Prior to my synchronized-­swimming lesson, I’d imagined something serene: delicate flapping of arms, elegant surface glides, a single leg raised in the air. Then I hopped into the pool at the Silver ...

It was the summer of 2018. My sister, cousin, and I were aboard a motorboat with seven other wide-eyed tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunken statues off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico.