Puerto Vallarta

On our second day in Puerto Vallarta, I scheduled a snorkeling trip out to the Marietas. A group of islands located off the northern most point of the Bay of Banderas. This former training ground for the Mexican military is now a protected ecological preserve and, with the exception of the waters surrounding the islands, off limits to people.

We were on the boat at the crack of dawn saturday morning enduring a chilly wind as we washed pastries down our throats with passion fruit juice. About forty minutes into the boat ride, our captain slowed down to point out a line of fishing boats off to our left. Whale watchers. During the winter months, the Bay of Banderas is home to humpback whales. We may get a glimpse. Sure enough, within 15 minutes, we saw spouts of water shoot up and a few shiny backs and a single fluke roll into the water, nothing terribly exciting, but at least I could say I saw a humpback whale. We tailed the pod for about 30 minutes and then got back on track for the islands. I was standing toward the bow of the catamaran when all the sudden a collective gasp swept the boat. 300 yards directly ahead a humpback breached. The whale shot out of the water and rolled a quarter turn to come crashing down on its side. Everyone, including our boat captain, was going nuts. About a minute later, another whale breached about 150 yards ahead of our boat. Unbelievable. Shortly thereafter, we followed another pod that had a number of whales which were spy-hopping, coming halfway out of the water to have a look around. The morning had gotten off to a magnificent start.

We had been shadowing whales for a good hour and half and I was getting anxious to get to islands and snorkel. We peeled away from the other whale watching boats and turned back toward our destination. We were about 150 yards from the islands when someone from the front of the boat yelled. Everyone charged toward the front to see what was going on. I found myself leaning over the railing on the second deck within seconds and saw something so unexpected I scarcely believed my eyes. Underneath the surface of the water, directly in front of the boat, a giant manta ray was gliding along. This thing was as wide as the boat which was about 30 feet wide. I could see the manta’s wings rolling with the current folding and bending as it adjusted it’s direction like something out of 2001 A Space Odyssey. It rolled left and came alongside the boat and disappeared into the shimmering water. I was ecstatic. A few minutes later a giant sea turtle surfaced in front of our boat. A few of us yelled to the captain to slow down to avoid running the turtle over.

We finally made it to the cove where we would be snorkeling. The water was a chilly 65 degrees and, as I was putting on my flippers, my fear of what is underneath the water began to well up within me. The sun was shining and turning the water surface into glittering jewels. I took a breath, held my mask, and jumped into 80 feet of water. A momentary panic enveloped me as every scene from the movie Jaws I did not want to remember raced through my head. I've had a healthy fear of anything underwater ever since I first saw that movie. The panic subsided after I realized there was approximately a 35 to 1 chance someone else in the group around me would be eaten first. Breathing through a snorkel while your heart is in your throat is not the easiest of tasks, but I soon got a handle on my anxiety. My fears vanished the second I put my face in the water... A whole new world opened up to me. I could see at least 100 feet in every direction and the seabed 80 feet below. Schools of small silverfish fish were swirling around my head and body. I swam into another school of blue and yellow fish as large as dinner plates. Our guide dove to the seabed and brought to the surface a small flat spiny fish cradled in his hands. He passed it to a small group of us that had gathered around and the fish all of the sudden puffed up. I was cradling a puffer fish in my hands. We even saw a black and white striped sea snake. Brian and I began kicking into the cove to explore the shallower water getting away from the other people in the group. The seabed was rocky and had very little coral due to how far north of the equator the islands are and there weren't the variety of colorful fish as I had hoped there would be, but it didn't matter. I was hooked. I let all the air out of my life vest so I would be able to free dive more easily. Even twenty feet down the pressure was so intense it felt like dagger’s were being driven into my ears. I never did get the hang of releasing the pressure in my ears by holding my nose and blowing. We kicked around for a good hour and a half before heading back to the boat for lunch. What an amazing experience. I ate my lunch with a grin so wide I could have put two sandwiches in my mouth at the same time.

After lunch, we were on our way again... to a secluded beach on the mainland for drinks, volleyball and sunshine. Dolphins were swimming alongside the boat and my thoughts were already thinking ahead to my next snorkeling adventure. There was a nice breeze blowing in off the water to help balance the heat of the afternoon sun. I was as relaxed as I'd ever been. We stayed on the beach for about an hour before being taken back out to the boat. Brian and I were part of the first group to get back on board and we asked one of the crew if we could jump from the upper deck. We got the ok and jumped. It was about a twenty foot drop. We both jumped twice and few other people took advantage of the opportunity as well. It was a great way to end a perfect day. Four jungle juice punches later, we arrived back in port. Smiling.