Our near six months in Mexico 🇲🇽 was everything we had hoped for & if you have been following along, so much more! Would we do it again? Absolutely!
We traded the slow pace of Mexico for the the hustle & bustle of big box stores & doctors appointments. There is a whole subject for another time, “healthcare & life on the road!”
Ole Black Betty was a sight for sore eyes after squatty little overpriced hatchbacks in Mexico 🚘
These are the times we call, the rejig! They are not particularly exciting times, just a part of this travel process that has to get done. Thankfully, that meant a quick trip to Colorado Springs. We visited our stuff in storage & unpacked & repacked a few things. I squeezed in a game of ⛳️ with my gal pal & we did our first official stateside, Trusted Housesitter sit for a hilariously mismatched set of pups 🐶
Prints & Peanut. Can you guess which one was the alpha? Nearly every morning of our 10 day stay, I woke to Prints hovering over me, standing with his paws on the bedside. It could have seemed a bit daunting but he was in fact just a big lovable baby. Prints & Peanut were inseparable & sometimes bickered like teenage siblings 🤣 It took them about a day to warm up to us being their temporary humans & stop searching the house for their mom.
They were patient, allowing me my morning coffee before heading out on a walk. This was my first encounter with a double lead, which was far better than the two singles even when Dave & I walked them together. Did I mention they are inseparable? 😉 Peanut kept up well with Prints & Prints seemed to hold back a bit as not to just drag Peanut along. The double lead included a waist belt which meant no tug-of-war on my arms & shoulders. They were sweet cuddle bugs who just wanted all our attention.
The opportunity was good confirmation that pet/house sitting was something worth pursuing. By the end of the summer, we would have half a dozen sits on our resume & banked $10K in savings, not paying for accommodations across the PNW.
We settled back into life & headed to Pagosa Springs. Pagosa Springs is a little mountain town in the south west corner of Colorado. I’m not sure why it took us over a decade to discover this little piece of paradise, but it wasn’t until 2020 in the midst of Covid that we found ourselves there. Pagosa ticked all the boxes of what we wanted next, small town, mountains 🏔️ rivers, a few established friends, still close to family & great hot air ballooning. It is currently the closest thing we have to call Home 🏡 We spent six weeks there at the beginning of our adventures in 2022 & have since gone back & forth trying to find our place.
We thought for sure we had discovered it when, last July, we purchased nearly 7 acres south of town with a meadow, seasonal stream & great view of the mountains. We spent much of our time in Mexico dreaming about building, talking to builders & scribbling out our dream home. We either jumped the gun or missed the boat! Needless to say, we are likely back to square one as the dream house that was well within our budget in 2021 is now almost twice the price. Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware it’s a first world problem.
Although the shine has faded from building, Pagosa Springs continues to be where we want to re-settle when resettling is our thing again 😆
During some of our initial visits, we were incredibly blessed to make new friends in Pagosa. The discovery of mid-life friendships has given even more meaning to this time in our lives. Conversations, that 20 years ago would likely have centered around children & careers, now lean more towards adventures & relationships with each other & ourselves. We are different. We are the same. Some are young, others young at heart ❤️😉 We love to hike & golf & take in the beauty from both where we are headed & whence we came. Wine 🍷 of course is an added bonus!
So per usual, I am behind the curve on the state of our adventures but moving forward. If you have hung around this long, thanks ☺️ If you are just joining us, welcome! & if you are giving up due to my blathering, lack of punctuation, affinity for run-on sentences & emojis, well, I don’t blame you 😜
We saved the best for last! Our last few weekends in Mexico turned out to be a highlight of the whole six month adventure. It didn’t hurt that my birthday was also in the mix 🎂
I think I can easily say, Cozumel is worth a return trip. Not only is it home to some of the best scuba diving 🤿 in the world, it remains a slightly sleeping island off the coast of the party town Place del Carmen 🏖️
Upon returning to Akumal, I found the most wonderful little in-home restaurant. Probadita’s serves two meals a day, brunch & dinner. By reservation only.
