Diving with the turtles

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO

When I was 10 years old, my family moved to Barbados. Tough life, I know. There, my father, bored with his life above water decided to take a different look at the world -- the world underwater. And he took me with him. At the time, the lower age limit to scuba dive was 12, and so I usually hung off my father's octopus or snorkeled around. But way before the day after my 12th birthday (the day I got my junior open water scuba diving certification) I was hooked. So whenever I'm in a location that involves warm water (call me spoiled but I'm a fair-weather diver) I am curious to see what lies beneath. Through the years I have gone through what is sometimes thought of as an excessive amount of certification courses -- today, I sit here a PADI Divemaster. But you know what, diving has brought me much joy in my life, in fact, that is how I met Marc, so you won't find me very apologetic. So it was no surprise that when packing my bags to come to Playa del Carmen, my dive gear came with me.

The thing to dive in the Mayan Riviera are the Cenotes. It's basically cave diving. But, as this was going to be everyone's first dive in at least a year (I'm a fair weather diver and live in San Francisco, remember?) a check-out dive was needed. We decided on Tortuga Reef, or turtle reef.

Another thing to know about me is that I'm totally obsessed with turtles. I'm not really sure how it started, but I'm sure it was during my time underwater in Barbados. Shortly before my college graduation, I even had myself inked with the image of a Hawksbill Turtle. Although they are now critically endangered, it was the turtle that I saw most often while diving in Barbados. Their strength and grace always took my breath away.

The idea of going to a reef named "turtle reef" got me incredibly excited. So much so that, before I knew what "tortuga" meant (about 30min before the dive), I was close to devastated that we wouldn't be going to see the turtles. I should really brush up on my Spanish.

And the name is true to its word. I have often seen turtles on a dive, but I don't think ever more than 2. I saw at least 10 turtles on this dive! There were so many that by the time I had "finished"with one turtle, another had popped up, gracefully dancing through the water alongside me. Some were so incredibly big and old that barnacles and other marine creatures had attached themselves to their shells. They seemed so unfazed by the world around them -- they just went about their business and let us do the same. Every time I see these creatures, I have to remind myself to breath. Either that, or I think of Crush from Finding Nemo, and have to giggle.

During this dive, we were not only visited by turtle after turtle, but also what I would consider a slightly less welcome guest: a Bull Shark. I know -- sharks are cool and you know what, when there is a family of White Tip Reef Sharks hanging out, I'll be there on the front lines checking them out. But for some reason -- I don't know, maybe it's because along with the Great White and the Tiger Shark, they make for the most brutal/deadly shark attacks -- I'm not one to go swimming after one. So when a large dark shadow slowly comes in my general direction, I don't make too many sudden movements. I quickly saw that it was a shark but when I saw those teeth I stayed exactly where I was. Unlike some of the other people in my group who, with leg cramping speed, kicked their way towards the shark, camera-hand clicking away. My first though? Better him than me. At least the shark will find him more interesting. People don't go swimming towards a Great White, right? In fact, you sit in a cage with those guys. I very often doubt the life preservation skills of my fellow man.

And you know... he didn't even get a good picture...