As we passed through the famous tunnels of Guanajuato City, Mexico, I began feeling excited again. I felt with renewed vigor, passing into a beautiful city that I’d never seen. Maybe this visit would be better than I thought!
Sometimes, things don’t go perfectly when traveling. I have had a few mishaps on the road.
“The hotel isn’t in Valladolid,” my husband said. “It’s really far out.”
“I know. It’s the second closest one to the Ek Balam Ruins,” I responded. By then, one kid was awake and needed to use the restroom. So, we stopped at a decent looking open air food court place and my husband and son went to use the facilities. By the time they returned, my daughter was awake, so the two of us headed in, too.
When I returned, I was putting her into her travel safety vest. We’d just started using them for traveling and while the learning curve wasn’t steep, my speed of buckling the children was much slower. As I bent over her seat and wrestled with the seat belt and her vest, my husband started yelling. In that moment, I felt a finger touch the sliver of exposed skin on my back.
I looked at my gauges. I was 35 feet under the ocean’s surface. Amazing! No ear problems. This is much better than scuba diving in the dark quarry in Ohio! I thought about where I’d gotten certified. I watch the bubbles go up as I work my way deeper, towards the dark shadowy ship another 45 feet below me.
My buddy and I hit 40 feet under and suddenly, there is a sharp pain in my right ear. Okay, I can do this. I try to descend further.
Oh, it’s searing! I shriek inside my own head. Nope. I can’t do this.
It was a beautiful summer morning in Key West, Florida and I had plans to go scuba diving. I love scuba diving and snorkeling in Key West. I’d been diving a lot during the week and always with the same company. Everything had always been perfect!
However, this particular dive was about to go wrong.