Chocolate factory and farewell, my dear ocean

I didn't blog yesterday because, well, we didn't do anything new. We went to the beach, chilled out at the hotel, went to dinner at the empanada place again, (it's sooo good!), and then I kicked Dave's butt in a game of Uno.

I have been wanting to answer a few of your questions.
Mom - yes, the camera is totally dead. Luckily we are able to take photos with our phones... but our phones aren't waterproof, so we can't do anymore underwater pictures.
Mary - yes, I've been doing a lot of reading. I've read Quiet: The Power of Introverts and Reconceiving Women: Separating Motherhood from Female Identity, and I'm working on Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality. (I think all three of those books were from you!) Oh, and we'll totally have to try making stuffed poblanos and bubble tea! Did I write about the plantain cake that I ate? With cream cheese frosting. Wow.
Misty - No, I didn't take a photo of the first sand-filled blister. However, lucky for you, it happened again with a different blister! I took this photo just for you. There's not quite as much sand inside this one, but you get the idea. This one hurt TERRIBLY when I had to dig the sand out of it.

This morning we visited a chocolate factory. Yum! The "factory" included a few rooms inside of a family's home. It reminded me of an upscale (and, yet, still low-tech) version of the chocolate factory that I visited in Guatemala. The man who led the tour was really engaging. We learned about the history of chocolate and the chocolate-making process. If it weren't for a series of accidents (for example, early settlers unintentionally allowing cacao seeds to ferment), we might not even know about chocolate today! Plus, we got to taste and smell the cocoa beans and chocolate throughout the whole process -- from super bitter to super yummy!

 We even got to grind our own beans and take the ground chocolate home with us!

Of course, we also purchased some bars of chocolate to bring home. Mom & Misty - we'll be bringing a couple to New Year's for you to try. They had all different kinds, from the normal stuff (milk, dark, white) to weirder stuff (chile pepper).

The tour was only an hour, so we had plenty of time left to head to the beach one last time.

We played in the waves for about an hour. That really wears you out! The waves were strong, like usual, and a couple of them were huge -- over Dave's head! (And we were in water that should have only been up to our knees!) It's a weird sensation because the waves coming in knock you toward the beach (like, literally pick me up off the ground and push me forward), but then the undertow pulls you out toward the deeper water. It's really hard to keep your balance. A couple of the waves knocked me over completely, and I got a good nasal cleaning of salt water. Yuck. You should have seen Dave playing in the ocean -- he was giggling like a little boy!

The weather on Cozumel is strange sometimes. The island isn't that big, but often it is raining on one side and sunny on the other. We saw this very clearly today. As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a storm brewing on the west side of the island.

But, when I turned around to face the other direction, I saw this

Weird, huh? It was hot today. Weather.com says it only got up to 81 degrees but, with the sun shining, it felt much warmer than that. Tonight we're headed to the Italian place that we went to on Christmas night. It was delicious, so we're looking forward to it. Then we leave tomorrow. Boo. Can't I take the ocean home with me?

Dave here
First of all, let me say that I played the role of bad man for the first time today. I drove Megan away from the east side of the island for the last time of our trip. Let me tell ya, she was NOT HAPPY about it. I will have to play the role again tomorrow when we go to the airport. Believe me, these are not happy times but someone has to do it. The chocolate factory was very cool and the chocolate is awesome. I hope some of what we bought does make it to indiana. No guarantees. as i said in my facebook status, we're coming home so someone stop the snow.
Dave

A lazy day at the hotel

When we woke up today it was 50 degrees warmer in Cozumel compared to the temperature in Elkhart. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as lovely as the temperature. We had at least five downpours throughout the day, and it was mostly cloudy in between the downpours. Instead of heading to the beach, we decided to chill at the hotel today.

But, first, we walked downtown to buy bubble tea drinks. I used to get these at the coffee shop at Goshen College, but I hadn't found anywhere to order them since then. It's basically a fruit smoothie with some really big tapioca balls in it. You drink it with a really wide straw. The cafe advertises them as "the drink you can eat." Dave got a pineapple one, and I got a lychee one. You can see some lychee fruit and prepared bubble tea in the image below (which came from the cafe's facebook page). I'm not quite sure why they are called "tea" because I've never had one with actual tea in it. Anyway, they were delicious, but we got rained on during our 25 minute walk back to the hotel.

We went up to the roof area and spent several hours reading this afternoon. During that time, I also realized why the blister on my foot was not healing. (Queasy-stomached people might want to skip to the next paragraph.) The very first day, during our very first walk to the grocery store, I got a blister in between my big toe and second toe because I hadn't wore flip flops for a while. The blister also popped while I was walking, but I thought it had healed up by the next morning. Apparently, it had not. As I was examining it today, I noticed that it looked kind of lumpy and parts of it were a lighter color than others. I thought it might be infected. I started touching it and noticed that the lighter parts moved around when I touched them. Only then did I realize what had happened. I had sand stuck inside the blister! It must have been open the first day we went to the beach and sand got inside. I just assumed that it hurt because, well, it was a blister. Of course, it couldn't heal with sand in it! So, I had to peel it open, gently scrape all the sand out, and then disinfect it with rubbing alcohol. It was pretty gross, but hopefully I will wake up tomorrow with it feeling better!

