Mexico, Day 4

What the? How did this happen? Why is there sa…. oh, wait. That’s right.

Feeling just… super.

Justin and Ben, getting a little misty at the beautiful surroundings, and sharing a private moment.

Justin talked to Marissa this morning, and the Sisters Dallas decided to join us on our trek out to Cozumel Island.

Ben, Justin and I are staying on a few extra days, and got some rooms at a local bed and breakfast on Cozumel. Today, we cabbed it to the ferry and all of us had plans to meet up at around 1:00PM. As it turns out, the ferry left right at 1, the next one out being at 2:00PM.

Since we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon, all six of us went to a nearby restaurant, ordered some grub and some drinks. Above, it’s Ben, Marissa and Melinda.

Monica and me.

The Sisters Dallas, we found out, seem to have this thing for Martin Short. And they all seemed to quote (often) from various movies (Clifford, Spaceballs, Three Amigos, and Princess Bride in particular).

Does anybody want a peanut?

View from the restaurant. At one point during our meal, I couldn’t stop staring at the ocean and had to walk over to the edge to take a picture.

This is the ferry, just before boarding. Look at that blue water!

Actually, I’m feeling like crap in this picture. Right after I shot that video (above) of the boat, I felt horribly, horribly sea sick. The only thing keeping me from puking all over the place was the thought that were I to actually get sick, I would have had to stand up and walk somewhere.

Note to self: a sure way to get seasick fast is to record the boat’s motion on video, watching it through the camera s you’re recording. Ugh.

After walking forever, we found our way to Tamarindo, where we met up with the owners of the bed and breakfast, Eliane and Jorge. They actually own two locations, and we were to be staying at Amaranto, a bit farther away.

We rented some snorkelling gear from Eliane, and made plans with the girls to meet up at Dzul-ha, where Eliane and Jorge suggest we go. The girls went out to find a cab and head out to the spot, while we went back to our rooms and dropped off our stuff.

Jorge, giving us a lift in his truck (Justin and I are riding in back).

This is our place, viewed from the road.

Amaranto!

This is the walkway, leading up to my room.

Alright, I am totally in love with my room. Check this shit OUT!

Sink in the middle, and the entire place basically is one round room. There’s also a microwave behind the counter, along with a fridge. Under the sink, there’s a few appliances (blender, coffee maker).

Bathroom shot.

Check out the shower (although it doesn’t look that great in this pic). Right above the shower stall area, there’s no ceiling. So when you’re standing there naked and look up, it’s nothing but sky.

I have a newfound love of the hammock.

See what I mean about the cats? This guy’s name is bizcocho which roughly translated, according to Jorge, means biscuit.

Bizcocho sleeps in various places around Amaranto. Basically, that’s his job.

After we got settled, the thr
ee of us hopped a cab and met up with the Sisters Dallas for some snorkelling. To be honest, the waters around our location weren’t all that terribly great. It was at the end of the day, it was getting darker, and a lot of sand had been stirred up, making things a lot murkier. A few rocks and things here and there, but nothing to write home about.

After a bit, I got out. Ben was pretty beat from staying up super late last night, and I wasn’t feeling well from the ferry ride over. In fact, just snorkelling for a bit made me seasick, believe it or not.

Sadly, after everyone got out and dried off, the energy of our group completely dropped. Everyone seemed super tired and low key, which was the complete opposite of what the night was like last night. Our lunch seemed pretty good, and everyone had (in my opinion) a good time just talking and laughing and kidding around. But right after the boat ride, everything just seemed to nose dive, for some reason. Sad, really, but I guess it’s one of those things.

We all said goodbye, and the girls headed off into town for some food and we headed back to our rooms. It was super cool of them to come hang out with us for the day. I just wish things had been a bit livelier once we found our way to the island.

Back home, we each headed off to shower and decided to meet up for dinner. All three of us were dragging, and we decided the best thing would be to catch an early meal, get some rest and wake up early tomorrow to make the most of the day.

This is from the walkway, looking up towards Ben’s room. There were three rooms available (two bungalos, one suite), and we decided Ben should get the suite.

Small meeting area, right between the suites and the bungalos.

The main lobby. How awesome is this place?

Did I mention that we came here off-season? And that our rooms were like $40 each? And Ben’s was, like $45? This place rocks!

View of the street (Calle 5 Sur), from Ben’s front door.

Wandering nearby, we came across a small stretch of shops and found a seafood place that turned out to be quite excellent. That would be my dinner of grilled octopus and you know what? This was quite possibly the best octopus I’ve ever had. Ever.

Ben, Justin and I hang out in the lobby after dinner and discuss our plans for tomorrow. All of us, bizcocho included, are dog-tired. We crack open a bottle of wine we stole (from the resort) and decided on waking up super freaking early tomorrow, to do some more snorkelling.

Back in my room, I set my iPod alarm for 5:15AM. Turned on the AC. Turned on the big overhead fan. Got an ice cold bottle of water out of the fridge. Turned on the TV and fell asleep to Shanghai Noon. In spanish.