Weary Traveler Cancun

We made it to Mexico after 30 hours of travel. We had a great feast of mexican last night while listening to a mariachi band play and the flambe waiters make all sorts of desserts, coffees and lobster. It felt great to sit in the humid heat and be on vacation.

My pina coloada was the length of my arm! Watched Buffalo clobber ...

... up with the parents, eating good food and hanging out.

After a few days of Oklahoma home cooking, I caught a Southwest flight down to Love field in Dallas where Tanya was waiting for me. We spent the next two days with her and her family catching up and enjoying more home cooking. Tanya and I then headed off for a 4 night holiday in Cancun which we had originally planned to take in May...but didn't because of the Swine Flu ...

... on going snorkeling but we ended up just spending the whole day on the beach. Not a bad way to spend an idle day. I was definitely trying to soak up enough warmth to last until spring. The Tennesseans don’t exactly have much to complain about compared to us northerners! However we did make plans to go snorkeling on the reefs the following day.

So the 28th we headed down south to Puerto Morelos to go snorkeling on the coral ...

Today I started my PADI diving course at Aquaworld, which Ben managed to book for me over the telephone (thank u Ben!!). I had to be there for 8am which meant I had to get up at 6.30am. I started by doing my theory and then some exercises in the pool. I had to learn how to flood my mask and then clear ...

... Mayan Water') but someone had renamed it 'Taj Mahal', because they thought it sounded more exotic to visiting divers. Hang on - isn't Taj Mahal a tomb?? The dive leader led us down several steep, stone steps and into a small cave, where he explained the entry, the dive profile, signals, safety, etc. Then all back to the truck, changed and kitted up. In the hot sun and a wetsuit, I was glad to get into the cave and then the cool water. There were tiny fish at the surface and two ...

... will give stories. The nice lady also gave us a hint to go to the 'hotel zone', which is a peninsula of white sandy beaches, turquoise sea AND hotels. We take that bus to Mister Frogs. Where we have an apero, a beer and a meal. Apero is in special glasses. Warning signs, when you do not look. I get shrimps in a beer glass: they say the only thing better then beer in a beer glass. We sit ON the sea and can see the fishes and ...

... in the US so there are no agencies which offer packages). They pay the agency in Canada for the trip and the agency in Canada pays the Cuban service providers. No embargo busting. Technically this is still illegal, however, because obviously the tourists will spend some money in Cuba. And they are traveling without a valid license. But it is much more difficult for the US to trace them then if they flew from the states. However, for the independent traveler this kind of tour is not ...

Cancun!
Una hermosa ciudad, arruinada por el afan de lucro y el turismo desmedido, los hoteles en la playa como una selva de concreto. En este maravilloso lugar entre por primera vez a Mejico, pero esta tan enfocado al turismo que se pierden las tradiciones y costumbres locales. Disfrutamos en familia de las maravillsosas playas, de la comida, de la bebida no pude porque era chico todavia y ni me interesaba. Pero ...