Day 338 - June 22
Listening to: The Only Exception
Thought for the day: Anything is better when shared.

Why is the water in the Caribbean so freaking blue? Every time I visit this part of the world, I’m gobsmacked by its beauty. So guess what? I Googled it. Note: my word processor does NOT like the phrase “I Googled it.” hee hee hee. Anyway…….. Google didn’t really dish out a direct answer. The answers range from there being a lack of algae in the water to there being no ocean current on steroids in this part of the world. I like the algae explanation. Apparently, algae promote the growth of iron. Water infused with iron causes it to appear dark baby-poo green. The Atlantic ocean, for example, is iron laden so it is pukey green. All I know is when you wake up on the second day of the cruise to the Caribbean, the water is so cartoonish blue that it’s unbelievable. It’s truly magical.

This photo was taken in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We arrived here via a port called Calica. This port was the site of my haggling FAIL (see day 320) .

Thankfully, I have the memory of this beach that overshadows my haggling failure. The treat de jour on this day was a massage on the beach, a birthday gift from my travel companion. Originally, the massage was to occur in the ship spa, but when I saw massages being offered on the beach I hopped on it! Let me tell you, I’m not big into massages, but this was........well......I'm going all numb just thinkin' about it. I don’t think I can ever have a massage in a spa again. Having a year’s worth of stress being pounded out of your body while listening to gentle waves lapping the beach is indescribable. I highly recommend it. The best part though is that the massage was so cheap that my travel companion also participated in massage nirvana! A TWOFER!!! If you know anything about me at all, you know that I subscribe to the belief that anything is better when shared. This shared experience was no exception!