Upon awakening, I was greeted by a mini hurricane. If I were the Wicked Witch of the West, I would’ve melted before leaving our doorstep. Good news: Mom called the dive shop and got our lesson pushed back an hour. Bad news: I had already woken up and gotten ready. Sighhh. Well, only one thing to do! Cue half hour nap.

Arriving at the dive shop for our final lessons, we don our gear to complete our last two dives. I was having slight buoyancy issues, but other than that, a great dive!  Not only did we see two more sea horses, but we also saw four lionfish!

And yepp, that’s me in the picture. Just kinda floating there like a log. Cute. Moving on. Using one of the foremost fish experts in the world (*cough* Wikipedia), I discovered that lionfish are actually one of the most venomous fish on the ocean floor. …which is why I totally understood when Alfonso decided to start poking them with a stick… hmmm….

Though I will say my muted horror at the apparently blatant disregard for marine life was somewhat mollified when I heard that they were an invasive species destroying the local ecosystem. Rally your men! Kill the lionfish!!!

So after a successful completion of the required dives and the Everest of paperwork, Patrick and I became certified scuba divers!!! SUCCESS! My victory dance was unfortunately postponed until a later date, when my limbs weren’t exhausted and my belly rumbling…

With our certification course, Patrick and I received a “free” boat dive out at one of the deeper reefs. But since we still had three hours to kill, the fam and I head over to the Mexican Walmart (cleverly disguised as a store named Mega, but we all know…) where we indulge in the fine dining of the store’s fastish food restaurant. Plus side, I successfully ordered our entire family’s meal AND we got to watch Mexican soap operas. What more could a girl want?

Haha check out their hamburgers. Burgers topped with ham! Love it. The rest of the time was spent chilling at the dock, helpfully documenting an older gentleman’s attempt to relive his childhood dream of joining the Mexican dive team.

The boat pulls up and Patrick and I board, ready to begin our first dive as certified scuba-teers (totally made up that term, btdubs). At first we are the only ones on the boat, so we indulged in some awkward small talk with the crew. I am exaggerating slightly, since Ernesto was actually really easy to talk to. Patrick was just no help at all, though, on the conversation front. Ohhh, middle schoolers.

Fortunately, not long after, we were joined by ten other divers, ranging from maybe 30 to 70? Just guess-timating on these ages. The point being, we were the youngest and most inexperienced by far. Though one would assume we would be, as we just got our certification 3 hours prior.

We boat our way past 4 cruise ships out to one of the underwater cliff faces. Very cool. Not super colorful, but it was fascinating how deeply it dropped off into pitch blueness. And we easily hit 60 feet (the max we’re allowed as Open Water certified divers) before we knew it. (And Patrick technically wasn’t supposed to go deeper than 40 ft. Whoops.)

Cool sights (in order of appearance):

·         Angel fish that were about 2 feet long

·         Flounder! Sooo hard to spot

·         A couple barracuda stalking the seas

·         A sea turtle!!! And a large one, too

·         A large stingray swimming straight at me. However, I won the epic stare down, so he moved.

·         Huge groupers – like the size of Patrick

All in all, a rather successful dive, as members on board congratulated us on superior performances. Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head.

After the dive, Patrick and I decided to forgo our taxi ride home in favor of ice cream. However, this turned out to be quite an epic quest, as we weaved in and out of random side streets in search of delicious frozen-ness.  Cool thing: shopkeepers are less likely to harass you when you are soaking wet and tiredly dragging your feet. So yes, we might’ve carried on that charade long after we dried and recuperated.

We decided to grab ice cream at the mini-mart on the edge of town, once again allowing me to demonstrate my amazing Spanish abilities as I apologized profusely for the inconvenience caused by paying with foreign money.

However, it was successful as Patrick and I left, happily holding Magnum bars in our grubby little fingers. Which were delicious, by the way. So delicious that when I dropped a large piece of chocolate on the sidewalk, rather than bemoan its loss, I simply picked it up and ate it. To the shock and disgust of a large military vehicle filled with armymen that just happened to be driving by at that very moment. Hey, chocolate is chocolate.

