Deer Island (Isla de Los Venados)

On the bus to dinner with the gang, this American guy (Don) started talking to us, and soon realized that I was the same Emily that his friend, Jeremy, had met a couple of days before. Jeremy had come by the boat Tuesday (after Jim left, but before I left) asking if Rita needed more crew. He seemed like a nice guy, 25-ish, from Orleans (north of Willow Creek), and he picked up on Rita’s crazy-vibe quicker than I did. Don said he and Jeremy were taking the boat that Jeremy was staying on out to Deer Island (a short distance out from Mazatlan) to go snorkeling on Saturday, and invited me to come along. I thought it would be a great opportunity to use the snorkeling gear that Larry had been hauling around for me. And we might even get to put up the sails to get there!

After one week into my "sailing adventure" I had yet to sail anywhere. I know the guys hocking rides on the catamarans with the Corona advertisements on the sails don't actually mean to taunt me when they ask, "Do you want to go sailing?" But it is frustrating to be near all these boats and going no where. I called Jeremy on the radio the next day to see if it was ok if I tagged along. He said yes, that he guessed we could all fit into the small dingy. Damn. No sailing.

Then I saw the dingy. We just barely fit ourselves and our fins in. Mexicans, a people who think nothing of crowding 5 people onto a vespa, were looking at us like we were crazy. But, thanks to lack of waves and Jeremy's steady hand on the tiller, we made the half hour ride to Deer Island just fine. We found a good spot with a lot a brightly colored fish, a few puffer fish (dopey looking, but poisonous), sea urchins with 6-inch long spikes (yikes!), and some big blue fish swimming quickly away from me. After a half hour or so, we took a break and warmed up before trying another spot. This time I brought my camera (which works underwater). Of course, it was murkey and there were almost no fish. Oh well. We stopped at the palapa and all had a coconut before heading back. The wind hadn't picked up and we made it back fine in that little boat, even though we stopped in the middle to add more gas to the little engine.
Sure beats the office.

---