Look Out Below!

Hoo boy, I'm tired today. My brother arrived on Saturday and it's been non-stop visiting since then. That mostly includes walking in circles around town, eating, and going to the beach, but when I'm used to sitting in front of the computer most of the day, it wears me out!

Yesterday we went to Playa La Ropa, which is the nicest beach on Zihuatanejo Bay. I went for a walk and when I returned, my dad and brother were talking about a rope that must have broke, or something like that. When I questioned them they told me a parasailer had plummeted into the ocean. Now, they wear life jackets for this very reason, but hello, scary!

It turns out I walked right by where it happened. I had noticed the boat driving very fast along the shore and thought it was odd that it wasn't towing anyone, and apparently that's when they were trying to fish the guy out of the water. The man who fell was with a family that was sitting ten feet away from us, so we were able to ask if he was okay. He looked pretty shaken up, but didn't seem injured. He said something about the air leaving the parachute and that's when he dropped, ruining his camera in the process.

There was a big "beach boy" pow-wow while all the guys who rent water activities talked about what happened, and the man got his money back. I stopped watching them after that, but within half an hour they sent up a man with his nine-year-old son. Well, last night we were telling someone about the man who fell, and he said "yeah, with his son!" Can you believe the very next people who went up also fell?

My dad, the boat captain, thinks the engine stalled because that's the only thing that would cause the air flow to stop and make the parachute collapse. I really hope they get it fixed and don't just assume the next wave of tourists won't know what happened.

Have you ever gone parasailing? Is it something you'd like to do?

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An interesting side note: my posts last week about the violence here have made me a little famous. I've had several emails from people preparing for a vacation here and they've written asking specifics about the situation here. I'm happy to answer your questions!