january 4th, 2010.

it was the day to swim with the dolphins. katie and i woke to more clouds, and a brisk chill in the air. somehow we convinced eachother to put on our suits and head to the ferry that was to take us to isla de mujeres- yes the island of women. i kept my optimism high, remidning her the sun would come out, yet the dark grey gloom wasn't adding to our prior postive thoughts. once on the boat, the wind continously smacked us in the face, and it wasn't helping that the water's spray was thrashing against our faces. so, we huddled together and tried to keep warm, i think this was just around the point when we realized we had to get into the water to ''swim with the dolphin's''...

now, if anyone knew me when i was a little girl growing up--- swimming with the dolphins would not have been high on my list- actually you probably never would have heard those words come out of my mouth. i was typically as far away from fresh or salt water, and near the beach or pool. yes, i have always had a fear of--- fish. more importatnly BITTING FISH. i can still remember being a young girl, and spedning the summers at our cabin in lake minequah, wi ---it was the thing to do to swim out in the middle of the lake to a dock. well, when i finally got the courage, i was bite by a rainbow trout, and forever will be tormented by it. (some may say biting fish don't exist, i will forever disagree.)

perhaps it's the scorpian  in me, that keeps me wanting more, but i've always been a water baby- but with the pool, not so much lake or ocean. i can honestly say that the fear of being in fresh or salt water with live fish...is almost gone. when finding nemo came out, i was on a conquest to see the 'life underwater'---and i think swimming in barrier reefs were a huge eye opener, understanding more about a completely different world that exists 1000 of feet below sea level. 

so, when our hour of swim time came, and there was still no sun, i sucked it up- knowing this could be the only chance to swim with pablo- the dolphin. the ocean was...freezing. but once pablo swam up and kissed me, and then hugged me, i instantly fell in love. it's so incredible to think a dolphin can be trained to interact with humans that way. the best part of the experience was swimming into the middle of the ocean and having pablo push me back to shore- so incredible. 

since we were given wrist bands for an all you can drink and eat package while on the island we took full advantage. but... what is with mexico and all you can consume deals? katie's natural instict was to start triyng all the fruity drinks they offered, i had one bob marley that tasted like liquid sugar and opted for tequilla and fresca...

it was definatley a day to remember, and we made sure to again get all we paid for by spending the remainder of time at the island bar, katie, trying all different types of concoctions that the bartender could come up with. 

xoxo, 
simon.