A little more Cozumel for you

First of all, let me share a video taken by my daughter.  As I've told you in other entries, Rachel and Kevin sat in the bed of the pickup because it seemed easier for Kevin, with his compromised knees, to get in and out of the bed of the truck rather than into the cab and then get seated.  I think perhaps their view, while riding, was better than mine, but when the temperature was in the mid- to upper-eighties, they might have gotten pretty warm with no shade.  There was no complaining from them about their situation, ever, although they did choose more comfortable things to sit on after the first day.  

I wish you could see Cozumel traffic at its busiest, because it's scary!  Nobody obeys any laws, people pull right out in front of you, Brooke pulled right out in front of them... if you want to get anywhere, the only other choice is to sit all day and wait, because these people don't know the meaning of "yield".  At one point Brooke realized she needed to turn around and did a u-turn.  In the middle of the u-turn, a cop she hadn't noticed behind her before she turned honked at her.  She gave him a wave and kept on going, and that was the end of that.  When in Rome...

However, this was taken at a relatively peaceful time and place.

Back when we were planning our visit, Rachel asked me if I would be interested in snorkeling.  I don't swim AT ALL, but Rachel described the process and said she intended to try it, explaining that we wouldn't be in terribly deep water.   "Well, maybe..." I told her.

But when we got there and I saw all those waves coming in, I knew it wasn't for me.  At least, not that day.  Rachel tried it, though.  I should mention that the day she tried it was also the day that made her five years cancer free.  It was also a day we had started by watching the sun come up over the ocean.

getting ready

 There they go, carrying their duck feet.  

 As I understand it, you need to wait and put on your duck feet (fins) after you're in the water.

 There were lots of people heading into the water with instructors who were showing them the ropes.

 Here they are coming back from the adventure.  Rachel said she saw some nifty fish down there, but Brooke, who scuba dives regularly, said it was a terrible day for seeing the really pretty fish.   

I doubt they were in the water more than thirty minutes, but Rachel had a special way to celebrate her five-years-free day and make it memorable.  I loved watching.

I want to do an entry about Brooke's dogs, but every single picture I have of any of her dogs is blurry.  Brooke, if you see this, see if you can get a decent, clear picture of any or all of them plus a brief story of each.  And of course, their names, since I never recall names of any living creatures that don't belong to me... and sometimes not even then.  Of course I remember my dog, Hoshie (I'm sure that's misspelled.  I don't know Japanese.)

Shopping for food in Mexico

This is sort of a hodge-podge of pictures.  I've taken too long to do these entries, and I'm rather removed from the whole exciting Mexico trip by now.  Between babysitting weekdays and lousy CenturyLink Internet service that slows picture-loading to a standstill, I've put things off so long, the experience isn't fresh and new.  However, there will be one more Mexico entry after this one.

Call me crazy, but I got a big kick out of watching Brooke buy groceries.  It was another favorite activity of mine while we were there.  Forgive me for always showing her backside... she has a very lovely face, I just wasn't concentrating on her when I took the pictures or I might have asked her to turn around and smile, at least.  

I don't recall ever tasting mangoes before this vacation, but we had plenty of them during our visit.  They were delicious, and available everywhere.  You can buy eggs one or two at a time in the roadside stalls, if you don't want to purchase a whole dozen.

It's fun to see something so familiar; only the language on the box is different.

This store was very much like those I'm used to at home, but there are many brands and various items you won't find in Mexico.  Brooke doesn't think the potatoes raised there are as good as the ones you get here, but the fried potatoes she fixed for us tasted great to me.

I followed Brooke into several of these roadside enterprises.

Those pineapples looked good, but fresh pineapple makes my mouth hurt.

Pineapples contain an plant protease enzyme called bromelain. Because it readily breaks down protein, bromelain is frequently used as a natural meat tenderizer. In addition, bromelain may also induce a prickly sensation in the mouth when consumed.

Among other things, Brooke bought some pork rinds to crumble over the the contents of our tortillas.  Surprisingly good.

I think this is where Brooke bought a variety of bottled, fresh-made juices, combinations of various fruits and vegetable juices I'd never heard of.

Just one of several meals we ate out