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Day 6 and 7
Can you believe it has been a week already? Well the weather has taken a
drastic change from wind and cloudy to wind and sunny. Hot, HOT, HOT.
I am sitting here in front of the fan and still sweating. I guess I am prone to
heat, I think family genetics has something to do with that. I am not
complaining though, it looks as if life moves more rapidly when the weather
is nice. Business owners are smiling and turistas are spending dinero.
Anyway the Cornell students were able to dive yesterday, but said it
was rough and the current was strong. Visibility is still poor and I have
not even been diving yet, can you believe that. Until the ocean calms down
from the past few weeks of storms, underwater photography is pointless and
visibility is 10 meters or less. The cave system has been inundated with
tannins, runoff from all the rain, and visibility there is zero. Not safe
or enjoyable. I set up the camera equipment yesterday and hope to dive
today. Whether I can send the masses a picture is yet to be seen.
On Tuesday I presented my edited underwater movies to the "public", a few
tourists, and the Cornell class. I received positive feedback and everyone
enjoyed the show. Not a great turnout, but this is first of many lectures
I will present in the next 4 weeks and this is low season.
Tabatha spent some time this morning creating a flyer that will be used to
promote all the CEA lectures and activities. Over the past few days we
have distributed this schedule to people on the beach and introduced her
updated version to some of the local hotels. Tabatha printed 61 copies and
delivered them to Villas Maya . One copy will be placed in each room. Everyone
has been very open and cooperative with this idea.
Yesterday Jason and Rogelio, the turtle project coordinator, went on a
rescue mission. A large green turtle had managed to lose its way after
attempting to make a nest. It was discovered swimming in circles in a motel
pool a few miles down the coast from Akumal. Everyone was afraid the turtle
might bite them while trying to save it from the pool, but Rogelio and Jason
fearlessly liberated the confused and tired turtle. Good job gentlemen!
I took a walk early yesterday morning to North Akumal to arrange dive class
certification for Tabatha. (She will start early Friday morning, a four-day
course that will probably take four hours each day.) As I was walking
along I found a coral snake dead by the side of the road. It was a little
guy, but I remembered the saying "red against yellow could kill a fellow"
and poked it with a stick …... I thought originally that maybe a car had
run over it, but further inspection proved it had been cut not smashed. I
guess people fear what they do not understand. There are a lot of critters
in the jungle here and most do not want anything to do with people, except of
course the mosquitoes and tabanos, deer flies.
I was able to finally dive this afternoon…Greg and I took a time-out and
jumped into a cenote/cave system called Maya Blue about 3 kilometers south
of Tulum. We were underwater for about an hour and were able to get some
good photos. Initially I was concerned about the visibility problem, but
once we crossed the threshold into the cave system the water was crystal
clear and nice and cool(see pictures below). This trip reduced my body core temperature and
iced me down nicely.
Tomorrow, if Mother Nature allows, we will dive in the ocean at Aventuras
Bay. The mission to collect water samples from a caleta, an area where
underground water spills into the ocean.
Talk to you soon,
Steve
Part 5
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