Sunday, 09-Apr-2017

Back at Loft 10 Hostel, I was awoken during the night, as one of the group became ill and was assisted into her bed. I think she had had a drink too many!

Before returning to Pez Maya, I wanted to buy a replacement metal water bottle. Someone suggested I go to the Walmart store, but it only had plastic bottles on its shelves, which I refused to buy. I eventually bought one from the Scuba Playa dive shop, in Calle 10.

We all met for lunch and then made our way to the rooftop bar at Hostel 3B for the afternoon. For our journey back to Pez Maya, the news was that Luis was unable to collet us until 19:00! Brais was persuaded to call Luis, and cancel the pickup, saying that we will make our own way back. Amazingly, Luis was able to come and collect us at 17:00!

We arrived back at Pez Maya soon after 19:00. I was shattered and retired an hour later. It was very windy that evening, so I wasn't sure if we would be diving tomorrow!

Monday, 10-Apr-2017

There was no duty session for me this morning, as Emma A and I went to the bridge for a bird census. We saw Pelicans, Frigatebirds and Melodious Blackbirds. I found it an interesting period, not only at being a bird watcher, but it was the first opportunity I had to talk to Emma A and get to know her better. Up unil that point, she appeared frosty towards me since we first met.

The waves this morning were small, so from a diving point-of-view, it was looking good for diving! So much so, the 'Boat Push' call was made after breakfast.

I had given myself two weeks to pass the coral test, but after doing more reading, I felt confident enough to reduced that period to the end of the week!

I was listed to dive in Wave 3. For the dive, we went to the BBC site (GPS N19° 59' 54.96", W87° 27' 40.32"), where we saw a large (1.3 m to 1.5 m) Barracuda (I don't know the species), and shortly after, a young Hawksbill Turtle; absolutely wonderful!

Once we were back at Pez Maya, it was Boat Push (up the beach), time for a shower before dinner, and finally time to relax before going to bed.

Tuesday, 11-Apr-2017

This morning's duty was Boats; the fuel tanks were topped-up (where needed), and duly placed (along with the emergency boxes) into the front of the boats. However, Pete announced that, as the waves were too large to guarantee our safety, there would not be any diving this morning. He said he would provide an update at lunchtime.

One of the first activities was another Beach Clean. For me, this one turned out to be the most interesting beach clean that I had ever done! A vehicle's rear bumper was retrieved from the sand (see Photo MX-076), along with a heavy length of a ship's very large anchor rope, that Kim and I attempted to hauled up the beach, to just outside the staff huts.

Photo MX-076

Following the beach clean, I (yet again) buried my head in the coral book for the remainder of the morning.

For our lunchtime update, Pete said that there were no changes in the sea conditions, so we will continue with Plan 'B'!

During the afternoon, I retook Coral Exercise 3 and identified 42 out of 50; equivalent to 84%! It felt great that I was getting closer to the pass mark of 95%!

In my state of elation, I attempted Coral Exercise 4, but that proved to be difficult. Hector suggested I retake Coral Exercise 1 tomorrow. In the meantime, I was able to give Charlie the then (final?) version of the Compressor Log spreadsheet.

Wednesday, 12-Apr-2017

This morning's duty was Kitchen and being Wednesday, it was pancake day! I could have helped with the early boat push, but breakfast would have been delayed. As I stayed in the kitchen and cooked the pancakes, breakfast was ready for when the boat push had been completed; perfect timing!

I was scheduled to dive in Waves 1 and 2. Friso was the Wave 1 captain and piloted us divers to the Nube (pronounced new-bee) site (GPS N20° 02' 13.56", W87° 27' 54.36"). At the dive site, my stomach wasn't feeling right. After a wait for 10 minutes (suggested by Friso), I didn't feel any better and decided to abort my dive, allowing the other five divers to enter the sea.

About 10 minutes after they descended, I had to lean over the side of the boat to "feed the fish" (with the contents of my stomach)! Friso thought my condition might have been due to either the sea swell (and motion sickness) so soon after having had breakfast, or a stomach bug. I didn't think it was the former, as I don't normally suffer with travel sickness.

By the time the divers had surfaced and clambered back into the boat (about 40 minutes), I felt better; that was, until we started the journey back to the beach, when I felt sick and weak!

Back on dry land, I was asked if I could look after the radio, but I had to tell Emma F that I was going to lie down. I had to say the same thing to Tom. He told me that we should start cooking lunch at 11:30. Unfortunately, I had to leave him on his own.

After having had a rest, I returned to the kitchen at 12:00. Tom had prepared everything! I had a feeling that he was angry with me for not helping. I explained why I had to go and lie down (and leave him on his own), for which he was sympathetic of my 'stomach upset'. However, there was a positive outcome: he was very pleased with his efforts, as he had never prepared a meal for so many people (about 24). He did an excellent job, for which I thanked him (in front of everybody) when we were sat down for lunch.

After lunch, I helped prepare the vegetables for dinner (a stir-fry), but I felt weak afterwards and had to 'take the weight off of my feet'! Later, Sabine and I went through the Coral Exercise 1 while manning the radio for Wave 4. That afternoon and evening, my stomach still wasn't feeling right. Therefore, I didn't think it was motion sickness. It was probably due to either something I had eaten, or a bug I had picked up.

[08-Jan-2022: While updating the Mexico pages, and in particular, seeing the last paragraph, I wonder if the sickness might have been the first signs, or onset, of the Bowel Cancer that put me in hopsital in Jan-2019!]

