Heartbreak and Hope Ch. 04

Our first stop was Captain Hookers Restaurant in Devon, our first time at any establishment on the island where we had breakfast and Claire made the announcements. It seemed that Movie Max could never miss. The French Toast was out of this world as we got the day's information from Claire.

Claire said, "Brief announcements today, "Tomorrow is your first overnight location. Not that you forgot I am sure. Saturday is zip lining and Sunday is a true day off from arranged activities so you can all start your jobs on Monday."

The ride to the Three Cenotes National Park was over an hour and a half to the West central portion of St. Austell. Most of the ride was through quaint towns and agricultural land except at the end of the journey when we entered the dense subtropical forest for perhaps a dozen miles. There was a side road with a park sign that said, 'Film location for Movie Max. Not open to the public today 20 February. At the end of the drive, we came to a clearing and an empty parking lot.

We got out of the shuttle van, I took Jennifer's hand automatically and walked a quarter mile until we came to another clearing and looked down...

I had one of those moments where I knew I was seeing something special. Jennifer's hand squeezed mine hard as I heard her catch her breath.

I heard her say breathlessly, "Oh... my... it's..."

She trailed off. Immediately ahead of us was nature at its absolute finest. Aqua green waters fifty feet below us in three large pools surrounded by lush subtropical forest. The stone walls rising from the water showed where ancient caves had collapsed long ago to reveal the water to the sunlight. Before that day, I had no idea of the truly stunning beauty of a cenote. I had seen pictures, but they were pale comparisons to what I was seeing in front of me.

Some cenotes are small, some cenotes are large, and the three ahead of me were massive. Immediately ahead of me was a cenote four hundred feet in diameter, next and connected to one about two hundred feet in diameter and a final one... one thousand feet in diameter.

I looked around, even Nick was stunned into silence at the beauty of the place.

Claire smiled and said, "Welcome to the largest open-air cenote in the world and two of its smaller cousins. The ones on each end are completely collapsed but you will note the one in the center has areas underneath overhanging rock on the far side."

A smile crept across my face. Movie Max had taken everything from me and they were paying me back in spectacular fashion. I looked at Jennifer, her smile was bright and one of bewildered happiness.

Then it hit me... Exactly one week previous at that moment, Ashley and I were waiting at the airport in Cincinnati at gate B16 waiting for our flight to Charlotte. We had just sat down and waited in silence as she leaned against me for comfort. The flight that led to the death of our marriage... The flight that led to the birth of my new marriage... The flight that lead to adventures... The flight that lead to... hope in a hopeless time.

I forced the thought down. I had to walk toward the light in front of me, not the hopelessness of the past. I did hope that Ashley was embracing the hope.

Fortunately, the thoughts only invaded briefly and I was embracing the present. Hope... With Jennifer.

I refocused my thoughts as Claire gestured behind herself, "Welcome to magic and it is ours. ALL. DAY. LONG.

We were all still stunned at this place when Claire said, "If you are expecting more talking, you will be disappointed. Go have fun!"

Jayson and Cara managed to beat us to the galvanized steel stairs leading down by about two seconds, but we were the second couple just behind them. I grinned at Jennifer whose smile was not fading in the least. Damn, her boobies bouncing as she went down the stairs was a wonderful complement to the rest of the scenery. It was three switchbacks of stairs in the steel tower as we almost raced to the bottom, anxious to live the experience awaiting us.

We got to a large bottom landing and waited for the others to catch up where a woman in her sixties stood bare as she was born, smiling at us. It wasn't a great view, but she wasn't four hundred pounds either. Besides... Naturism is body acceptance, right? Yeah I know, besides there were ten attractive women in our group plus Claire. Following us were three camera crews, two in scuba gear, and five photographers, three in scuba gear. Oh, that's right... I'm a porn star and it was all about making content... LOTS of content.

The woman at the bottom introduced herself, "Hello, I am Barbara, one of the rangers here at Three Cenotes National Park. WELCOME!"

We all said hi in one form or another then Barbara continued, "Just a few rules. First, I know the nature of the production that Movie Max is making and need to make it clear that any touches enough to cause an erection and any form of actual sex is prohibited. Also, there is a snack bar up at the top and it is gratis to you today. Movie Max is paying the bill. However, do not bring any food or drink into the cenotes. We keep this clean and want it that way. Also, please use the facilities upstairs to take care of bodily functions. Yes, the stairs are a pain, but let me ask, how much pee do you all want to swim in?"

Barbara smiled and then said, "That is it. Enjoy!"

I looked at Jennifer and yeah, we both had goofy grins a mile wide. This was going to be fun.

The platform had aluminum stairs going down into the water. As we got to the edge, I tested the temperature which was somewhere in the high seventies. We walked into the water and didn't say a word. We both just swam the length of all three cenotes as they were connected. It took the better part of an hour to swim there and back with a few stops to rest where stone jutted out from the water. When done, we rested on the stairs for a few minutes then climbed up the stair tower to have a snack and a drink of water.

Jennifer just smiled and finally said, "I had no idea a place like this existed. The experience is just... I knew what she was thinking as I was thinking the same thing. One hour in, this was the experience of a lifetime. We swam under the overhanging rock in the center cenote, marveling at the stalactites and stone columns. Words do little justice to what we saw.

We went back down and swam another hour before they brought in a barbecue trailer to feed us steaks. Yes, the camera crews and photographers were all over us the whole time but were in the background. We swam, we played, we talked and I even held her. I wish we could have had sex, but I did not want to take a chance making this experience any shorter. At four, it was time for us to leave and he day had been simply one of the best ever.

After a day at the cenote, they gave us time to shower in a giant communal shower and prepare for the night. They provided some travel-size toiletries and again, I washed Jennifer and she washed me. This time we showered literally in front of everyone. We could not get carried away, but we got away with a little when washing each others' privates.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant in Devon named The Portside. Another place of magic. Every table on this stepped patio was for two with a view of the harbor. Even tables that were not along the rail had a view because the stepping of the patio made the rear tables higher. I had Filet Mignon as did Jennifer... Hey, Movie Max was paying, right?

The ferry ride back at eight that night was much more subdued. The day had been epic fun, but we were exhausted. Jennifer leaned against me and sighed then giggled and said, "I am going to have so much fun with you tomorrow..."

*******

Notes:

Thai Sharona = stupid play on the name of the song My Sharona.

'Motorboating' is putting your face between a woman's breasts and making noise. Look it up if you don't know what it is.