What did I notice?
Celestun is a small town filled with motorcycles and relaxed restaurants on the beach. An empty carnival sat on one side of the main street and a few simple stores across from it. We loaded into boats at the beach and our guides took us on a tour of an inlet off of the Gulf of Mexico. I was eager to volunteer for the "most adventurous" position on the boat and had a chance to sit in the very front. Our ride provided us with plenty of beautiful views of birds and shorelines, but after an hour of our boat continuously crashing down on waves, I allowed Alejandro (one of our trip guides) to trade places with me. I enjoyed every moment of the somewhat turbulent ride.
We were able to get close to a group of pink flamingos settled in a corner of the inlet. Later in our trip we went into a narrow inlet of water, surrounded by trees that created a dome around us. It led us to a sinkhole in a forested area where a few people jumped in for a quick swim. We made our way back to the beach, passing herons and pelicans.
We were left with a little bit of time to jump into the warm water for a quick swim, and I spent some time reading on the beach. (I highly recommend Born to Run by Christopher McDougall)
What connections did I make?
The water and the condition of the beach reminded me of what we saw in Cancun, but the area around it was quite different. Instead of resorts down the street, we were near small homes made of cinderblocks and sheets of metal. Rather than a Pizza Hut and Subway, men carried trays of pan dulce (sweet bread) for us to buy, walking through the tent-covered extensions of the local restaurants. There were few tourists on the beach and Spanish was the dominant language.
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| A view of the other boat from our boat (no life jackets required) |
