Scuba at Paprika Beach

I went scuba diving today!  And it was really nice!

I wasn't sure I'd want to dive again.  For several reasons.  It's expensive.  I get cold easily. My ears and eyes often hurt.  The last few times I've gone were a bit of a disappointment. Usually, you have pay (and go) for 2 boat dives, one right after the other.  Which makes all the stuff just listed worse.

But Wendy and Don from Colorado said they went on a shore dive,  with this really nice company, and they saw lots of things, including a seahorse.  That got my attention.  So I went to the shop, 3 Pelicans, and inquired.  My neighbour, Chris was interested too.

So we did it!  She hadn't dove in 15 years and my last dive was 5 years ago.  So we got a short refresher and `skills test` before heading out. 

The day wasn`t promising.  It was a bit chilly and grey and the water was a bit agitated.  But it was definitely better than I expected!

We only went to 30`, which is relatively shallow.  But we saw lots of stuff!  Including beautiful fish like parrot fish, angel  fish, and 4 eye butterfly fish. Weird looking creatures like a scorpion fish, a yellowline arrow crab, yellow stingrays, spotted moray eels, and a sea cucumber.  And definitely a highlight for me, 2 seahorses!  Very cool!

I still had lots of air left in my tank when we got out of the water, but I was getting pretty cold and I had seen more than I expected.  So I was very happy.

Photos (all from the internet, top to bottom)
French angelfish - about 1 foot in diameter, really pretty!
Stoplight parrot fish, terminal phase - apparently, they change colour as they age - they are my favourite!
Spotted moray eel, cranky!
Yellowline arrow crab-small enough to fit on your hand, which we did!

Nice little things

No in the last two days, just a bunch of nice little things

I started giving unofficial English lessons to Rebecca, the cleaning lady yesterday.  Although she was pretty good at pronouncing words, it's fairly hard for them and it would be easy for her to forget.  So I wrote the words I taught her in English and Spanish and then gave her the paper.  As I pronounced them I told her to write them phonetically, with "Spanish sounds".  Wow! It seemed to make a real difference.  All of a sudden, she seemed to be able to picture the words.  I'm glad.  It's very cool to empower someone.

Yesterday evening, I went back to Billy's BBQ.  I discovered it last year.  They BBQ in a cut open oil drum.  For about $8, I got 1/2 kg of BBQ porch chops and ribs, and rice and coleslaw to go with that.  I cooked some onions, green peppers, and mushrooms to go with that.  Now I have at least 3 meals! Super yum!

At lunch today, I ate at a place called Las Palmas with a couple from Colorado and the couple from Oliver BC I mentioned the other day.  Lunch was super cheap and really good, with great Karma!  For about $6, I had tomato/noodle soup, corn chips and beans, "flavoured water", and a meal.  I chose a porc stew, yummy!  I got to taste 2 new flavoured waters: tamarind water - slightly tart really refreshing, and rice (with rose I think)  water - like a mild liquid ice cream.  I also had Jamaica (spelling?) water, but I had that before - like red coolaid!

This afternoon, I lounged around the Villa pool with Chris and Susan, my downstairs neighbours. Dennis, the owner, and Sylvia, his very nice girlfriend, joined us too. Turns out they met at Salsa dance classes.  Apparently Sylvia is very good and Dennis not so much and he was known to be a cranky Gringo.  But the teacher introduced them, Dennis worked 12 hours / week to get better, and the rest is history.  They even showed us their fancy dancing shoes!

This evening, I went for a long walk and a bit of shopping.  I bought a pretty silver ring, and some fun coloured things for my house - pink, blue and green clothespins, a polkadot shower cap, and a purple dust pan. I am soooooo out of control!

Photos:
Top: a fun "sculpture" at a little roadside store I saw with Christelle when I still had a camera...
Middle: A neat view of the crocodile swamp and observation tower
Bottom: BBQs in the window of a hardware/welding store - notice the fun and practical oil drum and wheel rim models!

