The Fish Had My Name On It

As promised, here is the fish attack story.

It was a dark and dreary night, when all of a sudden...  Oops - wrong beginning.

Actually, it was a somewhat overcast day in Cozumel when I was attacked by a ten foot shark. Well, it really wasn't ten feet. OK, it really wasn't a shark.

Prior to this attack, my grandson had decided not to go snorkeling because he thought there was a fish with his name on it. He was wrong! Actually, I would learn that the fish had my name on it!

While we made fun of him, I never thought it would come back to haunt me. Karma can come back to bite you in the rear. The second time we were in Cozumel, they talked me into going snorkeling with them. Since we had such a good time with the dolphin encounter, I figured I would give it a try. What's the worst that could happen, I wouldn't like it?

We went back to Chankanaab Park, which is just three miles south from the boat dock. As the litrature indicates: "The name is Mayan and can be broken down into Chaan, meaning little, and Kanaab meaning sea - little sea. It was given this name because of the lagoon situated in the park that connects with tunnels to the ocean. The Park was created to protect Cozumel's diverse and ecologically sensitive regions of flora and fauna."

This is a great place to visit if you are ever in Cozumel. They have dolphins, snorkeling, seal shows, swimming, etc. A fantastic place. The beauty of this park, is that you can actually walk from the beach, down three steps, directly into the coral reef. It is beautiful and full of fish, whole herds of them.

So, we are all snorkeling and having a great time. Well, some of us are. I had problems with the mask because of my beard. It would not seat fully and continually filled with water. So, I just pushed the mask on tight and went under water to see the fish and coral. It was working and I was enjoying myself. Because of the water current, we were being pushed further along the water's edge. This really wasn't a problem, but I decided to start "snorkeling" back the way we had come. Soon, I was by myself and the rest of the family was probably 60 feet away from me. As I am swimming back, I see this fish swimming across my path in front of me. It was the biggest fish I had seen so far and thought to myself that it was pretty amazing. The fish looked to me to be about two feet long. All of a sudden it turned, opened it's mouth and headed straight for me. I knocked it out of the way and started swimming back to the steps to get out. I had finally found the fish that had MY NAME on it. When this happened, I guess I screamed (not like a little girl), but I screamed pretty good. My son yelled to me if I was OK. Keep in mind that I am swimming back to the steps to get out and could care less if I answered him. I eventually yelled that I was OK but kept swimming as fast as I could.


By the time they got out, I had calmed down and was drying myself off. They asked what happened and I relayed the story. Being the nice, caring family they are not, they all began making fun of me by asking if it was 5 feet long, ten feet long, or larger. They kept asking if I saw my name on it. Enough was enough, but they all had there fun.

We get back to the ship and I think everything is forgotten. Little did I know that it was just beginning.

The next morning at breakfast, we are sitting with total strangers as my seven year old granddaughter tells the "fish has my name on it" story to everyone that would listen. Not only did she tell it from her point of view, but she then laughed at her grandpa. Not once did she laugh, but many times. I am so glad I can be such a source of fun for her.

Well, now you know the fish story. I was going to put the picture of the fish here, but there was no way I was going back in that sea to get it!!!!