Surf & Turf Special

Up for trying something new? We are too. While in Cancun we planned to snorkel, kayak, windsurf and parasail. But once we entered Aquanaut's Dive Adventures in the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Morelos, we got carried away--we scrapped all the other plans and took up scuba diving!

After a video and a short training session in the world's coldest pool, we were boated out to one of the world's best tropical reefs where we put our skills to the test. The ocean was a warm 80 degrees. Ahhh, perfect.

With 4 certified divers accompanying us, including 2 instructors, we were well taken care of.

When we surfaced and I said I was going to be sick, my instructor just smiled (almost laughing) and told me to go ahead. Pretty brave for a guy who's job it is to keep me next to him.

In my defense, they didn't tell us until later that those were rough seas that day: waves, swells, current, etc. Sheesh! I'm proud I did so well.

It took us a day or two to fully absorb the diving experience, but three days later we were scheduling our next dives. So cool! In all, we did three different dive sites and saw every fish I've ever seen in an aquarium, and a lot of other sea life including lobsters, lion fish, and even a barracuda.

Yep, saw a moray eel.

Saw whole schools of these, plus yellow tangs, angel fish, needlefish--everything imaginable.

We may never get fully certified, but it's fun to think where our next warm water dives may be: Australia, Belize, Tahiti?

Puerto Morelos Lighthouse. The Leaning Tower of Beacha.

Okay, we didn't really do any surfing, but it's a cute photo op anyway.

On another day we took the ferry to Isla Mujeres and visited the sea turtle sanctuary. We arrived right at feeding time and the little guys couldn't get enough.

But we saw three much bigger sea turtles while diving. I swam right over one and had to be careful not to kick it in the head or have it bite my flipper.

We walked for miles on Isla Mujeres, mainly avoiding the tourist areas where vendors bombarded us with shouts to rent their scooters, golf carts, buy their silver jewelry, baskets, blankets, trinkets, or what have you. All junk. It really got annoying. But for a country where the people barely subsist, it hurts to constantly say no.

I wish I had pictures of some of the typical Mexican scenes we saw away from the tourist zones: a man riding a scooter down the street holding a huge fish out to the side, taking it home for dinner. A family of three or four squished onto the seat of a scooter. A young man with a rifle strapped to his back, riding a bike next to the jungle road looking for dinner. A father and son next to their parked bike near the jungle, filling the cart with cactus leaves to eat or sell. Old men with heavy logs tied on their backs walking along small town roads, either to build a thatched hut with or to use as fuel to cook with. And all the wild dogs running loose, even in downtown Cancun. Unfortunately, these were all fleeting glimpses as we drove past, or as they drove past us on our walk. Too bad. I still feel that those scenes were the "real" Mexico.

The ferry to Isla Mujeres (Island of Women). Legend has it that Mayan women made pilgrimages to a temple at the end of the island for fertility blessings. I didn't bother to walk that far. Baby turtles were good enough for me.

Erik giving me the Can't we just stop walking? look.

He's always a trooper to keep up with my action-packed itineraries without complaining. But we both paid for this trip in blisters. We bought band-aids on two separate occasions. Ouch.