It's been a while since I wrote anything for weekend-engagement.
So I figured it'd be nice after some time of absence to start the weekend with a post here.
I chose the following subject for mine:
Beautiful on vacation
Describe the most beautiful thing (not person) you have seen whilst on vacation. Explain it, the situation and moment you saw it, why it was so beautiful and how it made you feel. Use photos you took yourself (because you saw it yourself after all) and write at least 350 words.
On our way to Cozumel from Playa del Carmen
My most memorable and most beautiful experience
I've seen beautiful things in my life. If we give it a chance, we can find beauty in nature in just about everything.
The little possum we saw running here the other day was beautiful.
The birds are. There are beautiful things in Ireland, the Netherlands...everywhere.
But since it can only be one, then the most memorable experience happened right here, in Mexico. Technically, I wasn't on holiday because I live here but we were only here less than two months, and it was all still very new to us and we felt and did a little like tourists still so I'll call it a vacation.
Cielo Beach - Cozumel, Mexico
The name says it all. 'Sky Beach'.
It's a beach, and it has stars. Well, starfish to be precise.
The starfish can be counted on one hand because, unfortunately, the reef has been damaged in many places, and starfish seemed to have disappeared with it.
This reef is actually the Meso American barrier reef system (or Great Mayan reef), which runs past the coast of Mexico (The Riviera Maya, where we are), Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. It's the second largest barrier reef after the Great Barrier reef in Australia.
We were on a snorkelling tour and this was our last stop before we were heading back to the other side of the island of Cozumel.
I'm sure most people have heard about the beautiful white, sandy beaches and the clear turquoise waters of Cozumel (and the Riviera Maya in general).
Well, they're not lying.
The water here in Playa is reasonably clear but Cozumel is really something else.
Our guide told us that this was a non snorkelling stop, and that we could just stand in the water and hang out around the boat with a few drinks.
He then explained that there 'could be' some stingrays. That they were curious and could swim up to you but were harmless as long as no one got the idea in their heads to chase them or try to grab one.
Yeah, I think we got that covered.
We weren't disappointed because as soon as we stood in the water for a few minutes, the first few stingrays made themselves known and swam past us.
Then there were a few that were a bit braver and came a little closer.
Two swam in and dove under the boat, only to surface closer to us on the other side.
My youngest son was standing left from me, and I pointed out a few that came our way from further away, when I felt something bump into my right leg. When I looked it was a stingray!
He or she had taken off on their own and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It was so exciting!
I see videos of people having encounters with stingrays all the time, and these guys are surely used to all the tourists coming to check them out on a daily basis but still it felt pretty special to be chosen by this one stingray to bump into.
I had left my GoPro camera in the boat, and for a little moment I thought of going to get it but I didn't want to miss out on any of the stingray encounters so I decided not to and just be in the moment and enjoy hanging out with these amazing creatures.
So unfortunately, no photos of the encounter itself but I added some random photos of the same trip. I have yet to recover my photos from my laptop, so these will have to do.
Next time I'll be sure to have my camera in my hand.
Pirate ship, the Black Pearl in Cozumel harbour
Pelican looking for his lunch in Cozumel harbour
And as if the little bumper stingray wasn't enough, only moments after that, a whole bunch of them swam just past us from a little distance. Probably 20 or more. Altogether, I think we saw around 50 to 70 stingrays. Some up close and some a little further away.
This was definitely the most beautiful and breathtaking thing I've ever seen, and I know we have a lot more of these moments to look forward to.
There was never a moment when I felt afraid or nervous, as they seemed to bring this calm energy with them. The kids all stayed calm without a word from me. It just all came very natural.
It was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to meet them again.
Funny enough, only a few weeks later, Cameron showed me a video of a hammerhead shark chasing after an eagle ray and eventually catching him after a bit of struggle, exactly in the same spot where we were that day. 👀
So yeah, in that case, I would have been back on the boat like a rocket haha.
Turns out: it's actually quite common for hammerhead sharks to be hiding in the shallow waters in wait for their favorite snacks: rays, not humans luckily. Still...Yikes!
I'll leave you with that infamous video of the ray and the shark.
It's a horror show and nature in all its beauty at the same time.
All photos are my own
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