Folks from Oliver BC

Yesterday, I met a couple from Oliver BC.  Very interesting people!

Oliver, is between Penticton and Osoyoos BC.  Osoyoos is home to Canada's only desert.  Cacti actually grow there!

Anyhow, this couple never "grew up" even though they are now in their late 50s early 60s and seem healthy and well adjusted.  They both work in the hospitality business in Oliver.  There are many wineries there and it is a very popular tourist area. They used to manage restaurants and hotels and things like that. But they both went back to being servers.  It "suits there lifestyle better".  I love it!

They lived and worked in the Cayman Islands, as servers.  About 6 years ago, they took 1 year off and travelled the world.  They bought a cool airline ticket that enabled them to take 16 different flights on 5 different continents.  They rented camper vans in Australia and Europe.  They said they were motivated to take the year off/do the trip because a few/several people around them died shortly before that.  They did not do the "Europe thing" when they were young.

They will have been in Cozumel for 1 month when they leave.  But before going home, they'll spend 2 weeks at a little cabin they have in Oklahoma.  How inspiring!

I tested my camera and BB today.  My camera seems to want to work, except I can't get the memory card in and the zoom is behaving weirdly.  My BB turns on OK, but the touch screen isn't responding at all.  They're both back in the rice.  I sent an email to OtterBox, the dry box manufacturer.  Their warranty says they won't replace electronics that are in defective boxes.  But maybe they can still do something to ease the pain...

Photos:
Top: The view while I was doing my exercises on the beach.  Speaking of which, I met another couple yesterday.  The wife, Wendy, joined me for my exercises.  Fun!
Middle - I think this is the support they are setting up for the stage for Carnaval.  Reuse at it's best...
Bottom - There are several animal "sculptures" in a park close to here.  The little girl was having fun on the hippo.  Her mom gave me permission to take the photo.

Cell phone and cameras shouldn't swim, especially in salt water

Grrrrrr!!!!!!

This afternoon, I might have killed my camera and new (around xmas) cell phone.

As I often do, I went for a swim today.  When I swim, I usually attach a red "dry" bag to my waist using a kayaking rope and a carabiner.  The dry bag serves several purposes. I "fill it" with air, so it's a flotation device in case of a problem. It's a marker so boats can see me and not run over me.  And I can use it to carry things while I swim.  Like valuables I don't want to leave alone on the beach.

I put "dry" in quotations because the bag is old and not really dry anymore.  Some water gets in it every time. 

A few days ago, I bought a dry box. A little plastic box that is truly waterproof that I can use to keep my camera and cell phone dry in my dry bag.  Great!

Except, I'm pretty sure I closed the box wrong today.  The box comes with a little rope.  I think the rope was between the body and  lid of the box when I closed it, creating a gap.  Through which water got through.

So I swam.  I rested on the beach.  Then I started to pack up to come "home".  That's when I saw that my camera and cell phone were wet.  Of course, the first thing I did was check to see if they worked.  The cell phone did, for a while, then not.  The camera did not.

When I got home, I consulted the internet.  It said "salt water is very bad" and "dry it out before you turn it on!"  Crap.  The internet also said, consider washing it with fresh water then putting it in rice for a few days.  The water will wash away the salt.  The rice will absorb the water.

I debated the merits of plunging my precious technology into more water, and then did exactly that.  Now, my cell and camera are resting comfortably in some rice in a closed container.  Lets hope they can survive their swim....

This evening, I drowned my sorrow in my first piece of cake since my arrival on the Island.

Photos (from days past...)
Top: the crocodile observation tower from Punta Sur parc - we saw no crocodiles
Center: Chester, the neighbour's dog.  He's very cute!
Bottom: Carl at the "Sunset".  He had to leave Cozumel this Thursday to deal with a deceased friend's will.  Apparently, the friend was rich and had some "profiteering friends".  It appears that the profiteers forged a will that is very generous to them.  Carl hired a handwriting expert and is dealing with lots of crap.  I miss him.

