The pictures of the devastation from Hurricane Wilma brought tears to my eyes. The island’s business is tourism and I recognized the streets that I walked down and some of the sights that I saw.
We had a wonderful time there in May. Cancun is said to have the clearest water in the world. I believe it too. You can walk or swim way out in the ocean and still see the white sand and the schools of fish swimming at your feet.
My husband Steve and I agreed to go snorkeling with my sister and new brother-in-law. I’m sure glad there no cameras rolling as we made fumbling attempts to put our flippers on for the first time. We were told to squat down in shallow water and put them on one at a time. Right. The waves are pushing you around and you’re trying to stand in feet three times their normal size. Then we have the mouthpiece. That’s a whole other trick. Remember they are rented, one size supposed to fit all. You are supposed to put the mouthpiece in and clamp down hard with your teeth. I didn’t do too badly, but Steve said “try doing that with dentures.” My mask kept filling up with water and I was having a terrible time maneuvering around with the fins, so once I saw my school of fish I was finished. Meanwhile Steve was having his own problems and he was tired of fighting with the mouthpiece so we decided it was more fun to sun on the beach.
We were walking back to the rental shack, laughing and talking about our experience, I looked over and said, “Hon, where’s your bottom plate?” His face showed a whole range of emotions from disbelief, panic, and then disgust. He would have to go the rest of our vacation with no bottom plate.
I asked the concierge to have the beach boys watch for a set of dentures as they cleaned the beach in the morning after the tide went back out, just in case they might wash ashore. We walked back over and waved to my sister and her husband. We told them what happened and just mentioned, “You know, since you’re looking down and snorkeling anyway, keep an eye out for Steve’s bottom plates.” After all, how many men could have lost that particular item on this little island beach?
Hot, tired, and upset we walked around to have something refreshing and try to calm down. We watched as Brenda and Rick came around the corner of the deck, snorkeling was over for them that day too.
Brenda walked up to my husband Steve and said, “How much do you love me?” She gave him a quick hug and pulled his bottom denture out of her swim bag. We laughed until we cried. Who would have thought as vast as the ocean floor is, and the large area we had covered that my sister would find his dentures. We got a big laugh and still laugh about it today. We are also grateful because we had a miracle in the ocean and the tide didn’t have to wash them in with the seaweed!
