Ch2-Cozumel

CHAPTER TWO Cozumel Afternoon sunlight flooded into the tree house. Jack heard the sound of waves softly lapping the shore. He and Annie looked out the window. The tree house had landed in a palm tree overlooking snow-white sand and a turquoise-blue sea. Near the beach was the stone pyramid pictured on the cover of the travel guide. "Cozumel," Jack said. "Paradise," Annie said.

"Where is everyone?" said Jack, looking around. There were no other tourists—no swimmers, surfers, or sunbathers. There were no sightseers. There were no vehicles parked near the Mayan pyramid. "I don't know…," Annie said. "I thought there'd be, you know, luxury spa hotels and fancy restaurants." "It's weird," said Jack. "Maybe it's just the perfect beach," said Annie, shrugging. "Yeah, but…" Jack looked through their travel guide until he found a photo that seemed to match the deserted shoreline with the pyramid. "This looks like the same place." He read the caption: On the southwest Caribbean coast is a nature preserve. "Oh, cool! We landed in a nature preserve!" said Annie. "That's why it looks so natural." "Right…," said Jack. He read on:

Dazzling coral reefs are just a short distance offshore. Beginning snorkelers can swim without losing sight of land. "Yay!" said Annie. "We did come to the perfect place—a nature preserve with a coral reef, just like Randy and Jenny's." "Yep!" said Jack. "Let's snorkel first. Then maybe check out that pyramid. It looks cool." "Good plan," said Annie. She started down the rope ladder. Jack put the travel guide into the swim bag with their snorkel gear. He hung the bag on his shoulder and followed Annie. He stepped off the ladder and stood with her in the shade of the tree. "Oh, man…," said Jack, sighing. A fresh, salty ocean breeze wafted over them. White sand sparkled in the warm sunlight. "This is a good view," said Annie. "I'll take a picture. No, even better, a video." She reached into the pocket of her tunic and pulled out their cell phone. Pointing the phone at the beach, she clicked the "record" button and spoke loudly:

"Jack and I are in Cozumel, at a beautiful beach on a nature preserve, and this—" "Hey, stop!" said Jack. "What if Mom and Dad see that? You have to erase it." "Oh, you're right!" said Annie. She laughed as she deleted the video. "No big deal, Mom and Dad, we just took a little detour to Mexico on our way home from the lake." She put the phone in Jack's bag. "Okay! No camera on this trip." "Let's hit the water," said Jack. As they started across the beach, their flip-flops sank into the fine, sugary sand. Seagulls cawed overhead. "It's easier to go barefoot," said Annie. She and Jack stopped and put their flip-flops into Jack's bag. "Hey, what's that?" Annie pointed to a raft lying on the sand. "Whoa," said Jack. They hurried over to the raft. It was made of bamboo poles lashed together with leather strips. A paddle lay beside it. Jack looked around for its owner, but no one was in sight. "Who left it here?"

"It must belong to the nature preserve," said Annie. "I'll bet it's for tourists to use. Why else would it just be lying here? It's got a paddle and everything. Want to try it?" "What? Put it in the water?" said Jack. "Yes," said Annie. "It'll be fun! Say yes." "No!" Jack said. "Oh, Jack. Please! We can paddle out to the reef. Look how calm the water is! It'll be superfun," said Annie. Jack started to say no again, but he stopped. It would actually be super-fun, he thought. "Well, if we take it, we have to stay close to shore, and keep a lookout for its owner, just in case—" "Okay, okay," said Annie. "I'll row!" She grabbed the paddle, and Jack dragged the raft over the wet sand. He pushed it from the bubbling sea-foam into the cool, clear water. "She floats!" said Annie. Gentle waves lapped the sides of the raft. "Okay, you hop on first," said Jack. He put their bag on the raft and then held it steady while Annie

climbed onto the bamboo poles. The raft kept floating. "Good, good…now me," said Jack as he climbed aboard. The raft dipped a bit lower in the water, but it easily held them both. "Yay! Now let's find the reef!" said Annie. "I'll take us there." As she began to paddle, the breeze helped push the raft over small ocean swells. "This is a great raft!"