Hurricane Paula a Bust in Cancun, But I Got a Bonus!

I feel like I need a cold shower, I got all worked up just to be let down by the latest hurricane tease Miss Laura. She came out of nowhere, threatened to hit us directly as a category two then poof, gone, headed over to Cuba with her nasty business. Yes yes, I should be relieved and I am, it's just all the excitement of a potential hurricane gets me all giddy inside! I love chasing the storm, reading all the meteorology geek sites, following the funky spaghetti models and contemplating the possibilities. After surviving Hurricane Wilma, all other hurricanes are going to seem like a light breeze and a drizzle, no biggie. Yes, we'll get wet and yes, perhaps some damage will be done but in the end I know that it will all be ok. The thrill of the storm is really in the chase, but if at the end of the pursuit you find out you've been chasing nothing, it feels like that necking session in the car that got interrupted by dad.

Anywho, I went out to the hotel zone of Cancun this morning to see if there were some good waves or any beach erosion as a result of Paula's brush-by. A few waves, nothing major and surprisingly I didn't note any loss of sand, yay! After the millions spent (twice) to rebuild the beach, I'd hate to see it all washed away by one little almost storm.





I stopped at three different beaches and on the third visit my friend Leon and Max stayed in the car. They were good sports, I mean I had dragged them out on a rainy morning and asked them to trek through wet sand, I suppose it was ok if they didn't hit the third beach. I was just going to grab a couple of shots and get back to the boys, when a man approached me on the beach. I was a bit nervous at first, there was really no one else out there and he had a big ole black eye and stitches in his head (I automatically assumed drunken brawl,though I suppose it could have been from a fall trying to rescue a kitten from a tree, my bad). He asked if I wanted to see some baby turtles and of course I said "Si!!". We started walking down the beach and I was relieved to see we were headed towards an obvious turtle nest enclosure. There were a couple of guys helping the wittle teeny tiny babies out of their hole in the sand, hundreds of them! They invited me in to help but I knew I had to run back for the boys for this special treat. I got Max and Leon, we all ran back and proceeded to oooooh and aaaaaah over this amazing spectacle. We've seen babies before at organized events, but have never seen them actually hatching out of their shells!








So, the hurricane was a bust, but I got a total bonus and am thrilled. This year I saw a mama turtle laying her eggs in Tulum, snorkeled with a juvenile turtle and now have witnessed the birth of hundreds. Full turtle circle, it's been a fine year.