Once home, we took time as a family to enjoy the beautiful sunset:

Tehe, one beautiful picture a day. But just one, I promise. After dinner, we all decided to watch Cool Hand Luke. Gahhh, one of my most favorite movies ever. Paul Newman, you are my hero. And totally caught the minor Christ allegory that I missed the first time I watched it.

But yepp, that’s all for today folks. The rain is falling, and so are my eyelids. The following picture is added, because I like it. Nos vemos!

Oh and feel free to check out more pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/115787829715255758995/CozumelSummer2010#

Thus begins our second full day here in Cozumel. Wow it seems like we’ve been here a while, but as per usual, I’m sure the rest of the trip will fly by. (Enjoy it Ellen! Enjoy it while it lasts…)

The morning starts off bright and early as Patrick and I gather our things to head over to the dive shop for Day Number Two. Hmmm dilemma. There was already someone wearing Patrick’s wet suit. Oh hello Mr. Crab. [ just for the purpose of scale, he is bigger than my hand!]

But once the rightful owner reclaimed his suit, we were on our way! And yes, we are running late. Funny how we get accosted by cab drivers when we don’t need one, but as soon as we do, they are nowhere to be found. Admittedly, it’s a little earlier than most of the tourists are up (and earlier than I should be up).

However, about halfway there (and four minutes until we are supposed to be on the other side of town) we managed to hail a cab. The cool thing? By speaking Spanish (or by attempting to) cab rides are half the price! (I don’t know if this a real rule, but that’s been my experience)

As soon as we get there, the skies let loose, drenching us. Never one to let the weather impede an experience, we grab our gear and dive right in. Unfortunately, while we were supposed to do two dives today, we get our first dive cut short. Patrick was having trouble equalizing his ears, so we couldn’t continue for the day =/.

Sooo, we finished up quite early today, though hopefully we’ll get to complete the course tomorrow so as to get our certification. We decided to wait around for John Alex at the hotel we were diving from, so the next few hours were spent swimming, napping, and judging men in speedos.

Weirdly enough, it started raining about once every hour, and then it would clear up and become hot and sunny again. It made napping slightly difficult, but nevertheless I managed to succeed.

Around one, the ‘rents show up and John Alex gets back from his dive (which was at a minesweeper wreck that had eels and lionfish! Ahh so jealous). Since our stomachs were beginning to rival the thunder in the noise pollution department, the fam sets off in search of meat. And being the traditionalists that we are, we settled on fine traditional Mexican cuisine:

Yepp, USDA Certified 100% Angus Beef hamburgers. Yummm. After lunch, Mom, John Alex and I set off to explore the shops. Which, I must say is quite an experience. The shopkeepers are just a pushy as they are in Turkey, but the difference is that about half of them are women here in Mexico.To be honest, I love the prices, but I hate this kind of shopping. Gah! Stop guilting me into buying things!

However, I did make one purchase today that is the equivalent of my poofy pants purchase in Turkey: I got a super cool brightly colored hammock! Yay! I haven’t quite decided where I am going to put it yet… maybe for any guests who come spend the night in my dorm next year? (Thus eliminating parental visitations :P)

I also got some very pretty silver earrings with small bits of turquoise in them. Initial price? $35. With my intense haggling skills cupped with my intense frugality, I got them for…(drumroll)…$12! Victory! However, initial feelings of superiority were soon deflated when I discovered similar earrings being sold at similar low prices. Damn it. And I thought I did so well. Taking back my self’s pat on the back. At least I didn’t get ripped off…

The walk back was littered with rain showers so we played leapfrog with the overhangs. Luckily the last bit of the walk had clear skies so I was finally able to get pictures of some of the strange statue things we kept passing every day. I can’t quite figure them out. Did the Mayans actually get this far east? Or are these just Mexican heritage statues? Must investigate further than the small Wikipedia article I read.

However, here’s a cool collection of Mayan statues and mock ancient carvings:

A very cool fountain with the Mexican Medusa, who ironically is standing in a pool, I guess revealing that she wasn’t quite as endowed with such stony powers as her Greek compadre was.

