I'm baaa-aaack

Vacation in Cancun was wonderful. I'll post some pics when I finally upload them from the camera, but it was so nice to be in the warmth and go swimming and not have to worry about anything. I even managed to not think too too much about this cycle.

K and I were able to take a day away from his family and do our own thing, which involved me getting us into a typical (for me) Latin American adventure. I read about a great island off the coast to visit, where we can arrange to go snorkeling. Great! We figured out what bus we needed to take to the ferry dock and are merrily on our way.

We get to the ferry dock and this guy calls K and me over to a map of the island, where he's talking to two Mexican women tourists. He describes where to go snorkeling, etc. and then says he will arrange everything. Before I know what's going on, I'm standing in a hut next to the ferry terminal, paying for an all-day "tour". We're going to get a "private" boat over to the island, and they will arrange snorkeling and lunch. Okay, right?

We sit around, sit around, waiting for the private boat. Clearly, they're trying to scare up some more business before taking us out. I start to get irritated and tell them that we want to just take the ferry, which is about to leave. They say, no no, no, we're leaving right now. So K, me, and the 2 women clamber into a ramshackle boat, and take off, over big waves, to the island. Our "private boat" takes twice as long as the ferry.

When we finally get to the snorkeling place, we see a lot of other snorkelers there. The guide gives us a mask and breathing tube but no flippers. He said it was too shallow for flippers.

I start off snorkeling, following all of the other snorkelers, who are swimming towards a big lighthouse, quite a ways from the boat. All of the other snorkelers are swimming with guides. All of the other snorkelers have flippers. But, la la la I go, looking at all the pretty fish. K tells me he thinks we're swimming too far away, but I ignore him and keep looking at the fish. When I finally start looking around, I realize that I'm out by the lighthouse, K is nowhere in sight, all of the other snorkelers are getting onto boats that have just picked them up, my boat is nowhere in sight, and OH YEAH, there's an insanely strong current pushing me in the opposite direction of my boat. I start swimming, HARD. I am getting nowhere. I start to worry a little. Then I start to worry a lot. One of the guides from another group asks where my guide is, and where my flippers are. I say I have neither. He looks at me incredulously. He tells me it is physically impossible to swim back and that it being too shallow for flippers is the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard. He then has me climb up onto their very fancy catamaran boat, talking all kinds of shit about my guide, and they drive me back to my piece-of-crap boat.

When I finally get back to my boat, after the rescue, K is sitting in the boat fuming. He also was rescued by another boat and was some combination of angry (that I didn't stop looking at fish to look around for him and because he was calling me trying to get me onto the other boat) and worried (that I would be washed out to sea and that he couldn't tell the guide what was going on since he doesn't speak Spanish) about me. Our guide? Says absolutely nothing. Doesn't even look concerned!

So away we go to a restaurant where we had the option of swimming with a shark. We didn't take them up on it, but they had this poor cat shark penned up in the water outside the restaurant. Craziness. We did have a delicious lunch of local, fresh caught, and fresh grilled, fish, and K learned about a new drink that involves Corona and a half glass of lemon juice, and the rest of the day was perfectly lovely. The two women in the boat with us were sweet and interesting, and since they didn't speak English, I got to speak more Spanish that I have in years, which was wonderful. And at the end of the day, we headed back to the mainland with our guide, who was driving the boat while downing a rum and Coke.

It was great to be on vacation. It was just what we needed. And I'm even energized (a little) about work and am really ready to start this IF treatment cycle. My father-in-law (an ob/gyn) removed my bellybutton stitches this weekend (on his hotel bed, with a pair of tweezers and nail scissors!!). I finished the Pro.vera and am now on period watch. If she doesn't flow in the next day or so, this cycle's going to be out, but I'm really really hoping we're going to be able to move forward, so please think good flowy thoughts (is that gross?) for me!