Cancun - Day Three

While being bombarded with tour salesmen upon our arrival to Cancun, a snorkeling excursion kept coming up that sounded like a lot of fun. We heard the same thing over and over, from each salesman we talked to: the snorkeling off the town of Puerto Moreles was the best in Cancun...the 2nd largest reef in the world...amazing snorkeling...must do! So, we decided we'd better see what all the fuss was about. 

On Monday afternoon we hopped a bus to be taken to our snorkeling adventure. Over an hour later we arrived at a resort somewhere along the coast of the Riviera Maya. Twenty minutes later we got on our boat. After cruising around on the boat for another 20 minutes, enjoying the cool breeze and the beautiful turquoise waters, it was finally time to snorkel. But before we hopped into the water our guide finally came out with the big disclaimer all the tour salesmen had neglected to tell us...

Yes, it is the second largest reef in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but six years ago Hurricane Wilma came through and destroyed about 70% of the coral on the reef, and the coral was just starting to grow back. As you can imagine, it wasn't the best snorkeling we've ever done. And it ended up pouring rain on us. But if you're going to be caught in a rain storm, you might as well already be in the water!? We still had a great time and considered the afternoon a fun little adventure...though we probably would do it again, not would we recommend it to anyone we liked. But it was a fun carefree afternoon, nonetheless.  

That evening we dined at the reservation-only Mexican Restaurant at our resort, where we were finally served chips, salsa, and guacamole...exactly what I had been waiting for. And they were delicious! As were the fajitas and the tequila lime shrimp. The fajitas were so good that Eric requested another plate of them, which the waiter seemed none too pleased about!? Apparently they aren't used to fat Americans who like to eat on their vacation and who dare ask for seconds? I can't say I blame him...I've worked in food service before. But one thing was certain, we weren't on a cruise ship anymore and eating more than your fair share was definitely looked down upon. We left our grumpy waiter a few bucks as we left, as a penance for our gluttony, which seemed to make his terrible inconvenience a bit more tolerable.