Hey guys! Marvis finally took the gag off and let me write a post
for once. You see, she's been taking me lots of
places......Colorado...Idaho....Wisconsin.....but she hasn't been
letting me out of my shell to get some fresh air. Thankfully she took
me to see Cozumel, Mexico, and let me go out and about. Marvis went to
Cozumel with the usual suspect (Bex) and two others you may not have
heard of before: Knute and Mr. P. A good time was had by all.
Here are some of the highlights of the trip that they said were most memorable:
- Some super delicious food was eaten: pastor tacos, whole
chicken slow roasted and made into tacos, fresh squeezed lime juice, and
peach juice from the box. And of course some chips, salsa, and guacamole.
- Overheard in the airport: We got schooled by a herd of fish.
- It
was observed that experienced scuba diver guys know how to change from
their swimming suit into a wet suit underneath a towel while in plain
view. And they can also reverse that process too. David, the scuba
instructor/guide could do it no problem, but he has over 5,000 dives
logged. Knute and Mr. P, who aren't as experienced, chose to use the
head to change.
- Mex and Bex did a little bit of snorkeling -
enough for Mex to get stung by a jellyfish anyway. If you don't want
someone to pee on it to reduce the sting/itching, then vinegar is a good
substitute.
- Knute and Mr. P kept very busy getting scuba certified.
- One
day while Knute and Mr. P were scuba training, Mex and Bex went over to the
nearby yoga studio and accidentally got in on an "energy yoga" training session.
Interesting.....to say the least. Also interesting that we saw that
same yoga instructor at the airport as we were leaving.
- Speaking
of yoga, all four of the vacationers went over to the same yoga studio
one evening to do yoga. Mr. P said he had never done yoga before, and
he wasn't too sure about how vulnerable he felt at the end of the yoga
session.
- Mex and Bex tried to go to a Sunday AM meeting, but
there were some crossed wires in communication or something about when
they would be picked up at the ferry dock, so they had their own little
meeting on the beach in Playa del Carmen. Wherever two or three are
gathered together....sometimes a small meeting of two is good for a
heart-to-heart talk.
- One of the other guests at the rented
lodging location was Clara - a spunky Canadian 67-year-old lady who
loves scuba diving and still has her own advertising business. A
favorite quote from her: "Some privacy please!" Both in reference to
hanging out by the side of the boat taking a pee and when she found the
toilet in the wreck we dove.
- Another interesting character was
JoAnn...mother of the guy who owned the rental lodging (Steve)....and
permanent fixture near the table by the gate playing computer games,
coughing up a lung, and smoking Pall Malls. And playing the occasional
game of Backgammon with Dan.
- The scuba diving was awesome - all four of
them liked the sea turtles, coral, giant lobsters, big grouper, and all
the other underwater stuff they saw. Including the submarine, the wreck diving, and the drift diving.
- Mr. P is just as big of an air hog
as Marvis. And maybe engineers are wound a
little too tight and tend to breathe too much.
- A dune buggy was rented for a tour around the island one evening.
- Seen
at a restaurant: a yard of beer. Don't picture lovely greenery with
the occasional beer bottle strewn about. Instead, picture a clear
vertical tube that is three feet long and filled with beer. It was an
interesting sight for sure.
- Several games were played....Carcassonne!, Texas Hold-Em, Fluxx, Rage, Rummy....
- For
entertainment on the plane, all four of the vacationers took the
"Gifted adult quiz". And yes, Marvis graphed the results upon returning
to the U.S.
- When a discussion on ice scuba diving started, Bex
posed the question, "What happens when your ice hole freezes over?"
Ummm.....let's just hope that never happens.
- Anna should also be
mentioned - she came along on the dives to be the scuba guide for Mex and
Bex. They liked the personalized attention - one benefit of not diving
with the dive shops at a big resort.
- Eve and Dan.....they were
also gracious hosts I guess you could say. They gave tips on where the
good food was and took Mex, Bex, Knute, and Mr. P to the beach on the
other side. And Dan showed Bex and Mr. P. a cenote and a sweat lodge when they went for a morning walk.
- This was the official theme song from the trip (isolation!), and Knute spent a lot of time talking about the movie Life Aquatic. Apparently there were some parallels. I've never seen it, so can't really say for sure.
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| There's a reason it's called a jellyfish "sting". |
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| An electrical engineer nightmare seen at the local carnival. Do you think that's up to code? |
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| Delicious taco breakfast at a local stand. |
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| Why pay to go inside this...... |
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| .....when you can do this? |
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| Beautiful Cozumel coral. |
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| One of the favorite pictures from the trip - Mex and Bex all geared up to dive. |
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| Bex, Mex, Knute, and Mr. P hanging out doing their safety stop. |
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| This makes me want to relax just looking at it. |
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| Washed up coral and coconut on the beach. |
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| Bex and the rental dune buggy. |
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| Waiting for food to arrive. |
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| Mex left quite a big of stuff there that had reached the end of its life. A pair of socks, a jean skirt, a shirt, and the sandals that she bought in Cozumel in 2010. |
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| Characters encountered on the trip - JoAnn and Clara. |
