The McCanns are so good to me! On Saturday, Lindsey and I enjoyed a day off snorkeling with the team. Our adventure began at 7am at the Pettengill's, where a tour guide van picked us up. Thirty minutes later, we were boarding small motor boats led by the Garifuna people (black natives who live on the islands). After a very bumpy 50-minute boat ride, we arrived at our first island for an informational video. While this 6-minute video was not so helpful and pretty unnecessary, I did learn that turtles who migrate each year to Cayos Cochinos mate 24 hours a day for 3 months...AND that 95% of the males die in the process (the females survive because they can eat at the same time). After the guide made sure that all of us had "made snorkeling" before, we boarded the boats once again and made our way to the premium snorkeling destination. On the way, we passed starfish, crab, and volcanic rock.
Snorkeling was amazing. The clear, turquoise blue water, made it easy to see various schools of colorful fish and coral reef. Once I got the hang of breathing normally and stopped choking on saltwater, I recalled the brutal oceanography course I took fall semester. This was the first time I found this class to be remotely useful (and probably the last time too).
All decked out and lookin' goooood
After about an hour of snorkeling bliss, we hopped in the boats to check out another island. Surrounded by volcanos, huts with thatched roofs, crystal clear ocean, and white sand, we enjoyed jumping off the pier, wading in lukewarm water, lying on the beach, getting heat rash and eaten alive by sand flies. The entire time, Lindsey and I couldn't stop saying, "Can you believe we're here right now!?" Everything looked so fake, like I was trapped inside a postcard or a Corona commercial.
Next stop was lunch. We boarded our motor boats once again and headed to another small island. We stopped at the only local restaurant and ordered their specialty: a plate of fried fish, rice and beans, and fried plantains. In preparing the fish, I imagine they did little else than season it with salt and throw it on the skillet because that's exactly the way it was served: eyes, head, teeth, and tail all still intact. I felt right at home since I'd had nearly four months practice with the same kind of seafood-prep in Spain. Besides, it's amazing what one will eat if it's fried. For me, the only downside of the meal was the woman openly nursing her 3-year-old just a few feet away. I guess this is normal here too.
From here, we got in the boats for the last time and headed back to the mainland. In the entire one and a half of traveling, I'm not sure that more than three words were spoken between the team as a whole. Everyone was beyond exhausted from a fun-filled day in the sun.
As usual, team dinner was at 5 at the Pettengill's. Afterwards, everyone came over to the McCann's for dessert of chocolate cream cheese cookies and coconut cookies. Yum! Lindsey and I found ourselves in bed soon after the girls...around 8:30. Yikes, I'm old.
I woke up Sunday with stomach pains and a fever. Lindsey was very accommodating and let me sleep most of the day. What a useless nanny! Thankfully, I've felt a lot more like myself today. I'm praying that I continue to get better and am able to be a blessing to the McCanns during my last few days here.
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