We walked into town again tonight for dinner. (This means that even during our "lazy" day, we still spent about 100 total minutes walking!) You might remember from previous years that the vendors and store employees on the main road are pretty persistent in getting people to come into their stores. They have learned particular phrases in English to draw people in. Usually they say something like, "Amigo, welcome!" We heard two of our all-time favorites today:

• [from a cute old man] "Don't pass me by!"
• "Come on in, amigo. I have the best junk in town!"

Dave here
The "come on in amigo" was hilarious. I actually wanted to go see what he had then, but we didnt.
Had a fabulous peanut butter shake today. Today was actually a very enjoyable day for me. I finished the book  the Hobbit and look forward to seeing all 3 movies now. Well its time for some computer games and bed.
Dave

Cozumel Pearl Farm

We spent today touring a pearl farm. In fact, it's the only pearl farm in the Caribbean. The family that owns it is super, super nice. They started the farm in 2001, but then they lost everything in 2005 because of hurricane Wilma. Instead of giving up, they started over, and last year they finally harvested their first pearls. Since it has taken them so many years to make any money, they started doing tours in order to earn an income and continue farming.

We started with a 30 minute boat ride to the farm. The family's dog, Gaia, traveled with us. Mom, you would have loved her. She's a very curious chocolate lab.

We traveled to the north side of the island -- a place where we've never been because it is only accessible by boat. The farm is really isolated from everything else. Every single supply they have ever needed they brought from town via boat. It was a really pretty piece of land.


After arriving, we learned about oysters, pearls, the process of making pearls, and the history of the farm. I was surprised to learn that they actually do a surgical procedure on the oyster to get the foreign object in the shell. And they don't use a particle of sand, which is what I was always taught. Instead, they use small, round balls of seashell (or something like that).

Next, they took us out on the boat again to snorkel around the actual underwater farm.

They have anchored several of these boxes into the ocean floor, and that is where the growing oysters live.

The whole process takes several years: 2-3 years for the oysters to be old enough to even get the foreign object implanted and then another 2 years for the pearl to form. Now I understand why pearls are valuable!

Then we did a "power snorkel" where we all held on to a rope and got pulled by the boat. It was pretty fun. We stopped by some large coral heads and saw lots of colorful fish. Sadly, my underwater camera broke before we got to the fish, so I can't show you any photos. It was some of the best snorkeling ever, though. The water was really clear.

A storm was coming, so we had to cut the snorkeling time a little short and get back on the boat to return to land.

It started to sprinkle as soon as we got back, and it rained for about 20 minutes. I didn't mind at all, though, because the rain created a spectacular rainbow.

I've never seen a rainbow so low on the horizon. Luckily I had my cell phone with me so I could continue taking pictures. Unfortunately, I have to text the photos to myself in order to post them on the blog, and that costs money while I'm in Mexico, so you only get to see one of the rainbow images right now.

Then we ate lunch and had about 2 hours to explore the beach or rest. We hiked up the beach a ways to check out a shipwreck, but these bugs (they call them mosquitoes,  but they are smaller than a gnat) started biting us like crazy, so we headed back to the farm area. We could still see the storm on the horizon. (And, if you look closely, you can see a hint of the rainbow left.)

Then we chilled in hammocks until it was time to leave. Overall, it was a fun day, and we were glad that we could support this family.

And now, an update from Dave:

 Today was pretty cool. the pearl farm people were very nice. their operation was very interesting. it was a long boat ride to get there but it was nice to be away were we havent been. Its been like "lets all our equipment not work right" vacation. Neither one of our snorkel mask our worth a crap any more and my new nose plug wasnt working right and then her water proof camera let water in. It is old though. Other than that it was a successful day. They grilled burgers and put pineapple slice on them. very good. I would try it at home but the pineapple wouldnt be the same. It was a fun day. Oh yeah we went to the empanada restaurant for dinner tonight and they were better than I remembered mmmmm.
Well thats all folks.

Feliz Navidad!

Today we celebrated Christmas on the beach. We started off at an empty spot of beach on the west side of the island.

The west side is where all the hotels and restaurants are located. Most of the west side beach is very rocky, which means it isn't great for swimming but is good for snorkeling. We snorkeled for about an hour. We didn't see much, except for this sting ray. Can you find him in the photo?

I didn't see the ray until we were swimming right over it. This was the first ray that Dave had ever seen while snorkeling, so he was pretty excited. (I was worried that he might freak out, but luckily
he thought it was cool.) We were having some equipment malfunctions, and I saw a jellyfish, so we decided to head to a different spot.