Transvestites, and Marriage for Lion Fish

I decided to mix things up a bit today. So instead of doing homework in the morning, I went to the market and cycled around a bit. 

While "in town", I saw a little shop that offered aesthetic services, including eyebrow waxing.  Mine could use some work so I was considering going in.  When a rather robust looking "female" employee, with a 5 o'clock shadow under heavy foundation, came to the doorway and asked of he/she could help me. I was actually still thinking about going in.  What an adventure that would have been! But her/his eyebrows were really thin, she seemed to think mine were "really thick", and I was scared that mine would end up like hers/his. Pass!

Later, I went to the water front where the fishermen came with their catch the other day, to get some lion fish to BBQ for dinner. While waiting for the boats to come in, I met Manuel, a man who was there to help the boats unload.  I'm not sure how, but I think I married him for the day.  That turned out all right though, because he arranged for me to receive two lion fish for free!

I got two because I was going to have dinner with Susan and Chris, the ladies who live below me.  What a blast!!  One of the fish, Billy, was already cut up.  But Fred, the other, was whole.  Chris and I laughed like crazy while cutting him up.  Susan is a bit more squeamish; she made rice and salad.  We BBQed the fish with garlic.  It was really good!

Photos:
Top - Manuel, my husband for the day and fish supplier
Next - The fishing boat coming in
Next left to right- Susan (downstairs lady), Sylvia (landlord's girlfriend and cooking advisor), and Chris (downstairs lady) consulting on how to fix up Freddy
Bottom- bonding with Freddy before chopping him up!

Learning about marine life

Although the last two days have been very "normal", I've met some interesting people and learned some neat things.

Yesterday, after swimming at the Blue Angel, I met John, a divemaster from Vancouver.  He was talking with some other fellows, Micheal and Dennis, I had met a few days earlier.  Dennis is a tall and handsome man, likely in his early 50s.  His life is very interesting.  He teaches swimming, and cycling, and whatever else to the children of the stars in Santa Monica California, mostly at the stars' home.  Very interesting!  But, I thought the man would never shut up!!!  I was tempted to time him to see how long he would talk without me getting a word in at all.  Christelle was there too (then), she can back me up on this....

John was kind of "dated" looking. Picture Kim Mitchel with jet black hair.  He was smart and interesting, yet modest. He taught me some neat things like:

Sea urchins move around.  If you prick yourself on one, it will hurt and can get infected.  But no more than a normal splinter.  Good to know cause I stuck my thumb on one a few days ago.  Happily, my thumb is fine. 

Lion fish are dumb, you can swim right up to them and spear them.  But if you do get stung on their spiny things, it will hurt like crazy.  Try to plunge the affected body part in the hottest water you can, like boiling.  They are very tasty also.


Sting rays have many barbs on their tails and some venom.  They will not attack humans unless trapped/provoked.  Steve Irwin, the Australian crocodile hunter who died from a sting ray barb in 2006 apparently "trapped" a stingray in a shallow bay.  Although the stingray barb pierced his heart, a crazy fluke, Irwin might have lived if he didn't pull the barb out before going to hospital.

Happily, urchins, rays, and lion fish do not tend to come to the surface of the water; they stay in the bottom of the ocean.  So, I'm safe while swimming at the surface. That's great cause I've seen rays twice while swimming, very cool!!!

Photos: Top - Inukshuks, Mexican style.
Middle-the cat that lives at the villa.  Apparently she bites.  But she`s been getting closer and closer the last couple of days.  Hopefully, we`ll become good friends.
Bottom: A spotted eagle ray.  The kind I`ve seen while swimming.  Very cool!

Lunch at an Economica and a Sunset Sail

Two highlights today!
I went for lunch with the ladies who live in the condo below me and I went for a sunset sail with Carl and some of his friends.

The ladies below me are Susan and Chris, a lovely retired couple.  Yes, they are both ladies, lesbians.  But both were once married to men.  Interesting. Chris was a lawyer.  She's nice, but quirky.  Susan makes me think of my neighbour  at home, also Susan.  Both Susans are smart and kind and positive, with a great sense of humour.  They also both have brown hair despite being in their sixties and a similar hair cut even! 

