Cozumel

I'm not sure where to start! How about with: we're back!

We left last Saturday and drove down to my parents house where we got to visit with them for one night. The next morning when they left for church we left for the airport. It didn't take very long to get through security. I think that is partly due to the fact that there were not that many people with carry on luggage. It always annoyed me when people would bring a suitcase as a carry on and attempt to cram it into the overhead bins. It was easy to put my small backpack into the bin and not be afraid it would get squished. We got to Cozumel and headed off to the hotel to meet Brad's bro, dad and the family of his dad's girlfriend.

The first night went pretty well. We walked to the downtown square and ate at the smallest Hard Rock Cafe. We went back to the square to have a margarita and watch a band. Although the margaritas were awful and overpriced, Brad and I had fun talking with his dad. At that time, the girlfriend and her family were taking T to the doctor due to a bladder infection so we were alone. When we got back to the hotel, Brad and his brother, E, drank some of the "ameoba water" from the faucet since we didn't have purified water. We laughed and laughed and laughed about that. Brad drank three bottles of it! Thankfully, they were both fine! :O)

The next day, we went out and did a shore dive to test out the equipment. In the afternoon, we discovered that the alley outside the hotel that had seemed deserted on Sunday came alive during the week. There were shops and it was full of beautiful bright and bold colors. The colors are so vibrant there. We also found out that the hotel had a pool bar right outside. We consumed some of the best margaritas in that pool. And we consumed a lot of them. :o) Brad and I negotiated for a hammock before we all ate at Casa Bravo for dinner.

Tuesday morning marked the start of scuba diving. Our divemaster, David, was really good. I wasn't able to overcome fear of my ears and so I didn't actually dive this trip but I snorkeled over everyone the entire time. For the most part, I was able to see everything they saw. We dove Tuesday through Friday morning. We saw a lot of neat coral formations and lots of marine life. Aruba had a lot of wreck diving but Cozumel was diving natural formations. According to the dad, a lot of damage had been done to the reefs since the hurricanes but it was still georgeous! My favorite marine animals are the sting ray and sea turtle. I don't think any of us had seen as many sea turtles as we saw this past week. During the night dive on Thursday, we saw the largest turtle I've ever seen in my entire life. It was huge! Probably 5-6 feet!! I thought it was a coral formation until the lights shone on it. It was impressive and quite amazing. We also got to see an octupus during the night dive--that was cool.

I took Dramaine for all the boat rides during the week except for Friday. I felt sick until I got in the water and stayed there. But, on Saturday, we took the ferry over to the mainland to visit Playa del Carmen. I felt so horrible and nauseaous. It was actually kinda funny except that it felt like I was still on the boat even after being on land for a few hours. Once we were on the mainland, the dad decided it would be cost effective to visit a timeshare place to get a free meal and then have a free driver for the afternoon so we could visit Tulum, some Mayan ruins--which was something I really wanted to do. The kids (youngest being 21) hung out by the pool while the dad and his girlfriend were hasseled to buy a timeshare. Of course, they didn't but we still got our free driver. So, off we went to visit Tulum.

Tulum was so impressive. Ruins are so fascinating and the whole time we were there I could just imagine another culture conducting their daily life. They couldn't have picked a better location for their home...the "city" was right on a cliff that overlooked one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. It was amazing. I don't know what else to say...it's one of those places you feel.

Brad took me on a date Friday evening. We ate at Pepe's Grill. It was worth every penny just for the salad bar and veggies. We were craving some greens. Most of the meals consisted of some variation of meat, cheese, tortilla and some beans. We will be having tofu with veggies for dinner tonight! Some of the people we travelled with were somewhat picky about eating local cusine so many of the meals were at McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Carlos and Charlies, etc. McDonalds is not "fast" food in Cozumel. It was funny because we would order and then wait for like 10-15 minutes for our food.

We got back in last night and it was so wonderful to flush toilet paper down the toilet. In Mexico, you have to put the dirty toilet paper in the trash can next to the commode. This morning, the first thing I did was go pick up the babies from the vet. I don't think I have ever been greeted so warmly...they are incredibly happy to be home and I don't blame them! We're happy too! It was so wonderful to sleep in our big bed (we had a full there) and smell our house. Of course, I noticed a funky smell in the kitchen when we walked in and we tried to locate the source. We sniffed everywhere and then realized it was coming from the potatoes in the cabinet! I didn't know they would go bad so quickly! It was funny.

This morning, I have unpacked, started a load of laundry and am trying to get back into the swing of things. School starts soon and I'm ready! It was so wonderful to have this vacation.

It was weird to go on vacation with Brad's dad and the family of his dad's girlfriend. Brad and his brother were uncomfortable watching their dad interact with the "other" family. And that is what it felt like...he was hanging out with his new family. They were nice enough but it definitely brought some feelings to the surface.

I'm going to post some pictures from the trip below.

Well, it won't let me load pictures right now so I'll try to add them later.