We drove to the east side of the island and found another patch of own private beach. This spot was the best ever -- and it took quite a bit of effort to get to it. Here's a view of it from the road above it.

There was an 8-10 foot drop directly from the road down to a narrow ledge of beach and then another 3-4 foot drop down to the water. Here are a few photos of the spot.


Dave made a nice shady area with the bushes and umbrella

And here is the view of the ocean from our spot

We remember this beach from the last time we were in Cozumel, and it didn't look anything like this. It was wide and sandy, but a storm must have eroded the beach away.

The waves were crazy again today. We were standing in water that was only halfway up our calves and getting splashed up to our chests! We got to watch some folks windsurfing, which was cool. And
we wandered around a bit where I fell in love with this log. I just couldn't stop taking photos of it


The weather was perfect today. It was hot, but there were just enough clouds to offer shade every once in a while, and there was a strong breeze. A very strong breeze.

Tonight we tried going to two different restaurants, but they were both closed for the holiday. So, we stopped in at a different restaurant, Sonrissi, that we just happened to walk by, and we're so glad we did -- it was fabulous! It was an Italian restaurant, and they make their pasta from scratch. Dave had chicken parmesana (in honor of you, Mom), and I had gnocchi (small dumplings) in a very cheesy tomato sauce.

If the weather cooperates, tomorrow we are going to visit a pearl farm -- I'm really looking forward to it!

Here's an update from Dave:
No blog for me. I ate too much. It was good though.

Merry Christmas!

Hello again, Cozumel!

Hello everyone! We made it safely to Cozumel yesterday and took some time to get settled in at the hotel. This included one of my favorite vacation activities -- shopping at the local grocery store. I love seeing the different things that they offer or the different flavors of things compared to what we have in the U.S. For example, we bought lime-flavored Lay's potato chips and lime and chile microwave popcorn. I also found a juice box of guanabana juice! I ate this fruit when I was in Costa Rica, and I absolutely loved it.

Yesterday we saw two things and did one thing that reminded us clearly that we are in another country. First, we saw a man riding a motor scooter with his dog. The dog, which was not small, was standing on the scooter in between the man's feet and the front of the bike. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me. In Mexico, entire families ride on the same scooter, but this was the first time I saw a dog on a scooter.

Next, we saw two trees that had been paved into a road. It appeared that the trees had once been beside the road, but then they widened it. Instead of cutting them down, they just poured the blacktop
around them. Dave and I both found it amusing.

Lastly, yesterday we watched NFL football in Spanish! :)

Last night we ate at a restaurant called Pancho's Backyard. It was quite a walk from our hotel -- about 22 blocks each way! But we got to enjoy the sunset on the way there

And the downtown Christmas decorations on the way back.

The restaurant was actually fairly fancy, and I ate the weirdest meal ever. I started with cream of
cilantro soup.

Then I had chiles rellenos with plantains and walnuts. So, it was two mildly spicy peppers, stuffed with plantains (bananas that aren't quite as sweet as what we eat in the U.S.) and walnuts, and then fried in a batter. It wasn't gross, but I can't say that I liked it either. Dave had steak fajitas, and he said they were really good.

Today we drove to the east side of the island -- the side without electricity. We found our a private piece of beach and chilled for a few hours.

The water was really rough. We only went in the water up to our knees, but the waves still knocked me over several times!

My highlight of the day was watching Dave madly chase after the umbrella when the wind blew it away. :)

Then we came back to the hotel for a mid-afternoon lunch and rested before dinner. In case you don't remember, the hotel has an open-air kitchen on the third floor that all guests can use. Here are some photos.
 

We usually eat breakfast and lunch at the hotel and then go out for dinner. Tonight we ate at Rolandi's, a restaurant that we really liked the last time we were here. I have a photo of us at the restaurant due to a very odd experience. I took my camera out to take a picture of
my meal, and this lady (another tourist from the U.S.) rushed over to our table and stood there staring at me. I wasn't sure what she wanted until she stuck her hand out and told me to give her the camera so that she could take a photo of Dave and I together. It was bizarre.

Tomorrow we are planning to celebrate Christmas by going snorkeling, so you can look forward to some underwater photos! (Oh yeah, and it's supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Just sayin')

Here's an update from Dave:
we had a good and relaxing first day. The water was rough so we didnt go in very far but it was fun watching megan lose her flip flops more than once and watching the waves pummel her to the sandy
floor. One knocked her over and was moving her everywhere. I had a good laugh at that.

We came back and had dinner and then played uno. Megan got pummeled again. HE HE! I have to gloat. it doesnt happen enough for me not to. Dinner was great. rolandis is one of my favorites here. Looking forward to snorkeling tomorrow. Later.

Photos from Costa Rica

Here are some of my favorite photos from Costa Rica. It seems silly to be posting them a couple months after returning, but the blog seems incomplete without them. I'm going to be lazy, though, and not write captions -- sorry! You'll notice that my love affair with the ocean and mountains has only gotten stronger. :)