While processing some photos I made yesterday evening, I decided to look on google maps at where I’ve been swimming off to. It turns out that the coral reef I found near our Air BnB has a name, Arrecife Francisco I. Madero. I have’t located any additional information toward it’s history and/or naming yet, but I’m stoked that’s it’s big enough to be deserving of a name. It’s far out enough that nobody’s swimming to it.  The reef is about 600 meters from shore…which is like swimming the length of 6 football fields.

The ocean’s visibility has been rather poor the last few days, but I’ve been itching to get some non gopro photos with our new Sony A7Riii (using Outex’s underwater housing). From our place on calle 88, I could see waves were crashing in the distance along Arrecife Francisco I. Madero, tide was going out… I decided to go for it.

For the first 100 meters of the swim, I couldn’t see anything. The seaweed, or sargassum, has been increasing it’s presence of late, and leaving a rather large stain within the first few feet of the water’s surface. The sargassum, and a storm from then night before had really messed with the water’s turbidity. After about 300m, and swimming down along the oceans floor, the visibility starting opening up.

Arriving at the coral wall, the waves were suddenly all I could see. Their foaming aftermath causing complete disorientation unless I stayed below them. The current from the changing tide wrenched across the shallow coral with an unrelenting ferocity. Finding a path through the living rock and the under the waves, I was lured in to play for a while.