Isla Mujeres

Our day four adventure brought us to the beautiful Isla Mujeres - meaning Island of Women. This tiny island off the coast of Mexico brags beautiful white sand beaches, upscale resorts, and a quaint little town more reminiscent of the Caribbean than of Mexico. At this point, our Spanish is definitely improving and we have found it relatively easy to communicate with and understand the people we encounter.

After a short bus trip to the marina, we spent some time playing in the early morning sun, enjoying the soft sand of the beach and snapping pictures of three lazy pelicans while waiting for the boat to Isla Mujeres. Once the boat arrived, we all got on-board. I found the hazy sun and rolling waves rocking the boat to be almost intoxicating. I feel bad for those who get sea sick and are bothered by being on the ocean. To me, it's absolutely incredible.

Our crew on the boat was awesome! They kept it fun and entertaining, playing great music, singing, and making most everyone laugh. Devin and I had a great time and enjoyed their antics. I looked around and was shocked to see some people just completely unengaged. You're on vacation, have some fun!! The dj dedicated a song to the trip and everyone laughed when they recognized the titanic theme song. He grabbed an elderly lady out of the front row and brought her to the bow of the boat, telling her she was his Rose. He got behind and held out her arms, re-enacting the famous scene from the movie. Absolutely hilarious!

We were offered some different tour options once we arrived on the island and D and I were both excited when we found out we could go scuba diving - even though neither of us are certified. Ok, truth be told I was totally excited and D was partially excited, partially apprehensive. Arriving in Isla Mujeres, we were struck by the beautiful resort and the amazing turquoise blue water. It was breath-taking. And for a weather forecast that had predicted lots of rain and thunderstorms, the sky was totally clear.

After a brief lesson on the basics of scuba diving, we jumped aboard a boat with three other people - two of whom were certified scuba divers. Devin and I caught on pretty quickly to everything, however, the third lady didn't seem to be quite as adept. With all of gear, we take off and head out to the reef. Everyone got their jackets and tanks on, flippers set, masks on. And next thing you now, we were all going off the side of the backwards, one after the other. I was last and I couldn't wait. The weight belt seemed to weigh 100 pounds, but other than that, I felt pretty comfortable in the equipment. Then with a splash, I was in the water. Our guide pulled me under and put my hands on the buoy rope, indicating the way down. I could see Devin below me, already at the bottom of the rope. As we descended down the rope, my left ear wouldn't pop. I would be forced to stop every few feet and try to equalize the pressure, but as I hard as I tried, it didn't seem to work. I had a choice, deal with the pain and get to the bottom or go back to the top. I wouldn't have cared if my eardrum ruptured! This was a once in a lifetime and nothing was going to stop me.

Once I got down to the bottom and I could finally focus on what was around me, I was hooked. Schools of fish swam peacefully by, not bothered by our presence. The underwater silence that came with snorkeling was definitely not there, but rather in contrast, the only sound was my own rhythmic breathing, in and out. It was loud, but not overly distracting. I tried to take in every sight, every image, every fish, every plant - from the tiniest bright blue fish swimming between the rocks to the large schools with brilliant colors. At one point, we were lead through a narrow passage between these large rocks. I wanted to stay down there forever - it was absolutely incredible. But before we knew it, our guide was pointing up, letting us know that it was time to get back in the boat.

I emerged from the water with a slight bloody nose, the left over effect from my ear not popping. Other than that, we were excited, proud, and anxious to do it again! D and I both decided then and there that we wanted to get certified and that scuba diving must be a part of all of our future vacations. I was so pumped up that when we walked past the pen with the shark, I just had to jump in and touch it. Dragging D behind me, we walked down the steps and into the water where the guy was holding a 6' nurse shark. I thought the shark was going to feel like a dolphin, but it was much more like the skin of an iguana. So cool!

After our dive and our visit with the shark, we ate lunch and spent some time hanging out in the pool at the resort. The last stop on the tour was a visit to the little town at the end of the island. We walked around, stopping at the Silver Palace, the store that our guide recommended. Devin bought me a beautiful silver necklace and earrings with blue topaz. I love them! We wandered through the town, but between the heat and the events of the morning, we were pretty much wiped out. After looking in a few souvenir shops, we decided to spend the rest of our time in one of the little open-air restaurants. Despite the fact that we were outside, a cold drink and the shade made all of the difference. From our seats, we watched the people go by, many of them in golf carts. It seemed to be about a 50/50 mix of tourists and native, most people seemingly not bothered by the heat or the humidity.