Majahual

Before starting work a group of friends and I decided to go to Majahual for a long weekend. Majahual is on Mexico's east coast just north of Belize. The reef is part of the same barrier reef as that off the coast of Belize. We were on a much smaller boat but we had to exit the barrier with the same caution as we did in Belize. The waves crash over a belt of shallow coral and rocks and the captain has to navigate through a gap in the rocks with the help of a mate sitting at the boat's bow. The boat almost catches a wave and surfs over the barrier on the way in. We hit rocks both days. Out boat was a fishing boat and I'm not sure how used the Captain was to steaming over the reef.
Majahual's reef is one of the healthiest reefs I recall seeing. This site is not frequently dove, primarily because Majahual is a 5 hour drive from the nearest airport (Cancun and Merida are about the same distance). The reef is in finger formation, much the same a Belize and the ridges of reef are festooned with more variety of sponges than I've seen anywhere. I remember seeing a barrel sponge that must have been 5ft tall. It was like a small town, every inch of its exterior was full of life. Some of my favorite inhabitants were banded coral shrimp and the little purple, translucent, cleaner shrimp. There were also more types on anemone than I have ever seen in the Caribbean. Not like the large colorful anemones in Indonesia. Many of these were flat against coral, deep colors and no more than 7inch wide. I wished my camera was working - but then I would have slowed the group taking pictures. The reef resembled layered cakes, with ornate icing or fairy castles. I enjoyed just floating on my back looking towards the surface over the reef scape.
Lots of macro stuff. We saw a decorator crab:

Ours were much like this one but decorated with red sponge. I'd only seen this type of decorator crab once before. They are very cute:) They shuffled around 'you can't see me, I'm not there, right?'
Anyone looking for pristine reef and a peaceful vacation should head to Majahual. I kind of hope the place remains undiscovered for some time to come. It is also possible to take trips by boat to the reef's off San Pedro Belieze from Majahual.