I was not able to fall asleep during my first night in Cancun, obviously due to the drastically time change. I started imagining what will my first meeting with the Caribbean sea look like. I thought I will be super excited, wouldn’t you? It wasn’t the first time I observed the sea, but the Caribbean sea is so different from all the other seas, that it might feel like I see it for the first time.
Eventually the morning came and I was able to start exploring my new environment and of course practiced Spanish. Thanks to the friendly receptionist, who gave me a map and explained where the closest beach in the Hotel Zone is located, it took me half an hour to get there. Pretty fast, taking into consideration it was my first day in Mexico.
So there I was standing on the white puffy sand, admiring that incredible Caribbean sea color. Let me show you what I saw.
Although the Caribbean pictures were made with my professional Nikon camera, I don’t think it is possible to transmit all the true colors of the sea, the way your eyes see it in real life.
By the way have you ever wondered why the waters of the Caribbean sea have this striking turquoise color. It is determined by the absorption and scattering of the light touching the sea surface with the substances living in the water. The red, yellow and green wavelengths of sunlight are absorbed and the remaining part of the light we see, is composed of the shorter wavelength – blue and violet. Another reason is the depth of the water that influences the diffusion of the light frequency. The deeper the water, the deeper the shade of blue. The high sand areas and the reefs along the coastline of Cancun and Riviera Maya are the reason that makes the color so unique.
It was a little informative note. Although I didn’t know it when I arrived, my level of first excitement didn’t decrease. For some moments I couldn’t believe that this was my reality, so fascinating it was! I wasn’t running back and forth or jumping because of the feeling exaggeratingly happy (hmm…maybe just for a while 🙂 ), I was just swimming in the Caribbean sea for a couple of hours with a huge smile on my face.
Almost 3 years had passed since my “first Caribbean sea view experience” happened, but still every time I see it I feel excited and grateful for having a chance to admire it.
