Would you like some ocean with that salt?

I don't have many regrets, but one of the biggest has to be getting 2nd degree sunburns on my face, thus damaging my skin so it no longer freckles like it used to. And to think, some people pay to get their freckles removed. Shame on you Lindsay Lohan.

I know I often start these updates talking about the heat. And I do apologize for those currently in cold rainy weather, but last night was so hot. At 1am it was 25℃ and felt like 31℃, needless to say it takes some getting used to in order the fall asleep. Usually I am so tired at the end of the day that it doesn't matter, but it has been getting hotter and hotter the longer we are here. I was told that today it got up to 40℃, which is ridiculous in dry Alberta, let alone humid Mexico.

My sleep was also cut short because I needed to be up early. Our first of many 'field trips' was taking place today. We met at 8:00 to catch a bus to Manzanillo, which is just over an hour away and on the ocean. The intention of this trip was to go deep sea fishing. Once a year (not right now) Manzanillo hosts a huge sail fish competition so the ultimate goal was to catch a sail fish. Another interesting fact about Manzanillo is that the movie 10 (1979) was filmed at the hotel we parked our bus.

The bus ride was average, the scenery changed, there were more banana trees, etc. We stopped at a grocery store upon arriving at Manzanillo for food for our adventure.

The group was split onto two boats, one smaller boat, and the larger boat I was on with 8 other girls. We headed out onto the sea. Manzanillo is beautiful! The scenery was gorgeous. The boat trolled around for quite a while with a number of hooks in the water waiting for a bite. Until something happened we took up station on the front of the boat enjoying the sun, waves, and cervezas (which I've recently decided are going to make me fat)

As we trolled around we noticed so many wonderful things. First and most spectacular was a huge group of dolphins, likely a hundred of them. We drove through where they were swimming. They swam up beside us and were jumping out of the water. It was wonderful. They were so playful and so plentiful.

Upon further trolling we came across a number of sea turtles hanging out in the water, some of which were friendly enough to lend their shells to a tired bird or two.

We had been out on the water for about 2 and a half hours and still no luck, not even a bite. Clearly the fish were not a fan of us.

The boat slowed down and we could suddenly feel just how hot it was. Naturally we turned to tanning. The boat slowly trolled a while longer until finding itself in an inlet that was somewhat protected. It was time for us to go swimming! My fave.

The order of the day was jumping off the side of the boat, which was somewhat high I suppose but nothing that exciting. As we were the first boat there we stopped and I jumped in first. One word sums it up: SALTY!! Gag yourself salty, cough its so salty. But the water was beautifully cool. A few more people timidly jumped in after me.

It wasn't long till I was doing back dives off the side of the boat, just because I could. One girl swimming asked if I would like to dive with her and get a picture, 'surely I would' was my response. But as we were both feeling a little gutsy we tried to find the highest point they would allow us to jump off. Upon asking the captain he allowed us onto the roof of the entire boat, I would guess it was somewhere in the 5m range. We were glad to be the first ones to jump off! It felt great. Not long after the other boat arrived and so began the swimming, and seeing who was brave enough to jump off the roof.

Upon treading in the water sans hands (practically a past time) for quite some time in a beautiful inlet I decided the only thing that could make this better was a corona. The same girl and I climbed into the boat eagerly grabbed a beer and headed back to the water. Beautiful water, Mexican heat, and a beer. Perfect. Thus far, the highlight of my trip. We just couldn't get over how perfect everything was.

Unfortunately Manzanillo is known for jelly fish, not large kill you jelly fish, just small sting you jelly fish. All our jumping and swimming around had clearly woken the sleeping beasts from the bottom of the sea. We finished our beers and climbed back aboard as jelly fish started to surround us. Luckily for us we had two boats of people directing us to avoid being stung. I managed to come away untouched but my accomplice in beer swimming was not so lucky.

The two boats hang out for a short while so we could mingle between boats. Before long it was time to be on our way back to shore. Fortunately for us someone had brought a bottle of tequila. A few more people from the smaller boat joined us for the trip back and the bottle of tequila made its rounds. Amazingly Mexicans always have limes and salt (as it is in and on everything here) so we had the full meal deal. The bottle was done before we hit the shore.

Hot, sunned, and exhausted we made our way back to the bus. Before leaving town we stopped for ice cream (so good!).

On the bus ride home there was talk of what was going to happen tonight but upon reflection most wanted to shower (to get the mass amounts of salt off their bodies), get out of the sun, and take it easy. We had been drinking been and tequila for a few hours already.

I came home, hot as could be, showered and hoped it would cool off. At 7pm it was 32℃ and feelt like 37℃. I was certain I wanted to go to WalMart though so I waited a little and headed out. Made it there and back and decided I was done for the day. Perhaps a little homework, then hopefully some sleep if my room ever cools off.

As an aside: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today's High: 40℃

Today I learned:

• The Ocean isn't just salty, it is gag yourself salty
• 30 SPF doesn't allow for much of a tan, officially switching to 15
• I am an ace pro at sunscreen application, the only place that is burnt is where other people put sunscreen on my back

I am grateful for:

• Swimming lessons as a child and my general love of the water
• My Mom
• Sincerely friendly girls with nothing to prove

Some beautiful homes overlooking Manzanillo's coast

Another view of Manzanillo

Heading out on the boat. The houses and landscape reminded me of Capri and Greece.