It has been a Trip!

The last month has been crazy and non stop. There are so many adventures to tell you about they will have to be broken up into several blogs.

As I last reported, my husband, Randy, had to leave Cozumel after 10 days to treat a virus. Since his double lung transplant (An Unexpected Journey) infections have been frequent. The anti-rejection drugs which keep his lungs breathing easy has a catch: it reduces his immune system. He is getting better, but the virus is still there. I am headed home tomorrow.

After Randy left I continued to dive, and my bestie (*who owns Villa Torres, the home next door in Cozumel) came to town with kids and grandkids in tow! There were 5 grandchildren running around, from 2 years to 13 years. What fun!

One of her grandchildren, Beck, is 5 years old. When he saw my Great White Shark photos and Manta pics, he was mesmerized. He loved talking about the “cookie cutter” shark whose bite leaves a perfect hole in its victim. Shark Week fascinated him, but also scared him a little. He learned, and remembered, so many facts and he is now fascinated by sharks. Excellent!

On my schedule was a Marine Megafauna Foundation Ray of Hope Expedition in Cancun, and I took the ferry from Cozumel and headed up on the 15th. The goal was to find the endemic Manta Rays, photograph them for ID, and take samples for DNA testing. It was also a lovely opportunity to meet up with my friend Rodrigo (who took the Great White photos of me five years ago) and partake in Citizen Science. I tell people to look Rodrigo up when they come to Cancun, he manages Solo Buceo, and it is an excellent dive operation. The meeting of the Ray of Hope directors and Rodrigo was a match made in heaven. They are definitely tribe members with their love and dedication to pelagics (sharks, rays, turtles, whales). Hopefully they will get together and cook up another expedition somewhere! I am on it.