We ate at a "cocina economica" "economical food/kitchen".  Basically, we ate in the living room of someone's house.  When we asked about a menu item, we were invited to look at the food in the pot on the stove in the kitchen!  For about $7 each, we each had soup, juice, corn chips and hot sauce, and a generous portion of meat and rice and beans.  Yum!

This afternoon/evening I went on a sunset catamaran cruise with Carl and some of his friends.  It was really nice!  Mostly we travelled using the wind. We sailed in front of town and along the south shore, past the Blue Angel. They served us juice/pop (or booze if you paid a little extra), chicken wings, little sandwiches, and corn chips/salsa/guacamole.  The captain said to throw our chicken bones overboard cause the fish like it.  Although it was the equivalent of throwing an apple core into the bush, it felt  very weird to do that. (I was kindof hoping it would attract jaws!) My favourite part was sailing in the fading light and dark after sunset.  Mesmerizing!

Photos
Top: Chris and Susan in the cocina economica
Middle: Dan, the captain of the boat enjoying a beverage, not just fruit juice!
Bottom: Carl and Pat, a very nice Canadian from Parry Sound. She looks like she's on a roller coaster, but I just caught her by surprise.

A busy day!

I had a pretty busy day yesterday, by Cozumel standards....

At 8:30 in the morning, Katherine, a Canadian from North Bay, who now lives here all year, picked me up so I could join the "Trashy Little Group" pick-up garbage on the windy side of the Island. Some of you may recall that I met Katherine last year, so it was nice to catch up with her again, and that I participated in a garbage clean up last year also. Very nice.

Then lunch, exercises and off to the Blue Angel (again) for a swim.  Pierre, the acrobat from Cirque du Soleil was there again.  He was happy to show off some of his skills, which was fun to watch. Then off he went, with his friends for scuba.  By the way, one of his friends is also a performer for the Cirque.  He was wearing a very small bathing suit.  Picture a speedo on a diet!  Sorry, I have no pictures....

Then home, dinner, and a drink with Luis, a Mexican bartender I met last year.  Again, you may recall, I liked him because there was more to him than bartending.  I was a bit nervous about meeting him.  Would we run out of conversation after 5 minutes?  Would he think I was making the moves on him?  The answers were no, and not so far and I hope not. It was actually fun.  We kept switching from English to Spanish.  Great practice!

Photos:
Top: Pierre, the Cirque performer, walking down the stairs in a handstand position.  Apparently "easy".
Centre: A photo from the day we rented the car.  Although it's legal to drink and drive here, I did not.  It was just fun to pose in front of the police station with a beer in my hand!
Bottom: Christelle on the windy side of the Island, not far from where we picked up garbage yesterday.

Fun Friday and Sad Saturday

I'm sad today because Christelle left to go back home today.

Yesterday, on our last full day here together, we went back to the Blue Angel for some sun in the afternoon, and a few more fruity 2 for 1 drinks in the evening.  It was fun!  We did Sudoku puzzles while drinking, like total geeks, then listened to Paco again, a very talented and cute local singer.  We met some very interesting people there - Dave the helicopter repairman from Holland who has worked all over the world, Pierre the Cirque du Soleil areal acrobat from Quebec, and Tom the anesthetician Dr from Chicago (?) But I can't say more about that evening, because what happens at the Blue Angel, stays at the Blue Angel!

My highlight for today happened on the waterfront. Some local fishermen came in from the ocean in a small boat.  After unloading their gear from the boat, which included wet suits, scuba tanks, and spears, they sold some of their catch to locals from a cooler.  During that time, I asked to take a photo.  They not only allowed me to, but one of the fishermen placed a 3 foot long  fish in my hands and took a photo of me with it!  My hand was actually in the fish's gills!!  Super yuck and cool all at the same time!!!  My hands still smell like fish, even after washing them several times.

