Mexico: Good For Snorkelling... And Scams

Despite being scammed out of $89 thirty seconds after we entered the Cozumel airport, I had enough fun in Mexico to declare that I would like to go back some day.

Like lightning, Suz and I never like to hit the same place twice. Slowly but surely we are seeing more of the world as we visit a different country about once a year. With a shit-ass economy though, this was the year of the cheap vacation. And Mexico is pretty darn cheap.

I've become a little bored with resort-life. I sound like a snob eh? Sitting around drinking all day sounds great in theory, but, believe it or not, unlimited lime daquiris become boring after a while. Suz and I have been to Cuba, the Dominican, and Venezuela, and I've had my share of sitting around. This time, I wanted to DO something. And if there's one thing Mexico is good for, it's doin' stuff.

Okay, no, it's the beer. But if there are two things Mexico is good for, the other thing is doin' stuff. Oh wait... they make good Tequila too.

Of the stuff to be done in Mexico, sightseeing, in particular the ancient Mayan ruins, is obvious. Going on a rather cheap vacation, we were better able to afford some excursions. Feeling vulnerable after being scammed, we played it safe and booked our Tulum ruins excursion with our travel/vacation company.

Tulum was pretty radical. The crusty stone structures overlooking the surreal blue-green water were well-preserved and oozing with Kahlua, one of Mexico's most delicious exports. (Actually, it was the Duty Free at the airport that had all the Kahlua.)

We also visited "the world's largest aquarium", known as Xel-ha (pronounced Shell-ha). It is a natural waterpark consisting of a 22 km inlet with lagoons and caves where snorkelling is top-notch. As a bonus, the park was all-inclusive, so we didn't have to spend any extra for breakfast, lunch, or drinky-poos. Drunk snorkelling is highly recommended. No wait, I meant NOT recommended.

Being a fish lover, snorkelling was something I was really excited about. During our adventures in Xel-ha, and even off the coast of our resort, we spotted some really fantastic aquatic life. The mermaids were too fast to catch on film but some of the other stuff was just as interesting.

Using our Fuji underwater cameras (I picked mine up at Henry's for $11.99) we captured some of the typical Cozumel reef fish such as non-Mopar style Barracudas, stoplight parrotfish, cowfish, ocean triggerfish, needlefish and got bit by a school of palometas. I even chased down a stingray and snapped a really decent pic of him as he left me in his dust.

My only regret, and the reason I'd go back, is to Scuba-dive at the Palancar reef, which was five feet from our resort. My half-hour Scuba lesson in the pool combined with a few confidence-building lime daquiris and anyone would think I'm a divemaster. Who wants to go?!