And my personal favorite - me practicing for the future of my empire:

Much of the afternoon and early evening was spent lounging around, reading and working on various projects. Dinner was once again a staple food: peanut butter and jelly. Yum. The rain fortunately let up just long enough to enjoy the sunset.

Ahhh, beautiful, isn’t it? After soaking up the view, we gather as a family and watch Michael. Love John Travolta. Classic film.  Well that’s all for today folks. Chao!

Today is my Dad’s birthday! Happy 65^th, Dad =). Cool fact: he has lived through 12 presidents, 7 wars, and 3 children. A notable accomplishment.

We wake up bright and early to head over to the dive shop to begin our certification dives. Brief mix up over registration information leads to an increased price, but at last it is all sorted out. It also turns out that now the class will take 3 days instead of 2, but c’est la vie. John Alex, since he already has his certification, enrolls in an Advanced Diver certification course.

Patrick and I have a dive instructor named Alfonso, who is about 35-40 years old and bubbly. Alfonso is a fantastic instructor and he takes us out and puts us through all the paces of underwater mask removal, out of air situations, and a few buoyancy tests. Also, scuba diving really is an extraordinary method of learning panic suppression, because panicking can be quite deadly in such an unfamiliar element.

Hmmm, Alfonso also was shocked to discover I was 19 years old, assuming I was 15. Really guys? Really?! First Adem, the Turkish taxi driver and now Alfonso, my dive instructor? Do I really look that immature? Sighhh, WELL. At least I’ll appreciate this later in life.

Cool sites on today's dive:

·         Barracuda (though a small one at only 3 feet or so)

·         Seahorse (these are really rare in the wild! My mom has been looking for one for years)

·         Underwater plane wreck

As you may have guessed, the animal life pictures in this blog are not mine. I have no underwater camera. But just wanted to give you guys a glimpse of what we’re seeing.

Speaking of seeing, this is what I came home to:

Haha, just thought I’d rub it in your face a little more. The afternoon was spent relaxing, working on some of my projects, and napping.

Speaking of napping, my family decided that documenting me doing this would be one of the themes for the trip:

Since it is my dad’s birthday, we went out on the town. Along the way, we passed the Mexican military getting scuba lessons, guarded of course by soldiers with machine guns. Interesting. Mom was creeped out, but I thought it was really cool.

We get about halfway to the restaurant when it begins pouring. Like torrential downpours. Like shouldn’t –have-worn-a-thin-potentially-see-through-dress type downpours. Never to fear, we make it safely to the nearest minimart and examine their impressive knife display.

Deciding to taxi ourselves over the rest of the way, we make it to the restaurant where we board an elevator at street level (where the doorman gives us free bread!), and arrive at the top floor of a large building where the restaurant is located.

It’s be-you-tee-ful. Food is also super delicious and a Mexican band is playing music. Ahhh, this is the life. And the weather even clears up for a bit so we can enjoy the beautiful sunset! We have a nice long dinner where the waiter tries to take my plate on 3 separate occasions (but I insisted on licking the plate clean), but overall a great meal.

Afterwards, John Alex and I enjoy a nice long walk home as the rest of the fam stops and gets groceries for the rest of us. That’s all I’m gunna post today, guys. That margarita tonight was a little strong so typing this is taking a tad bit more effort than normal.

*Apparently the comment feature doesn't work on this blog either. Shame. I will try and fix that*

The first day of our adventures! The day started bright and early with a planned departure of 5:30 am. Which of course means we left by 6:10 am. But timeliness aside, we left the house as the sun was greeting us over the horizon.

In a manner typical of every major morning event, I did not get any sleep last night. I figured it was more important to set up this lovely blog for all my faithful readers (though I must say, the line spacing still bugs me – but I can’t figure out how to fix it). But I had my coffee this morning and I am ready to go!

6:10 am: smelly mom-o-bile is packed and we are on the road! Sleep-deprived and packed full of coffee, I tried to engage the entire van with a resounding chorus of the Proclaimer’s♪I‘m on My Way♪(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xmlb3ZRPuU). This, unfortunately, was met with much groaning as iPods were pulled from pockets and hoods were pulled over heads. Tsk tsk some people can’t handle mornings (says the girl who only sees sunrises from the wrong direction).