How do I find these places you might be asking… I open Google maps 🗺️ & search RESTAURANTS. Rarely does anything under a 4.5 get a look 👀 I read the newest reviews, a couple of 5s, a couple of 1s & a few in the middle. I disregard the irrelevant, like “they wouldn’t give me the seat I wanted” or “there was a large group that was really loud.” I want to know how was the food & service 🍽️ I can also put up with subpar service for great food 🙄 For Probadita’s 110 5🌟 reviews was an easy choice! I messaged her through WhatsApp (our go to international texting platform) We made a reservation for my birthday 🎂
It was an absolute delight! Chef Adel, the owner of Probadita, Spanish for Taste, has been an executive chef at multiple high end resorts & restaurants throughout Mexico & Miami. Chef Adel went above & beyond, even decorating with balloons 🎈 & making an amazing cheesecake 🎂 She showed me how to make tortillas 🌽 We had lovely conversations in English & Spanish about our families & travels 🌎 She made a five course meal with fresh & local ingredients as we laughed & chatted & enjoyed 😊
If you are ever in the area of Akumal or Tulum, you must give this place a try. You will not be disappointed! You can easily find Adel & Probadita’s on Facebook to make your own reservations. My only regret is that we didn’t have time to make a brunch plans at this wonderful hidden gem 💎
But truly the most spectacularly unexpected spot was Bacalar. Bacalar is a rare undiscovered treasure . This will likely change in the very near future with the opening of the Tulum airport making it much more accessible as it cuts the travel in half, from 4hrs from the Cancun Airport to only 2 😬
The quiet little town is known for its lake of seven colors. The fresh water lake boasts sandy floors & two cenotes, near the inland coast side. We hired a sailboat ⛵️ for the morning & sailed around to the highlights, one of which is a protected bird sanctuary, the Isla de Pájaros. Spoonbills, Ibisis & Spatulas make this island their home. The Ibisis’ were very common, but you had to watch patiently to catch a glimpse of the more shy Roseate Spoonbill, which similar to the Flamingo eats krill & is therefore pink 😊 If we had been staying longer or when we go back in the future, I would rent a kayak or paddle board instead. The lake is large, but very navigable & deserves a much slower pace.
Bacalar is also the only near coastal town to have a fort, Fuertede San Felipe de Bacalar. Long ago, pirates dropped anchor in the Bay of Chetumal & made their way through a myriad of lakes & marshes to Bacalar Lagoon to pillage & plunder as they were wont to do. 🏴☠️
We took in the scenery & culture at every turn. Dave discovered a sweet treat & may be considering opening a side biz back in the States. The Marquesita is a freshly made crepe/waffle cone taste sensation, filled with your choices of cheese, chocolates & fresh fruit. Marquesitas were a messy & delicious find 😋
It was suggested we check out a local venue for an evening of live music. We had every intention of an early night in & then we made friends. We headed out to La Catrina to enjoy a few cocktails & salsa music. The place was near empty when we arrived early but quickly filled to keep the bar tenders busy. At first, we were alone at our tall bar table, but, as the place began to fill, we made room for others, as again, it was our intention to leave soon. I came back to our table from the loo to find Dave chatting with a young fellow. Apparently, he too had gone to NMSU at some point & lived in NM & CO in his youth. We chatted a minute & then offered them our table as we paid our bill. But a connection was made & there were still drinks to be had & as we would come to find out the dance floor awaited 💃
Sadly, I do not remember his name, only that he now lives in Santiago, MX. We drank & danced into the wee hours of the night, closing down the place. Once again, we tried to call it a night, but alas we walked through the quiet, sleepy streets in search of the next gathering & ice cream 🍨 It was nearing 3am, our friend had disappeared into the crowd & we decided it was indeed time for the Irish goodbye.
We walked back to our hotel, recounted the night, our entire time in Mexico, the amazing people we had met & all the places that deserved a return. Mexico is a part of our hearts ❤️ now more than ever. Bacalar, Cozumel, Progreso, Merida, Leon, San Miguel de Allende all have so much more to explore!
