Mike in the Wild

Almost two years ago, I rented a car on Cozumel to visit several beaches where I intended to snorkel reefs that were not too far off shore.  Windy conditions creating choppy seas prevented me from swimming to most of the sites.  And an aggressive barracuda scared me away from the reef I actually almost reached off Punta Sur on the Mexican island's southern tip.   From a cruise ship on my most recent stop on Cozumel, I joined a morning tour that promised visits to two additional sites on my original must-do list that were not reachable without a boat: Columbia Shallows Reef and El Cielo.  I'm happy to report that this time the weather and marine life cooperated with my plans.  And not only did I snorkel those places, but the tour added an unexpected third stop for a close-up encounter with sea turtles. The short title "Snorkel, Starfish, and Beach" didn't quite convey how exciting my excursion turned out to be.  Of course reading the details offered a b...