In celebration of World Turtle Day, I went deep into my archives to find this friend. Diving with turtles is always amazing, and this particular one seemed particularly happy to pose on the bottom of the ocean while I took this photo. Long live the turtles!
I can’t explain why these guys wanted to hang out together, but they were inseparable the whole time I snorkeled with them. I like to think they were just friends, but maybe it was a camouflage technique. I’ve been holding onto this image for awhile as there was a lot of nasty backscatter in the original. Now I’m benefitting from a friend’s new knowledge, and used some new to me techniques to really clean this image up so I could post it!
A picture cannot capture how large a whale shark is. To swim next to one of these animals is simply something else, and I’ve never experienced something else like it.
Like most things in the ocean, this guy doesn’t like to be touched. His stinging white bristles are flared out since he noticed me, but it wasn’t too difficult to avoid all 1.5 inches of him. I spent at least 10 minutes to get this shot and I’m pretty happy with the result. He was cooperative, but the current moved him around enough to make getting this shot a time-consuming process.
On a recent snorkeling trip I ran into this stingray. He looks menacing, but was more interested in hiding on the bottom than he was in messing with me.
I immediately forgot about the long, rough boat ride as soon as I spotted my first whale shark. A wide angle lens masks just how massive these guys really are. Despite their size, they weren’t very interested in me, and swam on by looking for more tiny bits of food to filter out of the Caribbean Sea.
My favorite lunch spot in all of Mexico! Well, at least my favorite lunch spot in the greater Playa del Carmen area, the Turtle Bay Cafe! Everything was fresh and delicious. This festive table also made for a great lunch before snorkeling in the bay with sea turtles.
There are many cool sights in Playa del Carmen. This establishment on a bright yellow street corner is certainly one of them! It was early so not may people were out enjoying this restaurant yet, but I’m sure the crowds were coming!
I recently took a short kayak trip on a river that emptied into the Caribbean Sea at Tres Rios in Mexico. After the trip towards the ocean our guide asked everyone if they saw all of the crabs and other wildlife on the way down. I did not. On the way back I did not make the same mistake. These guys were everywhere once you started looking! They were a little shy, but this ones was either vain enough or dumb enough to let me get pretty close to him for a picture.
This restaurant that extended out onto the beach was a common sight in Playa del Carmen. To get this shot the way I wanted it I had to do a little bit of shooting from the hip, and I think I got lucky with the timing of the clouds and some of the patrons! I miss this place, with a cool and rainy week in progress here I’m ready to go back!