This was a most wonderful experience & I truly long for another extended time in this beautiful country, with is beautiful food & even more beautiful people 🇲🇽
It was scuba diving that drew us to the Mexican coast as we revisited PDC. Per the suggestion of friends, we tried out the Reef Marina Dive Shop on the beach just in front of the resort, Reef Playacar where our friends also generously afforded us for our 25th anniversary in the midst of Covid. It was also then that Dave received his Padi open water certification 🤿
Sidebar: I had one major goal diving this time around…. Back in 2021, I really struggled to manage all my own gear. Worse, I could not make the step up onto the bench, by myself to sit & fall back into the water. Not one but two boat hands had to hoist me up ⬆️ I made the promise to myself that that would not be the case this time around. Thankfully I made good on that promise 😊 I still needed a hand, just one & no hoisting 😂
So, it was to Playa del Carmen & Reef Marina, we returned in early January to do a dive I had long anticipated & one I would come to realize truly terrified me!
We did two morning drift dives to reboot our skills & get reacquainted with all our gear, before sitting down for the most thorough dive briefing to date… In his French accent, our dive master wanted to get a head start, there would be no time on the boat for briefing, time was of the essence. We had a scheduled slot to be in the water & under the water descending into the mama shark rodeo. If we dilly dallied, a Mexican Coast Guard would veto our dive. So the short of it, get on the boat, gear up, get in the water, grab the rope (DON’T let go of the rope!) & get under. We had a thirty minute window to get to the bottom, be terrified, I mean amazed – actually, I wonder if there is really a difference 😉 Let go of the rope & ascend to the surface. WAIT, let go of the rope! We weren’t even on the boat yet & I was beginning to panic. I interrupted, “you said DON’T let go of the rope?!” Well apparently, you have to let go of the rope… At which point we would ascend to the surface where our boat would be waiting. Stay together while ascending, because one lone human looks like a snack, several humans together looks like too big a meal to be interested in 😬 Whose idea was this?! 🤦♀️
Having been briefed, we were off to the boat. Mid way into the water I realized I had left my backpack on the deck of the shop, my phone, wallet, life, there on a chair. I must have had something else on my mind… Quite possibly, it was the comments of another dive master from Australia who expressed her lack of interest in shark dives due to her experience with too many she had seen gone wrong. REALLY! I asked her if maybe she could save her thrilling stories until after our safe return! 🦈
Too late for the bag. If I went back for it, I was out. The boat captain called back to the shop. I watched intently as I thought I saw someone come out & retrieve my bag to put inside. On we went, onto the boat. Off the boat & into the Bull shark nursery. Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo 😂 So here is the deal. Bull sharks are some of the most, if not the most aggressive sharks in the wild except when they are pregnant. The warm winter waters of the Caribbean have long been where these fierce giants come to give birth.
On the floor of the ocean, anchors & ropes have been installed to give divers a hold against the current. We followed the rope down & took up position amongst other dive groups. There were four of us, our dive master, another guy, Dave & me. As I felt the most snack size of the group, I nestled myself in between the three guys. We were down at 27m or about 80ft for just under 30 minutes.
I am not sure if there were three sharks or thirteen, but they seemed to be everywhere – in front, behind, overhead. Our dive master said if one got too close to exhale hard to make forceful bubbles. Well, that’s all I did! Underwater everything appears closer & bigger 🦈 So at 9 feet long & 500lbs, I wasn’t taking any chances 😉
My whole life, I have wanted to swim with sharks. I got my open water 🤿 when I was sixteen & wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up. Well, that didn’t happen but this did. I hope the next sharks we see will truly be in the wild (at a distance) 🦈 Dave was over the moon! If you know him, he isn’t overly excitable but he could not stop talking about this adventure! Thankfully this was the first of several more dives we would do, only one other coming close to the exhilaration…
Our adventure would not end when we returned to shore. Thankfully my bag was accounted for & we headed for “home” exhausted from the excitement. This would turn out to be the evening we got unceremoniously evicted from of AirBnB by the British douchbag, a different kind of shark 🦈
We came back to the coast after a few weeks, having escaped to a housesit to regroup & collect ourselves. We wasted no time jumping back in 🤿 We spent our last month in Akumal 🐢
Akumal is known for the turtles that come to nest & feed there. You won’t be surprised to know that I got in trouble for trying to swim over to the “paid” turtle watching area without paying 😬 So I made my way back under the ropes only to be greeted with my own personal turtle friend 😊 I followed it around for a while as it chomped on the seagrass that is native to the beaches there.
