The Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup concluded the 2009 season in style and many of the athletes took full advantage of the hot Mexican weather and sandy beaches following the race in order to relax following a hard year of travel and competition.

ITU Duathlon world champion and winner of the Hamburg Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series race, Jarrod Shoemaker, checked in to let us know what the triathletes got up to when they had a chance to let loose. Be sure to view Jarrod’s photo gallery on the right of this page.

A few of us decided to stay an extra day after the Huatulco World Cup. Jess Harrison and Carole Peon met up with a French woman who lives in Huatulco and she suggested we rent a boat for the day and explore the beautiful bays of Huatulco. We rounded up ten athletes, Jess Harrison, Carole Peon, Aurelian Lescure, Alicia Kaye, Matt Chrabot, Jillian Peterson, Emma Davis, Sara McLarty, Dustin McLarty and myself, and met at 9:30am to head out for the day.

We got in the boat and headed out to sea. Our first stop was for some spectacular snorkelling and a small cave just off the swim course. Next we proceeded around the point and out into the open ocean where we spotted several sea turtles which were quick to take off under the water before we could get too close. After chasing the sea turtles for a while and watching the beautiful cliffs go by we turned into a small cove and we were told we had ten minutes to find shells. We all dove off the boat and followed our captain into the water. He dove down and came back with abalone and some conch. I was pretty excited as I have always wanted to try abalone since I saw a Travel Channel show on Huatulco and its seafood.

We collected a lot of abalone and headed back onto the boat. At this point a few of us were feeling a bit woozy from the sea and also because we hadn’t eaten or drank since the morning. Luckily we headed around another point and into an almost deserted beach. We all welcomed jumping off the boat and found refuge under a tree. Our captain walked over to the rocks and started opening the abalone. It was VERY good especially with a little lime and chilli sauce.

After a bit of relaxing we headed back onto the boat and to Bahia San Agustin. We were all starving so we got a huge plate of seafood and ate; it was gone in about ten minutes. We were the only people on the beach and it was a lot of fun hanging out and watching the beautiful ocean.

As the sun started to set we headed back, partially wondering if we were going to make it back before it got too dark. On the way home we saw a pod of dolphins and to our great surprise a group of rays jumping! We enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the boat and rolled in the Bahia Santa Cruz harbour just after the sun set.

All ten of us had a great time exploring the beaches and bays of Huatulco. It was great to take a day and relax after the hard World Cup course; it was the perfect way to lead into the offseason.