We Swam as a Group, Because Everyone Wanted to Be Together

Today brought more wonderful times in the relaxed and easygoing setting that makes Mexico such a great destination. It still amazes me that so many of my American friends and relatives are afraid of coming here…it’s just so relaxed and fantastic.

We made an excursion by small boat today to see Los Arcos up close—small islands of rock that are inhabited by hundreds of pelicans and a few blue-footed boobies too. We jumped in the water with snorkels and got a chance to see brilliant black, blue and red fish up close as they enjoyed a free lunch of breadcrumbs tossed from the boat.

Bob and Monica like to take their art and dance workshop participants to a beach around the corner from the Casa and provide a big banquet on the sand. It’s one of the reasons this trip is a great value. They have the local connections to hire the boat and organize this trip for us, and they don’t charge extra as many outfits might do.

Then we took off and hugged the rugged coastline close. The houses were multistoried and elegant, some with infinity pools and all with labyrinthine decks and Dr Suess-like stairways that went down impossibly far from the road level. One of these seaside hotels had eleven stories!

Our next stop was a tiny beach called Colomitos, about 75 yards wide, where the only people visible were two bikinied Mexican teenagers, who quickly donned shorts and left when the two boatloads of fifty-something Americanos began tumbling out of their boats. After our picnic lunch we swam all together in the surf. I loved that we all wanted to be out there, bobbing in the surf, nobody wanted to miss out on this chance to enjoy the water as a group.

I thought about how much fun we’ve all had together this week and that it was unusual that we all wanted to be together. So often small cliques form that break up even a group as small as ten, but in this case, no one wanted to miss it.