 

After the fishy photo, I asked how much to buy a lion fish, which they had (no head or nasty stingy parts).  I told them I wanted to come back another day to buy one.  They offered it to me for free, "un regalo".  I couldn't take it then cause I had no bag and no ice and was gonna bike around for a bit more.  But I'll go back another day for sure!

 

Photos:
1-A very small world moment.  This man, Gabriel, worked with Christelle's dad, selling fruits and veggies, in the Byward market.
2-A painting of a lion fish.  Check out last year's blog for a "real" photo.
3-Me, holding the prize catch of the fishermen coming in from a day's work.
 

 

The Wild Side of the Island

Yesterday, we rented a car so we could drive to the "wild" side of the island.
It was an adventure in many ways.

Renting the car was the first adventure.  When I emailed for a reservation, the price was $50 US "including taxes and insurance".  Great! That's about what I expected.  But when I picked up the car, it was $50 US plus $20 for collision insurance, cash.  If I paid with a credit card, then there would be taxes.  Hmmmmm....OK.

Our drive was mostly just fun.  We stopped at a beach club-a beach with chairs, a fancy pool, where you can/should buy drinks and food.  Very nice, but not for us.  Especially since it was fairly cool out.  Then we went to El Cedral, the only other town on the Island.  Christelle bought a coconut and got her picture taken with the "last mayan" on the island - for $1 US.  We both got our picture taken with an iguana with a hat - $5 US but worth it because the guy "works with an animal conservation group". hmmmm....

Then onto the Punta Sur Park and its very bumpy road! It was a bit of a waste of time and money, but we climbed a cool lighthouse and went to a crocodile swamp and climbed a cool lookout and saw a swamp.  No crocodiles....

Our last stop was a beautiful beach!  This is where I had envisioned spending my day.  But it was getting late and it was pretty chilly.  So off we went.

On our way back, we had to get gas for the car.  We thought we'd be OK because we knew to make sure the pump guy set the pump to "0" before pumping.  At our request, he did.  But we still got caught.  One guy distracted me with conversation while the other pumped.  Damn, I fell into the trap!  But Christelle was watching.  When he finished pumping, the total was $110 pesos, about $9 US.  But then she blinked, and he switched the pump to $399 pesos, about $35 US.  We argued, and finally agreed on $195 pesos.  What a rip!  But it could have been worse.

That was the end of the misadventures.  We returned the car without incident or extra cost.  All in all, it was a good day.  If you can accept that being ripped off is part of the gringo tourist game...

Photos: Christelle and me with the "protected" iguana.  I guess they mean his hat protects him from the sun.
The Paradise Beach Club.  Beautiful beach, but very mass production.  I can only imagine how it feels on a busy day.
The car I would have liked to rent.  But the jeeps are manual and expensive.  We drove a boring silver sedan.

Blue Angel

Yesterday (Tuesday), we spent the afternoon and evening at the Blue Angel hotel and restaurant/bar.  It's on the ocean and has a swimming pool.  Not super fancy, but very pretty.  Non-hotel guests like us are welcome on the grounds as long as we buy a drink or food on occasion.  And behave nicely.

We started off on good behaviour.  I went for a swim and Christelle went for a jog.  We lounged around the pool and chatted. 

Then, it was "Happy Hour"....

We each ordered our 2x1 fruity drinks and started on a jigsaw puzzle that was available in the hotel bookshelf.  Fun! The light faded and we couldn't see well, so we put away the puzzle.  But it was still happy hour and we were still happy, so we ordered two more fruity drinks each.  And some finger foods. 

Then, it wasn't happy hour anymore, but Paco, the musician started to play.  He's very good, and kind of cute.  So we sang along and enjoyed the evening.  Plus there was a rain storm with lightning on the main land, which we could see from the restaurant/bar. We couldn't go home ye

t, in the pouring rain.  And the hotel owner, Eva, bought us a round because it was raining out and she likes to keep her guests happy when the weather is poor. We chatted and sang with the other guests all at one big table now.

