So I've now done six scuba dives in the warm Caribbean, seeing coral and lots of colourful fish. No turtles or sharks which was disappointment as they are in the area, but none the less its been amazing. and now I can go dive anywhere else in the world yay!
Today I took a tour to chichen itza, a mayans city ruins site with a giant pyramid and ball game stadium. It was impressive! But it does only date from about the 10th century. And boy oh boy was it hot inland in the jungle!
Today I also paid for the hostel and bought a bus ticket for tomorrow speaking in Spanish - not that I can really understand what people are saying in reply!
Tomorrow I fly to Mexico city to see Naresh who I met in san Francisco, and then on Sunday its onwards to Los Angeles to catch the loooong flight to the cook islands...
Today I took a tour to chichen itza, a mayans city ruins site with a giant pyramid and ball game stadium. It was impressive! But it does only date from about the 10th century. And boy oh boy was it hot inland in the jungle!
Today I also paid for the hostel and bought a bus ticket for tomorrow speaking in Spanish - not that I can really understand what people are saying in reply!
Tomorrow I fly to Mexico city to see Naresh who I met in san Francisco, and then on Sunday its onwards to Los Angeles to catch the loooong flight to the cook islands...
yes i'm in Mexico and i haven't been mugged, kidnapped or stabbed yet, sorry to disappoint! It doesn't really seem like that sort of vibe here with miles of beaches and holiday makers from both north and south america.
Today i've spend most of the day reading textbooks and watching videos in preparation for the PADI Open Water Scuba Diver course which i start for real tomorrow. in the swimming pool!
But hopefully in a couple of days i'll be able to get out to some reefs and see lots of awesome underwater stuff. and again in the Cooks, Oz, Fiji etc.
The sea is so warm! It's another new one for me, the Caribbean, and although the air temperature isn't much higher than California, the pacific was FREEZING and this is very pleasant.
I'm frantically listening to my "Learn Spanish with Michel Thomas" audiobooks, but even if i can blurt out a phrase i have no idea what anyone is saying back to me, so i'm resorting to a lot of "lo siento, no hablo espanol, hable inglese?
I would like to come back and visit central america as a whole properly at some point, which could then involve one of those intensive immersive language school / home stay things. But the airport, hostel and scuba staff all speak english so it's no biggee, just some awkward shrugging in the supermarket.
The hostel costs 130 Pesos per night, which is about $10, or 7GBP. yay!
The flight down from Phoenix was delayed by a couple of hours due to some electrical fault, everyone was sitting on the plane when they announced there was a small issue and they were going to try turning it off and turning it back on again. LOL for cliched technical solutions. But that didn't work, so i guess the plane must be running Windows 95 or something. So we all had de-plane, walk across to the other side of the terminal, and get on a new plane that they found lying around in some hanger.
It was nice to arrive in a country where i wasn't interrogated coming through customs, the girl just gave me an amused grin comparing my passport photo (with shaved head) to current luxurient mane.
Something else funny in the airport customs, it's like a game show to see if you get your bag searched - (after the x-ray machine) you hit a buzzer and it will either light up green (ok you can pass) or red (you'll be emptying every item out of your luggage).
Maybe they SHOULD make it into a game show, "what's in YOUR luggage?" i'm sure some people carry ridiculous things around
Today i've spend most of the day reading textbooks and watching videos in preparation for the PADI Open Water Scuba Diver course which i start for real tomorrow. in the swimming pool!
But hopefully in a couple of days i'll be able to get out to some reefs and see lots of awesome underwater stuff. and again in the Cooks, Oz, Fiji etc.
The sea is so warm! It's another new one for me, the Caribbean, and although the air temperature isn't much higher than California, the pacific was FREEZING and this is very pleasant.
I'm frantically listening to my "Learn Spanish with Michel Thomas" audiobooks, but even if i can blurt out a phrase i have no idea what anyone is saying back to me, so i'm resorting to a lot of "lo siento, no hablo espanol, hable inglese?
I would like to come back and visit central america as a whole properly at some point, which could then involve one of those intensive immersive language school / home stay things. But the airport, hostel and scuba staff all speak english so it's no biggee, just some awkward shrugging in the supermarket.
The hostel costs 130 Pesos per night, which is about $10, or 7GBP. yay!
The flight down from Phoenix was delayed by a couple of hours due to some electrical fault, everyone was sitting on the plane when they announced there was a small issue and they were going to try turning it off and turning it back on again. LOL for cliched technical solutions. But that didn't work, so i guess the plane must be running Windows 95 or something. So we all had de-plane, walk across to the other side of the terminal, and get on a new plane that they found lying around in some hanger.
It was nice to arrive in a country where i wasn't interrogated coming through customs, the girl just gave me an amused grin comparing my passport photo (with shaved head) to current luxurient mane.
Something else funny in the airport customs, it's like a game show to see if you get your bag searched - (after the x-ray machine) you hit a buzzer and it will either light up green (ok you can pass) or red (you'll be emptying every item out of your luggage).
Maybe they SHOULD make it into a game show, "what's in YOUR luggage?" i'm sure some people carry ridiculous things around