I am writing from North Carolina. The sounds of Cozumel are half a day behind me, and loudly absent. The rooster calls, the dogs barking, the gasoline truck's jingle (like Mr. Softee), mopeds skimming through puddles, Mexican music, the shouts of soliciting shopkeepers, and Spanish language everywhere.
I had the best traveling buddy this past week. I now call him my husband. (I've actually never said that out loud to anyone in English yet, only Spanish.) I could have landed myself a husband that wears Hawaiin shirts, balloon hats, and carries around a yard of beer when traveling. But we had an immediate unspoken agreement to avoid the tourist stores and restaurants. We ventured deeper into the city, practiced our spanish, and ate only mexican food except for one meal. We talked to the locals about hurricanes and their families, and ate at many lunch spots that literally were in people's homes, where no english was spoken. And here I'd like to give a special shout out to my stomach. You were awesome!! I normally have a very over-sensitive tummy and even with 2 weeks in Mexico, eating some adventurous dishes, and not being very careful about ice and such I didn't get sick!
The highlight of our honeymoon was the diving. Oh my god. Holy crap!! I thought scuba diving there would be great, but I was in no way prepared for the awesome, transcendental experience it was. (I was a bit surprised at how I almost drifted away in one current, and had not one but two technical difficulties with equipment, but that's another story.) On our very first dive, in the very first few minutes, we saw a huge Moray eel. It was moving in the open sea and looked like a Chinese dragon in a parade. We saw schools of fish all over, and a grouper bigger than me that swam alongside me in a tunnel. So many sting rays, and an absolutely incredible eagle ray that was about 7 feet long - it looked like it was flying through the ocean. We saw a nurse shark, a stone fish, barracudas, parrotfish, and sea turtles. Big sea turtles. The coral was stunning - so many colors and tunnels and life teeming throughout. We did a night dive in the pitch black night, with flashlights, and saw octopus, rays, lobster and crabs. The ocean was lit up with bioluminescent plankton, so it looked exactly like swimming through stars. That, combined with the weightlessness, made me feel like an astronaut on a different planet.
There is much more, but I had a long day of traveling and it's time to shower and sleep. More stories, and wedding details/pictures to follow. It was all incredible, and I feel so unbelievably blessed to be married to Gabriel and to have had such a wonderful wedding and honeymoon.
I had the best traveling buddy this past week. I now call him my husband. (I've actually never said that out loud to anyone in English yet, only Spanish.) I could have landed myself a husband that wears Hawaiin shirts, balloon hats, and carries around a yard of beer when traveling. But we had an immediate unspoken agreement to avoid the tourist stores and restaurants. We ventured deeper into the city, practiced our spanish, and ate only mexican food except for one meal. We talked to the locals about hurricanes and their families, and ate at many lunch spots that literally were in people's homes, where no english was spoken. And here I'd like to give a special shout out to my stomach. You were awesome!! I normally have a very over-sensitive tummy and even with 2 weeks in Mexico, eating some adventurous dishes, and not being very careful about ice and such I didn't get sick!
The highlight of our honeymoon was the diving. Oh my god. Holy crap!! I thought scuba diving there would be great, but I was in no way prepared for the awesome, transcendental experience it was. (I was a bit surprised at how I almost drifted away in one current, and had not one but two technical difficulties with equipment, but that's another story.) On our very first dive, in the very first few minutes, we saw a huge Moray eel. It was moving in the open sea and looked like a Chinese dragon in a parade. We saw schools of fish all over, and a grouper bigger than me that swam alongside me in a tunnel. So many sting rays, and an absolutely incredible eagle ray that was about 7 feet long - it looked like it was flying through the ocean. We saw a nurse shark, a stone fish, barracudas, parrotfish, and sea turtles. Big sea turtles. The coral was stunning - so many colors and tunnels and life teeming throughout. We did a night dive in the pitch black night, with flashlights, and saw octopus, rays, lobster and crabs. The ocean was lit up with bioluminescent plankton, so it looked exactly like swimming through stars. That, combined with the weightlessness, made me feel like an astronaut on a different planet.
There is much more, but I had a long day of traveling and it's time to shower and sleep. More stories, and wedding details/pictures to follow. It was all incredible, and I feel so unbelievably blessed to be married to Gabriel and to have had such a wonderful wedding and honeymoon.
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