So it was a while before we could bike home. Luckily, we had our helmets and a light, and the streets were deserted by then.  We got home safe.

Photos:
Me, enjoying my first round of fruity drinks at the Blue Angel.
The view from the restaurant bar during sunset, and then after sunset.  It's rough....

Settling In

We are definitely settling in now.
This morning, Christelle went out on her own to the market, tourist office, and to just look around. She speaks about the same amount of Spanish as me, and is very independent.  So it's nice to see her venture out.

During that time, I ran some errands.  My first mission was to get money for the electricity deposit.  It turns out electricity is not included in the rent.  I knew that, but conveniently forgot it....  Electricity is expensive in Cozumel.  So they asked for a $500 deposit, ouch!!!  Dennis, the landlord says we can expect to pay about $20 in electricity if we don't run the air conditioner, and up to $500 if we do.  There will be no A/C in my house!  Many of you know that isn't a hardship for me at all.  In the last 6 years, I've ran the A/C at home for maybe a total of 8 hours.

Then off to find Carl, my American buddy from last year to talk about maybe joining a sunset dinner cruise he was trying to organize for tonight.  As expected, I found him at Indio's, his favourite restaurant and "home away from home".  Unfortunately, the cruise didn't happen, but Carl's friend Ron had a bike pump  and inflated my bike tires properly.  That was nice because that was my third mission, done!

In the afternoon, Christelle and I went to Money Bar, a beach club that is about 5 km away.  The water was warm and calm, the sun was warm, the breeze was just right.  Lovely!!!  On the way home, we stopped to watch the sun set.  Very nice!

For dinner, we went to Indio's, a fun little family run restaurant, Carl's favourite.  Dinner was very good.  Grilled lion fish, finished off with a taste of aged tequila. 

Photos: The kitchen at Indio's, as viewed from the street.  You could reach in from the sidewalk to grab something from the stove!
The swimming pool at "my house" at night.
The staircase up to my apartment.  Pretty.

Launch and relaunch Cozumel 2014

Hi all,

Well this trip certainly started ominously.  Kindof. 
The most notable thing that happened was that I didn't get to leave home when planned.  Toronto had another weather hissy fit.  Remember in 1999 when Toronto called in the army because it snowed?  But the pizza guy still managed to deliver?



My bicycle all folded, padded, and almost ready to go.

This time, Toronto closed the airport.  It was too cold for them to work.  Imagine how often the Winnipeg airport would close down if they were that wimpy!  So instead of leaving on I was able to get (more) ready for the trip and catch up on sleep before I left.  I tried a little too hard to do too much just before leaving.  Also, I got to fly with Christelle, a friend who will spend a week with me here I Cozumel.

The air travel went very well.  Freezing rain threatened to keep us from taking off in Ottawa, but the Ottawa airport crew prevailed and off we went!



Christelle planning her/our week, while we wait outside our villa.

Our arrival at the Cozumel airport was fine too.  It was out arrival at my apartment, in Casa Deja Blue, that was another adventure.  Our host, Dennis, wasn't there.  I rang the doorbell at the Casa and an adjacent house, where he apparently lives, without success.  Some nice neighbours called and texted him without success.  I even yelled "hola/hello" into the empty courtyard with no success.  So we waited on the sidewalk for about 1.5 hours.  Then there was Dennis.  All military man like.  Scolding us for not emailing to advise him of our arrival.  What??? We were pretty put off by his attitude for sure.  But we were sweet as pie.  Asked about the rules, said thank you very much, blah blah blah.



Assembling my bike on the street, outside the villa while we wait for our host.

There was one positive part to waiting on the sidewalk for Dennis.  I had time to unpack and reassemble the folding bicycle I brought from Canada.  And time to notice that the fender got pretty bent in transit.  And Dennis was nice enough to fix it.  Normally, I would have felt bad about having our host spend about 1 hour fixing my bicycle.  But nope!  I accepted his help as an unspoken apology for his crappy attitude.