Scuba diving

While we were in Mexico we decided we wanted to learn how to scuba dive- a lifelong wish of Justin's!

We signed up for the online course last April and realized on late June we still haven't done the modules.....talk about procrastination! We hammered it out in 5 days- 200+ slides at a time brought back horrific memories of studying during vet school! 

When we first got to Mexico the currents were too strong due to storms so we didn't dive until the 3rd day. We crammed the confined water dives all in one pool session. The first breath underwater is pretty amazing. They talk about that during the course but it really is true. 

Justin and I both had bug-boos - mine was getting water in my mask and having to then blow it out with air from your nose. Apparently I am wired to breath in through my nose and mouth and promptly got a nosefull/lungfull of water and came sputtering to the surface. Swimming without my mask was also really scary but I felt like a champion when I did it! Justin didn't like having a free-flowing regulator where you "sip" air- he couldn't get his brain wrapped around that. 

The next day we were off for our first ocean dive! That was very scary and exciting. He put us down near a reef (not nearly as colorful as Nemo's reef) but with lots of cool fish! I had a slight panic moment when I had to do the mask underwater and sputtered in salt water. Unfortunately I was 33 ft underwater and had to sort it out underwater. Scary stuff but I survived!!! After we did our skills we then swam around. We saw starfish, sea horses, and even "Gill" from Nemo! (I'm not going to lie I had watched Nemo on the plane ride down and found myself quoting it a lot!)

Unfortunately Justin got really sea sick again but powered through. 

The next day when we were ready to go back out we were both very apprehensive. Me because I could only think about the panicky feeling I had when I couldn't breathe when I choked and
Justin because he didn't want to get sea sick.

We got brave and went out despite our fears and apprehensions. The second day was much better and I got more confident with both dives. Joao (our instructor) was sympathetic to Justin and we parked the boat in a very smooth cove so Justin suffered only minimally with motion sickness. We finished our 4th dive and we're officially certified!!

our fearless leader and instructor Joao

It was much harder than I expected but I am super glad we did it! I feel very lucky to have learned wth Justin. We were. Very big motivators for each other. Very fun to learn something together as opposed to one of us doing something they other I already good at- skiing, horseback riding. 

On our last dive we saw a Morey eel away from the rocks in a very aggressive position but no one got hurt he just bit Gale's fin! 

Zihuatenhao day 1 & 2

This place is basically paradise I have decided! 

When our neighbors Dan and Gale asked us if we wanted to go to Mexico our first reaction was sure that would be cool but we still have so many parts of the world we want to see. Well after some deliberation we decided to give Mexico and try. I can't believe we ever contemplated not going!!!!! 

Our flight down was pretty uneventless and when we arrived a bit late Dan was super excited to see us- he got worried. 

When we arrived I was taken aback by just how beautiful this place is....

We had an amazing dinner of almond encrusted wahoo mango salsa, guacamole, sashimi, and another line cooked fish dish. Soo delicious! We fell in bed and didn't even hear the horrible storm that hit us at night. 

We woke up to big waves and coffe already made! We had a full day of fishing and left early in order to make the most of the day. 

The view from the boat was incredible 

Right at the begging i caught three big fish in a row!! 

Justin unfortunately got really shock when we stopped to reel the fish in. He was ok going out and trolling but stopping was deadly. He even had magic wrist bands that pushed on an acupressure point and ondansetron. I haven't seen my husband turn that shade of green before so he decided to head back to shore. 

I stayed out and we went fishing for another Bonita to use as a bait fish for sail fish. We ended up catching that immediately and headed out 16 miles off shore to get sail fish. 

On the way we saw many Dolphins. The boat captain showed me how to get to the front of the boat and I laid down watching them swim and jump. I got all close got them! I felt like a little kid with a huge grin on my face after seeing the Dolphins and catching 4 fish! 

The rest of the afternoon unfortunately didn't have any bites and we ended the day just trolling but I got to see turtles and visit with the Dolphins multiple times! 

Once back justin was feeling better so we hung out by the pool and then napped. Gale had a massage so I got one after her- she comes right to the house so I went straight from nap to massage (it's a hard life!) 

Dinner was at a small local Italian/Mexican place. Delicious! We met our dive instructor and went over the plans for tomorrow as well as getting to know him.

I have to say we have already met some beautiful people and seen some beautiful country.