We also did a dive in Akumal. It was nothing to write home about (no pun intended) but it did teach us a new skill, ascending on our own without our dive master. He was signaling us from below. We had not been very deep, so our safety stop was pretty simple. It did however solidify our need for a dive watch/computer.
From Akumal we would head over to Cozumel, where we met our incredible dive master/instructor, Luis who runs Cozumel Divers. It had the potential to be another exhausting day but we signed up for four dives anyway. The first two were more like lessons in maintaining buoyancy as we glided along the cliff walls of coral 🪸 This was also the dive that confirmed I needed to buy my own scuba mask 🤿 I spent the first dive clearing the fog from the inside of my mask by flushing it with ocean water, trying to remember to keep my eyes closed so I didn’t lose my contact 👁️ Thankfully, Luis was to my rescue again. Back on the boat, he offered some mask alternatives. I chose the Cressi Calibro with the duel frame. What a huge difference!!! I wasn’t constantly fogging the glass & having to flush. The second dive went so much more smoothly, giving me more confidence & time to enjoy the scenery.
After lunch we geared up again. I told Luis I was a bit nervous about what was next. I didn’t love the idea of being in an enclosed space underwater. Luis was so calm & encouraging. He told us exactly how we would approach the shipwreck. How we would swim around it & then through it. Thankfully it was just us, so I didn’t have to worry about other divers, either holding them up or them being in my way.
Was it terrifying, no. Did it give me anxiety, yes! But just as he said he would, Luis guided us around the ship, checking in on me at every turn. We swam through the short length of the ship. Then with a thumbs up 👍 we swam down into a port hole & through rusted hallways & rooms.
It was a look back at history. This ship did not sink here but rather was placed here in 2000 after a long career on the water for both the US & Mexican Navies. You can read more about the C-53 shipwreck.
I wasn’t breathing as hard as I did with the mama sharks 🦈 but I definitely wasn’t breathing efficiently. I struggled with invasive thoughts of death & some giant under water creature leaping from the shadows 😬 All I could say to myself was, “You did some crazy ass shit as a young woman, you are stronger & fiercer now. Be brave!” So I was…
Back on the boat, we received excellent concierge service as the first mate changed our tanks & served us a light snack as we did our surface interval & waited for the sun to go down 🌅
I think I would have been more apprehensive on our last dive had we entered the water after dark. Instead, a sliver of sun was all that was left & we followed it down to the ocean floor. The reefs come alive at night! Far less terrifying, much more amazing… I kept Luis in view. As the darkness enveloped us, we turned on our lights. It was more magical than I can even describe. Huge lobsters 🦞 Turtles, from above & below. Sharks in caves 🦈 and the octopus 🐙 We saw one that turned from blue to orange to translucent, beyond incredible! The time passed so quickly I failed to notice the black abyss that surrounded us. Until, of course, we began to ascend. In that moment, as if knowing I needed a distraction, Luis pointed out the tiniest jellyfish 🪼 swimming in front of my mask. Bravery restored, we broke the surface of the water & there was the boat 🛥️ I cannot rave about the captain & first mate enough! They were so friendly & helpful & most importantly, there when we needed to be picked up 🌊
Over all, we did nine dives during our time on the coast 🤿 Solidifying that yes, we do now officially have another expensive hobby 💵 I will gladly take any advice on where to dive next or gear we need to acquire. We will definitely get our own masks, possibly fins & at least one dive watch to start. I am also considering my own wetsuit or thin rash guard. I think we still fall far too much into the novice category to think we need (to travel) with BCDs & regulators. Oh, & a GoPro, gonna “need” that!!! 📸
