And the winner is...

...Belize!

There is an international bus route from Chetumel, Mexico to Belize City, Belize and we are getting on it.  First, we have to walk to the ferry port to catch the 6am ferry over to Playa del Carmen.  Second, we walk to the bus station to catch a bus to Chetumel.  Last, we catch the international bus to Belize City.  Our actual next stop is Dangriga, Belize in southern Belize.  We still have to figure out which bus line goes that route and at what time.  I'm in the process of finding a hostel for us in Dangriga.  I always feel better knowing I have a place to put my stuff when I get somewhere. Speaking of stuff, I already have more of it! I got a nativity for my Pilates instructor and a picture from a street artist.  I'll probably pick up a few more things in Belize and make a trip to the post office then.

I successfully completed my open water diver certification . I'm now a (temporary) card carrying padi diver. Yay! I still have the jaw fatigue, but with a full day of travel ahead of us, hopefully I will be able to get some rest.  After three days in Belize, we'll be heading to Guatemala  No diving there!

I have no pictures today and this might be my last day of somewhat acceptable wifi.  I'll post more updates as I can!

Elle

Decisions, Decisions

It's certainly a rough life when your only decisions are what to eat and where to go next. :D I wrap up my open water dive certification today.  It's been incredible so far.  It's challenging and inspiring at the same time.  There are so many different kinds of fish in the water here.  I saw three seahorses on Sunday, which I'm told it's rare to see seahorses at all let alone three!

We are weighing the pros and cons of staying in Mexico and heading over to Merida or going straight to Belize.  I know I want a break from diving for a couple days because I am feeling some serious jaw fatigue already.  Pro for Merida, con for Belize. Cozumel is really safe--there is almost no crime here and crime shuts down the island from people leaving and arriving.  Merida is not safe says the locals here in   Cozumel.  I'll ask the dive master what he thinks of Merida on the boat today.

So blogreaders, any experience in Merida?  Should we go there? And since what's a blog post without a picture, here's our elephant housekeeping left us yesterday. :)

Bienvenidos a Mexico!

I made it to Mexico! We arrived in Cancun about 30 minutes earlier than we were supposed to. When does that ever happen? We had to wait for our other party to arrive as well and hung out just outside the international exit. While there, I noticed another American who looked like he was backpacking too! Matt from Chicago was waiting for his friends to get to Cancun before embarking on their loop of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. It was nice to have the company while we waited. He should be friend requesting me in order for us to follow each others adventures.

I started my first (and second) dives Saturday! It was amazing. Some of the fundamentals I had to do were really hard for me. (Take your mask off underwater and leave it off for a minute before putting it back on and clearing it was really tough for me.) One of the guys in the group took some pictures of me diving and I should be able to post those in another month or so. Anyway, the dive master runs his shop out of Chankanaab Park on Isle Cozumel. It is gorgeous there. We arrived at 9:30am and finally left at 5:30. While my boys were out snorkeling, I found a cocktail and a hammock to watch the sun set.

We finally caught a taxi the 10km back to our hotel, cleaned up a bit and headed to dinner. The food at El Pique taqueria was fantastic. I ordered two tacos, finished those up and decided I needed another round. We each ordered one more. This place is open until 1am, so after a few beers, we headed back to the taqueria for a couple more. This was the best food I've had in Mexico so far. It's M$20 or less per taco, or about $1.50.

Another day of scuba awaits Sunday morning. Buenos Dias!