Mexico

Derek and I just got back from 6 days in Cozumel, Mexico - without the kids! We went there two years ago and had such a great time we didn't hesitate to go when the opportunity arose to go back. My parents were in town for the wedding and agreed to stay with our little guys so we could get away.

Last time we were in Cozumel we met a couple from New England, Lisa and Peter, who were on the same dive boats as us and staying in the room next to ours at the inn we stay at. We got to be friends during the week, and Lisa and I have kept in touch. In December she asked if we wanted to go diving again this year, which we did, and we were able to work it out so we could meet in Cozumel during the same week. She booked the hotel, I booked the diving and we were ready to go! They are super fun and so nice, it made it easy to vacation with them. I hope we can do it again.

I didn't take very many pictures this trip. Mainly because all we did was go diving. Every morning we woke up around 7, got ready and walked down to Hotel Barracuda to meet the dive boat. The only time we spent on any sort of beach our entire trip was the 15 minutes we waited every day at the Barracuda.

Our boat would pick us up for a two tank morning dive. It would take about an hour to get to the first dive spot, but it's a fun hour talking to everyone on the boat and relaxing in the bow or on the roof. I never expected that part of diving is interacting with all the other divers as much as you do. It's really fun. The first dive is always the deepest - between 70-100 feet for about 40 minutes.

Then we'd get back on the boat for about an hour and have a snack while we drove to the second dive spot, which is always shallower, 40-50 feet, and we'd stay down anywhere between 40-65 minutes. After that we'd get back on the boat and go back to the dock.

One day we had a break for lunch and then a one tank afternoon dive. Another day we had all afternoon off then went back to the dock at 7pm for a night dive. The other two days, we only did the two tank morning dive, which is enough, we were exhausted! Diving really wears you out.

Every day we went back to our rooms and had lunch with Peter and Lisa on the 3rd floor where there's a community kitchen under a palapa roof. After lunch we'd all take naps, then try to do something productive like shopping or a movie (The Adjustment Bureau with Spanish subtitles). Then we'd go out to dinner. And let me tell you, Cozumel has some of the best restaurants. The food is good, everywhere has outdoor seating and at a few of the places we had the most amazing atmosphere. I looked forward to dinner every night. Here we are at Guido's (I know - an Italian restaurant in Mexico, but it's delish, we went there last time too.)

Derek and I haven't bought our own dive equipment yet, for several reasons, but we did get our own wetsuits because even water that is 81 degrees gets chilly after an hour in it. We didn't intend on getting matching ones, but that's how it turned out. And I love that mine is pink - the more boys I have the more feminine I get.

Here's Peter and Lisa on the dock we get picked up on. This was right before our night dive.

My favorite day of diving was the third day there. We were on a fast boat, so it cut the time to the reef in half and there are fewer people on it.

We went to a dive spot called Cedral Wall. On the way there we saw dolphins to the side of the boat (see below). Once we were the in water it was a beautiful dive with tons of wildlife and great coral formations, but my absolute favorite part was that was saw 3 nurse sharks. They were each over 5 feet long and one of them was under a coral outcropping, so I was able to maneuver to about 5 feet away and just watch it. It was so cool. The whole reason I became a diver was to dive with sharks (think South African shark cage), so I really, really, really loved this!

We saw so much on the reef. Besides the sharks and dolphins we saw rays, turtles, eels, octopus (another fave), lobsters, crabs, and tons of fish. Lisa had me touch an anemone and she got an octopus to climb on her hand. I think we all got stung by tiny "finger" jelly fish, and also had run in's with fire coral.

I really enjoy diving. Our last trip I was cold and nervous, but neither one of those was a factor this time, so the air in my tank lasted until it was time to go up. We got to be friends with our dive masters, which just makes for better diving. We became better divers. I wish we had more opportunities to go, but it isn't exactly a family friendly sport.

And, just because it's me, I have to include some food pictures. Is this not the most perfect avocado you have ever seen?

And this was at dinner our last night. The coke has real sugar, the lemonade was HUGE, and we had chips and guac on the house.

It was a great trip. We were worn out every day, but had a great time and came home happy. Can't wait to do it again.