Woke up at 4 a.m. –– a surprisingly good night of sleep considering that I dropped Belle off last night with Kate, her pre-guardian before Daniel and Lana (FYI, Kate is spectacular and her parents even raise labs as guide dogs so she is more than well qualified for a night of Belle-sitting) –– all to catch the 6:30 am flight to Cancun with Susan and John.
Everything was easy and smooth-sailing, and arriving at my MAGNIFICENT ocean-view room, after unpacking I decided it was a delightful necessity to head straight into the amazing blue ocean.
After about 20 minutes of frolicking –– and I was done since I was getting hungry and wanted dinner with Susan and John –– I also noticed that a lifeguard was blowing a whistle kind of half-heartedly from the shore.
Although his English was shaky, when I asked “Is something wrong?” he replied, “The Ocean closes a 6 p.m.” –– which is an astonishing thought.
I then asked “Why exactly does the ocean close at 6 p.m.” and he replied some combination of that’s when the life guards go off duty + the current’s getting too rough + that’s when the “animals” come out. [I asked “what animals?” and he answered “Barracudas” which does feel rather alarmist.]
In any case, even though I’ve learned something totally new –- that the Ocean apparently keeps office hours –– I have to say that things here are extraordinarily gorgeous, that my suite is astonishing, that it was spectacular to be reunited with my cruise brother Philip and that these 10 days are going to be utterly extraordinary.
[Although in retrospect, I guess I should have also asked the lifeguard what time the ocean opens for business –– and is it the same on weekends?]
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