Day 6: We wake to a glorious day…clear blue skies, nice breeze, and there’s that turquoise water…ahhhh!!!! We are ready to do some cave tubing on the mainland. Luis comes to our room to inform us that the tour company called to tell us that the storm that canceled our parasailing, also flooded the river….bummer! Oh well, no problem, mon! We’ll find something else to do…

We head down the beach contemplating what to do, while soaking up this beautiful day. WE’ll decide over breakfast. Wait a minute…it’s gorgeous today, let’s stop by Fido’s dock and check in with Tony and Yvonne about that parasailing. Turns out Tony is on his way back in from taking his first flyers of the morning. We decide to go for it now and eat later. Tony is a wired-up ball of energy! We climb aboard his boat, he pops in Bad Company and immediately we are all rocking…Tony singing his heart out. FINALLY…ROCK AND ROLL!!! Now we’re talkin’! I’m tired of drum machines and punta (which stands for hump-a-tourist girl!) He tells us of his near brushes with stardom…he was next in line to audition for the album we are listening to! We are stoked by Tony’s energy, and are ready to fly. The parachute is rigged, we have on our gear on, only to watch the ‘chute go right into the water. Uh Oh…this ain’t good. No problem…it takes awhile to get it untangled but nobody minds. Tony regales us with stories of bands he’s sung with while we soak up rays and drip sweat. Before long, the parachute is inflated and Kathy and I are clipped into the rigging. OFF WE GO!!!! The views are absolutely incredible…we can see the entire island and reef stretched out below us. We can even see rays swimming in the water! A very quiet and uneventful ride, with unsurpassed scenery. WE ARE JAZZED! Tony dips us in the water and takes us back up…THAT WAS REFRESHING! He then pulls us in for a perfect landing. COOL! We look at Doug…Man, you gotta do that! "OK"….well, we didn’t have to twist HIS arm much! Jackieo is a different story…seems she had a bad experience in Mexico. Tony exclaims, "Hell! I wouldn’t parasail in Mexico either!" He finally convinces Jackie to give it a go. They do a tandem ride as well, but his time Doug takes the camcorder up with him. WOW…YOU SHOULD SEE THIS!! You can really get a feel of what it’s like by watching the video! They get a nice long ride all the way back to Fido’s. THANKS TONY AND YVONNE!!! THAT WAS A BLAST!!!

Well, I guess we missed breakfast! We discuss where to go eat, when an ex-pat asks us if we’re going to lunch. We say yes, he tells us to hop on his boat, and he’ll give us a ride to Mango’s. His name is Tom and he’s from Louisiana. Been retired in AC for about 5 yrs. Retired??? He looks 35!!!!! No way!!! He tells us he’s 50! (another one like Sam!). Kathy immediately informs Tom that she used to live in Shreveport…we end up chatting all through lunch…which is very good.

Here come the kids with the beads again. It’s Tahlia! (Jackie’s little friend). Tahlia tracks down Helen for Kathy, as she has been trying to get her hair braided all week. Kathy makes arrangements for Helen to come by Seven Seas to do her hair. Doug and I go to see Jerry and Roque about doing some more fishing and snorkeling! (I coulda done that EVERYDAY!)

The four of us head up towards Mexico Rocks to do some bottom fishing. Jerry takes off with his speargun as soon as we drop anchor. We are doing a good job of feeding fish, catching a few small ones, but mostly losing bait. We are anchored in one of the reef cuts, a channel that goes through the reef and out to sea. This is one of the places where it’s safe to cross the reef. The water is deeper here, and the current swift. Not having much luck with the fish, Roque, Doug, and I jump in to see where the big ones are. We are the only three snorkelers around for miles! The scenery is on par with Hol Chan, but waaaay less crowded! Keep an eye on the boat…the current is going out, but we’re fine. Doug and I head up the channel out toward the reef….I spy movement. OH CRAP! It’s a BIG shark swimming in from the reef! This ain’t Shark Ray alley where the sharks are well fed puppy dogs! It’s a Nurse Shark, but It’s HUGE! We keep our distance, but follow it in. THIS IS SOOOO COOL! The shark turns around and swims up to take a look at us. That’s close enough! We follow each other around for awhile, then do some more exploring. Before long, Doug and I spy a long silver fish swimming next to the reef…It’s a HUGE BARRACUDA!!! This one’s gotta be close to a four-footer!!! WOW! Jerry returns from spearfishing, and we tell him of the ‘cuda. His eyes get BIG, and we are immediately trolling with live bait, but to no avail. Jerry and Roque take us to a shallow wreck where we do some more snorkeling. Doug and I enjoy this so much more than the crowded water at Hol Chan! We see a moray eel in the wreck, along with countless varieties of colorful tropical fish. We swim and swim and swim and swim!!! What a GREAT time!

The sun is quickly dropping from the sky, so we head back to San Pedro, only to stop and watch a tropical storm swing through town. We sit and watch the storm work its way across the island and head for the dock at Seven Seas. Thanks Jerry Ack and Roque Caliz!!!! (Roque was our buddy all week long, a personal tour guide and all-around good guy!)

Kathy is all napped up and fresh, but no braided hair. Oh well, no problem! We shower, then head for Celi’s for dinner. I give it a "fair". Dessert is good, though! We cruise around town on foot. Everybody is out and about tonight! We check out street vendors, chat with locals, and stop in a Fido’s for a few drinks before calling it a night. Doug walks the town for several hours more into the night. He Loves This Place!

Awesome, glad I was there to experience this trip reporting, because it all sounds to good to be true but believe me every bit of all his trip reports are truer that true.
Jackie

Pirate-

I love it! I wimped on the parasailing on my last day since I was SOOO hung over from my "last hurrah" at Iguana's the night before!

Isn't Tom awesome? My girlfriends at home were gawking at my vacation pictures, wondering who the hottie was...."oh, he's 50, isn't he fine?!" Great guy!

Hey, who is Doug? I apologize if I missed it somewhere along the way, but I'm wonderin' where he fits into the picture.

Ps. Mango's is way underrated. I think their food is excellent, and so it the writing on the wall!

[This message has been edited by AC Beach Bum (edited 08-24-2001).]

Doug is the Pirates brother.

I'm definitely going parasailing after reading this!!! Tony is right next to Fido's? Can you just walk up and set a time to go, or do you need to plan ahead???

Sounds like you guys had a blast!! Great Trip Reports. I am so excited to get back there now...just have to stay away from the Shark Bar!!!

Tony and Yvonne can be found right at Fido's dock. You can just walk up and fly...weather permiting!

They can even hook you up with lodging, if you'd like. Email them at: [email protected]

Oh...and beware the Shark bar...there are only landsharks and viper rum....ugh!!!

[This message has been edited by Over_40_Pirate (edited 08-24-2001).]

Sounds great! Each day is better.

Didn't you love Mexico Rocks, we went there and got the greatest underwater pix!
The sea fans are beautiful, and the water there is so clear!

Great!