Join Thor and me as we snorkel in one of our favorite spots in the world — the “Blue Lagoon” in the marine preserve near remote Xcalak, Mexico. Another Geezer Adventure.
NOTE: This blog series started Nov. 26 as we returned once more to Playa Sonrisa (Beach of Smiles), our special place not only because we celebrated our Luna de Miel (Honeymoon) there, but because it’s remote from tourist frenzy. There are miles of nearly deserted beach where we can just step over the sand and swim out to the reef for snorkeling among colorful fish.
Since Thor and I are both dealing with shoulder/neck issues and can’t use our arms much for our usual swimming, snorkeling in the calm, shallow water of the Blue Lagoon (our name for this spot) was ideal. We could just lie in the warm sea and kick with our fins to explore the coral outcrops and reef. And this time of year, the sea was very calm. Below is elkhorn coral:
Juvenile French Angelfish:
One of our favorites, the trunkfish. They have boxlike bodies (the Caribbean name is “box fish”) and move along with those little side fins whirring away.
Thor captured some underwater videos of the Blue Lagoon in this YouTube. A school of blue tangs leads to more elkhorn coral, then an assortment of colorful fish including striped Sergeant Majors, ending with two flirty juvenile Queen Angelfish — the ones with beautiful yellow-green and blue colors.
Thor spotted this spotted eel among a coral outcrop:
A sting ray swimming away:
A beautiful spotted eagle ray — one of our favorite sights. They are so beautiful as they gracefully seem to “fly” through the water.
Here’s a YouTube of more videos, of the spotted eel, a feeding sting ray — stirring up sediment to feed — and the eagle ray that circled us twice to check us out. You can hear Thor excitedly calling me to come look!
I love the Blue Lagoon!
We are so grateful for this chance to bask in the sunshine and float in the healing sea. And very glad we “seized the day” for a visit before our upcoming surgeries this winter. It was bittersweet, as the owners are wanting to retire and have put the property on the market, with a potential buyer who would turn it into an upscale fly-fishing retreat. Perhaps our last time to enjoy this serene Paradise….
Stay tuned for more trip posts in upcoming weeks!
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and a Pulpwood Queens International Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