Adios! (Btw if you're interested in following the pictures that I upload during this trip, check out the album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/115787829715255758995/CozumelSummer2010#)

But yes, at 5:30 am, my family and I will depart on our Next Big Adventure –> Destination: Cozumel. Well, truthfully, it’s their first Big Adventure, but semantics schmantics.

Here’s an overview of the sitch: (translation: situation)

·         June 22^nd: Depart RDU at 8-something a.m. – aka way too early for a family with (almost) three teenagers

·         Stopover in Houston. Check to see if things really are bigger in Texas. I have my doubts.

·         Arrive in Cozumel – presumably safely and with all our luggage (knock on wood)

·         Spend 10 days exploring, relaxing, scuba diving, World Cup-ing, and other shenanigans

·         July 1^st: Depart Cozumel – insha’allah with all 5 family members alive and present

Got it? Sounds like a fun trip, no? Hopefully, it will be. However, the majority of you are probably thinking – where the hell is Cozumel anyway? Or maybe you’re a lot smarter and more versed in the geography of the world than I was when I heard about it a couple months ago.

But basically, Cozumel is in Mexico. If the web address for the blog didn’t give it away, then my ecstatic shout at the beginning of this post probably did. However, more specifically, Cozumel is an island located off the coast of the Yucatan Pennisula, a little bit south of Cancun.

Yes, I am aware that this isn’t the “real” Mexico. I’ll leave that region to the usual suspects à you know, the English-teaching, well-digging, food/shelter-providing, baby-rescuing, all around good-hearted and service-oriented college students.

I’m not entirely sure what we will be doing this trip. Just kinda going with the flow on this one.  I’m pretty sure we will be exploring the island, scuba-diving, snorkeling, and avoiding the masses of tourists that allegedly arrive by the cruise-ship-load. But we will see.

So when most people go to a foreign area, research is generally done so as to get a feel for the area. Some buy guide books, some read novels by local authors, some Google it, some rely on the ever dependable Wikipedia…. My source? Why my mother of course.

Don’t get me wrong, my mom is a great Googler and finder of obscure facts. But due to the selective hearing capabilities of teenage children, the only two facts I retained about Cozumel are these:

1.       The port can hold 6 cruise ships. (Ohhh Lord)

2.       You can’t use the water to brush your teeth.

So Cozumel will be as much of a surprise to me as it is to you, my dear readers.

So events leading up to departure. All in all, a lot less snafus than the ones before my Turkey trip, thankfully. (If you’re new to my blogs, check out the Turkey trip here: http://turkishdelights2010.blogspot.com/).

Hmm what did I do to prepare? Well here was my to do list:

1.       [Completed] Online Scuba Certification Course - Now all I have to do are six certification dives and I’m good to go! Mom, Dad, and John Alex are already certified but by the end of this trip, both Patrick and I will join the exalted ranks of PADI Open Water Certified scuba divers! Hooray!

2.       [Failed] Become tan.

3.       [Completed] Successfully unblocked my debit card (knock on wood). However I have apparently developed a reputation at SECU. I briefly mentioned the trouble I had in Turkey and I received an “ohhh so you’re that girl”.  Uh oh.

4.       [Failed] Complete a vigorous ab workout regime to turn my poor body, victimized by that dreaded freshman year of college, into beach babe shape. Hmmm, eating entire tubs of ice cream probably didn’t help.

5.       [Completed] My packing! Before 10 minutes to departure! In fact, I was the first one done and a full 12 hours in advance too. *patting myself on the back*

6.       [Failed] Review Spanish. Yo soy una americana - dame el helado, ahora. Ehh, good enough.

Hmm, a 50% success rate. Not too shabby. If I shot 50% in the NBA, I’d be making millions. (one day, one day…). Well, that’s all for now! It is now 4:30 am in the morning and one hour ‘til departure time.

Everyone cross your fingers (!) that, for the first time ever in my life, my flights tomorrow (er…today) will go smoothly and according to plan.

See y’all in Meh-he-co!

Ellen