So on this last five day cruise, we were joined by the members of the Chicago Comedy Co. (CCC). Steve, owner of CCC, took everybody on a cruise...he chose this ship because his ex-business partner, Andy, is on this ship. I also used to be a member of CCC so this was a great chance to see all the people I used to work with. We had dinner together the first night at the Summer Palace - it was, as usual, great.
In Cozumel, they went on an excursion to the Senotes (spelling unsure). It was too far away for us to go on a show day so we wandered around Cozumel a bit and then went to the fabulous Pancho's Backyard. Pancho's was recommended by Sue Salvi & Paul Grondy. Sue and Paul were two of the first performers on the cruise ships as well as inaugural cast members of ImprovAcadia. The food was incredible and the atmosphere was fun. They also had a great gift store.
The next day Steve had booked an excursion for CCC and we joined in. We started the morning by getting on the first tenderboat (tenderboat: a small boat used to disembark people when you can't dock) and then taking a cab to the Municipal Belize Airport. The airport consisted of a tiny building where they gave us our boarding passes which were laminated pieces of paper that said, "Boarding Pass." Then when it was time to get on the flight, they came and got us and took us out to the plane. Security amounted to a rope that kept us from walking in front of the plane. As we were boarding, the desk lady asked that three of the ladies sit in the back of the plan. So three of us had to sit on this small seat that was at the head of the tail section. The plane took off from a tiny runway that was right by the ocean.
We flew to the lovely town of San Pedro where we were greeted by our guide, Gilbert, who took us by boat to the Ecologic Divers dock. There we got to get any equipment we needed for snorkeling and (for those who needed it) scuba gear. Then we took off to the tip of the second largest coral reef in the world.
Our first stop was Manta Ray & Shark Alley. This area was named by the fishermen who used to drop the scraps from the day's catch overboard which attracted sharks and Manta Rays. They no longer fish in this area but the name stuck. When we got to the site, there were Nurse Sharks and Southern Rays as well as hundreds of other fish....Jacks, Black Grouper, Striped Grouper, Tang, Parrot, Squirrel, Damsels and lots of others....The sharks didn't stay and were gone by the time I got in the water.
Look closely and you can see a Nurse Shark!
Nurse sharks tend to be unaggressive unless provoked. So we did not provoke them and in fact we kept our distance. The Southern Rays are also unaggressive but again we kept our distance. The sharks and the rays were curious as were the other fish but for the most part we just looked at each other. At one point, one of the rays did swim underneath me and then stopped and looked at me for awhile while I looked back. When I first got in the water, I had a bit of an anxiety attack. It was all so much, I was in the ocean surrounded by fish some of which were sharks and I started to hyperventilate. Larrance stayed close and the guides kept asking me if I was okay, I would say I was okay and then go back to freaking out....quietly. Finally I got my overloaded brain to calm down and my body followed. Then I got my snorkel on!! I explored a large area. One thing I did avoid was the guides who kept grabbing the rays and trying to make everyone touch them. I found I was more comfortable away from the group but I wasn't alone because Larrance was always right by me.
I did scare the hell out of one of my fellow snorkelers at one point. There were a group of Jack fish swimming with us the whole time. For the most part they kept their distance but at one point one of the boats dropped a fish to attract them... and they all took off all around me...they came very close. So I screamed inside my snorkel, partly out of fear and partly out of excitement. The scream travelled through my snorkel so Sean thought I was dying. He whirled around to look at me only to see me giving him the okay sign. We surfaced and I apologized and he just looked at me and shook his head. Frankly I was alternately thrilled and a little scared the whole time. After a bit, we got back on the boat and left that spot to go to a spot closer to the reef...
Along the way we stopped to look at a Loggerhead turtle who by his size was about 120 years old....he was surrounded by about 30 Southern Rays. The turtle was there visiting a fisherman that I guess he visits everyday because the fisherman dumps his scraps overboard right there. Loggerhead turtles are testy and vicious types so we weren't allowed in the water.
This part of the reef we had a guide because we were in a national park. So we snorkeled in a group. When we got there, the sharks were back and I decided that I wanted to be in the water with them. By the time I got off, they were gone again. So I paddled around waiting for the rest of the group to get geared up and back into the water. I was floating looking at a Black Grouper when suddenly right underneath me a Nurse Shark swam by....it was scarily beautiful and then I realized there were two others nearby. They were hanging out....just hanging out being sharky.
So we swam around the rest of the reef and saw so many things. The reef itself was incredibly alive - there were blue, green and purple coral. We saw enormous brain, fan, fire and elk horn coral. One of the most amazing things we saw was a spotted eagle ray. An eagle ray has the body of a ray but the head of a dolphin....well kind of.... He hung out about sixty feet below us. Luckily our guide was an amazing free diver so he kept going down to take photos. Here's one he got...
He also found three Moray Eels. To get them out he would dive down to their holes and then clap his hands about three feet above the hole. This caused the eel to poke its head out to see what was going on....it looked like the eel was coming out to say, "Who's there? Did you bring me something to eat?" The guide invited us to free dive down to see a 4 ft long Moray but I decided I was fine on the surface far away from the eel. I mean I like seeing these creatures but I have no desire to interact with them. I'm pretty sure their idea of interaction might be, "Oh hi, soft thing, let me bite you!!!" So I took a pass.
After that, we got back in the boat and went back to the main land. Here's a few photos of San Pedro and one random image....
A fisherman was feeding these Pelicans.
This is the night spot in San Pedro, Belize.
Finally, a photo of two of the dancers and me...they are so TALL!!!
~J
No comments:
Post a Comment