Thursday, 13-Apr-2017

This morning's duty was Communial and Kitting Areas, sweeping away the sand that had been blown in during the past 24 hours.

My stomach permitting, I was due to dive in Wave 4, so there was ample time to rest. While filling some tanks at the compressors (after lunch), I did more coral revision. My Wave 4 dive (at the BBC site (GPS N19° 59' 54.96", W87° 27' 40.32")) went ahead, led by Sophie. She pointed at several corals for us (Rob and I) to identify. I did better than my previous coral spot sessions. The sea current was strong, so going in close to the corals (for correct identification) needed special care and control, so as not to damage them, and any neighbouring corals.

Friday, 14-Apr-2017

This morning's duty was Grounds, which involved raking the sand to disturb any sand flies nest and preven them from laying eggs.

I was to dive in Wave 2 with Rob and Namate (our leader). When I started getting ready, I couldn't do much until the Wave 1 divers had returned, as Romain had my fins, Sophie had my SMB and reel, there were not enough lead weights, and neither was there a medium-sized BCD! The three of us eventually set off down the beach for a fun dive at the Oasis site (GPS: N20° 02' 36.35", W87° 27' 58.43").

Much to my surprise, a couple of rogue waves caused me to loose my balance and 'knocked' me over! Was it because of my possible weakness, or all the equipment around my body, or a combination of both?! The thing that complicated matters (when trying to get back up onto my feet) was that there was little or no air in my BCD, so I had no buoyancy! Thank you Namate, for your help! While relieving my of some weight, she told me to blow air into the BCD (using the mouth piece)! There is so much to think about with SCUBA diving, all at the same time!

Once at the Oasis site, both teams (each of three divers) descended, but Brais had a problem with a loose tank; Video MX-007. This video clip illustrates how our dive leaders (in this instance, Namate) are well trained when help is required; Namate was quickly on-hand to attend to the situation.

With the situation reolved, we located a sandy area, where we took off our fins and started playing around! Unfortunately, through our activities, we disturbed the sand, which reduced the visibility; Video MX-008.

Once we had had enough of the poor visibility, Namate, Rob and I went off to explore.

From Beach to Sea Video MX-006 [3 minutes, 39 seconds]

A Loose Tank Video MX-007 [3 minutes, 19 seconds]

Sandstorm Video MX-008 [3 minutes, 6 seconds]

Exploring [YouTube] Video MX-009 [5 minutes, 41 seconds]

Back at base (just before lunch), I felt very tired and weak. So much so, I didn't feel I had the strength or confidence to dive in Wave 4. In fact, for my dessert, I had a couple of spoonfuls of strawberry jam, which is most unlike me! In doing that, I believe my body needed sugar, because (amazingly), I felt better soon afterwards!

I still wanted to take things easy, but at the same time, help as best I could. Therefore, I manned the radio for Wave 4. One of the boat crews had the pleasure in seeing a dolphin!

Being Friday, the staff cooked dinner. Tonight, they cooked spaghetti bolognaise, served with garlic bread and melted cheese!

Saturday, 15-Apr-2017

It was lovely not having to get up before 07:00! Along with eight other volunteers, I left the base at 10:00, for Tulum. I felt my strength was not back to 100%, and I was still somewhat tired. I decided to stay in Tulum, have a quiet and restful weekend, and do nothing, while the others decided to visit Chichén Itzá. We made our way to the bus station, where they bought their tickets, and boarded the bus to Valladolid; Photo MX 077.

Photo MX-077

Once they were om their way, I went and had some lunch at the El Mariachi Loco Restauant (on Avenida Tulum), where I had five chicken nachos.

Wanting to have a good Saturday night's sleep, I found a proper hotel (Cassa Sofia) a few metres away from the Weary Traveler hostel, using Booking.com. I didn't want to spend the night in a hostel, at the thought of being disturbed by other guests.

I checked in to the Cassa Sofia hotel, along Calle Orión Norte. It didn't look as if there were many rooms (perhaps only eight?), but it was comfortable enough for my needs, including air conditioning, a comfortable bed, and separate shower and toilet.

I took a slow, casual walk up and down Avenida Tulum, looking at possible gifts I could take back home. However, I thought that some of the shops' offerings were inappropriate (cheap plastic toys), as well as being a bit bizarre (models of human skulls)!

By late afternoon, I started thinking about my next meal. The Chinese food (that Kathleen, etc. had a few weeks ago at the Dragon Volador Chinese Restaurant (Photo MX-079)) whetted my appetite, but upon passing La Querida Pizzeria, my taste buds immediately changed!

Rather than eat inside, I sat at one of the tables along the road; but under the pizzeria's canopy. Soon after I had finished eating, I thought I felt a few drops of water. Was it from the first floor of the building, or was it rain?! It was rain! Minutes later, the Heavens opened; it was absolutely torrential; see Photo MX-080 and Photo MX-081.

Photo MX-078

Photo MX-079

Photo MX-080

Photo MX-081

I waited about 20 minutes before thinking about making my way back to the hotel. I thought the rain had eased a bit, so I crossed Avenida Tulum (and sought cover under the roof of the El Mariachi Loco Restaurant), but I got wet. However, I was closer to the hotel! By the time I got back to the hotel, I was thoroughly soaked! [Perhaps I should have gone to Valladolid (and Chichén Itzá) with the rest!]

About an hour later, it stopped raining.

Related Links: Barracuda Hawksbill Turtle ------------------------ Cassa Sofia Weary Traveler Hostel