Fishes?

I sort of got two extremes of water sports (not those kind hashers) the last couple of days. On Sunday, i took the ferry out to Cozumel and rented a car so I could check out some of the snorkeling, something I had never really done successfully. A few years ago, Whitey, Asian Fetish, and I were travelling in Costa Rica, and tried in poor conditions with crap gear, and ultimately lost all the gear and a couple of cameras in a canoing incident, after we gave up.

Anyway, the waters off Cozumel were crystal clear, and I had a fantastic time at the beaches that were either not destroyed by Hurrican Wilma, or closed for Mexican Election Day. Plenty of fishes were seen including one large manta ray, well I think it was a Manta Ray.

Pumped up by this, I decided to take the next logical step and do an introductory scuba diving course. This involes spending a couple of hours learning about all of this gear in the pool, this gear which keeps you alive mind you, and then they take you out for a little dive, about 40M deep, just a bit off Playa. If you know me, you can only imagine how this worked out.

First of all, I never do well with gear. I´ve been snowboarding for a decade and still can´t sort bindings out. The lack of gear is probably why I like running so much. Ultimately, all you need is shoes.

Second, I seem to be suffering from a bit of....seasickness. I think this has as much to do with just being in the heat for so long. I don´t remember having a problem before, and the Staten Island ferry has never been a problem.

Long story short, I was neither confident, nor feeling very good by the time I reached the bottom, and I´m not ashamed to admit that a few minutes in, it got a bit overwhelming, and I bailed. The following half an hour was not pretty, hangover sick on an empty stomach, but no worries, and at least I got to see the bottom of the sea. For now, snorkeling will be enough.