Week 6 in Pez Maya; hurricane effect, lagoon opening, farewells & welcomes

Sadly, at the end of week 5, we had to say goodbye to our 5 weekers: Chris, Jenny, Deepak, Tia, and Erin. (We miss you guys!!) We chose to make this weekend our long weekend, so we could say goodbye to them in style in Playa Del Carmen. It was almost cancelled, however, due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Ida. GVI staff were watching the progress of the hurricane very closely, to make sure it wasn’t going to come too close to our base. In the end we were allowed to go, as long as we met up on Sunday for an update on the hurricane’s progress. Just in case it came close to base, we performed an epic boat push on Friday just before leaving, nearly putting them inside the staff huts!

And good thing we did! We had a bit of a surprise waiting for us when we all returned to Pez Maya base on Monday evening. The hurricane, although it passed by with barely a drop of rain, managed to push the tides up to the edge of the staff huts! The sandbar that had stretched across the lagoon exit for the past 6 months had also completely washed away. Lagoon water now rushes out where the tide rushes in, and it creates a frothy, brackish mix with a fairly strong southerly current, all along our stretch of beach. Where the water used to be turquoise right up to the shore, we now have a strip of colder, murky, ice tea coloured water. Many fish use this Sian ka'an biosphere Reserve lagoon to lay their eggs in a more protected area, so although it’s not as nice for us to swim in, it’s quite nice for them that it is open again.

The hurricane seemed to bring with it a marked drop in temperature as well. Nights seem cooler, and most divers wear their wetsuits for at least one dive during the day. Before, we managed quite well with just our bathing suits, and perhaps a rashie. Now, we shiver on the boat rides to and from our sites, and need the extra insulation of our wetsuits.

Along with the change in weather, the hurricane also washed in new 5-weekers! Danique, Angie, and Morgan arrived just before we left for Playa, so we didn’t get a chance to meet them until after we came back, but they’re really awesome and we’re very happy to welcome them to the Expedition! Cait, a transplant from Mahahual, is here only for the week, but we’re very glad to have her as well!

By the way, we had some amazing diving this week! Finally! After two weeks of horrible weather and bad luck with the boats, the waves are cooperating and the boats are working great! We all got two dives a day, which was a lovely change from two dives a week. Let’s cross our fingers and hope it stays this way!

Week 6 in Pez Maya; hurricane effect, lagoon opening, farewells & welcomes