was a deeper part of the reef, so we weren’t particularly close to the smaller fish dwelling in the coral crevices. On the plus side, a large school of Chub (I think that’s what they were) swam right through us as we got off the boat – our first fish encounter of the trip!

Our next stop was in a much shallower section making it easier to dive down and really invade the fishes’ personal space, which I did repeatedly over the course of the trip; especially when I found a Squirrel fish hiding in a small coral cave. I made several dives to that small formation to visit the fish, which it may or may not have enjoyed – he never came out to greet me and made a bee-line for his hiding spot after my first pass, which leads me to believe that he hadn’t expected company nor did he feel like entertaining. It was alright though, I had an enjoyable time just pointing and grinning at the Squirrel fish.

The highlight of our third and final stop was a huge Great Barracuda. I’m terrible at estimating, so I won’t wager a guest lest I under- or overestimate but believe me, this was a big fish, and thick too! It wasn’t like other barracuda I’ve seen that are pretty silver, this one had a dull grayish-brown coloring.

Tomorrow we’re staying close to home (or at least our temporary hotel home) and taking a boat out to the adjacent reef. However, the reef isn’t that far away, so I’ll probably take a trip or two out during spring break come Wednesday. It feels so good to be snorkeling again! I had forgotten the lightness of floating and the feeling of swimming alongside such incredible fish. Today was really a fantastic day that I hope to repeat several more times before my semester here in Mexico comes to a close.

Saturday marked our half-way point as well. I am officially more than half-way through my study abroad experience. Time is rushing by so fast, and even though I miss my home and have big plans for my return, I really need time here to slow down – I don’t want the trip to be over yet!