Playa del Carmen and Diving in Cozumel (part one)

After we flew into Cancun, we took a bus straight for Playa del Carmen which is another hub for travellers through the Riviera Maya. Like New York, it has its Avenida 5, but it is filled with souvenir shops and tour sellers, as well as a little shop selling pictures with tiny monkeys. We decided to take advantage of its prime location on the caribbean sea and its proximity to Cozumel to go SCUBA diving, which we hadn´t done since Belize a year ago. We dove with Geofish, run by a nice guy from Denver who decided to move down here and follow his dream of owning a dive shop. Turns out it´s not exactly profitable. I guess I´ll have to reevaluate my dream of doing the same thing! Anyway, last thursday we took the ferry across the bay to Cozumel where we were picked up by an texan who ran dive shop on the island, and were soon on a boat out to our first Dive Site.
We did two dives, and on both we saw turtles, sting rays, and of course the hundreds (mas o menos) of colorful fish one finds in the caribbean.
Here are some pictures from diving, but first, our first view of the Caribbean in Playa del Carmen:

A Blenny

These lionfish are not native to the caribbean (in fact I saw one on my dive in Australia), but an aquarium broke and a few got out and mated and the rest is modern history...

The second of the two turtles we saw on our dives. He was pretty nonchalantly swimming near us, and let us get pretty close.

This lovely painted lady is a Triggerfish

A very colorful Angelfish and its entourage

I had no idea my fins were this pink

A Very Large Hermit Crab indeed, who had apparently stolen a Conch Shell

After our first dive, we had a lovely lunch of Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and sandwiches and anchored near a beach. I dove in and Jim caught me mid-leap.

This Pelican was on the dock in Cozumel, and was very friendly, or at least tolerant. We got within a foot before the dock security told us to get away from the side.

Finally, the adorable dogs at the Hotel we stayed at in Playa (Barrio Latino).

We´re back in Playa now, and we finally got our PIN so we can get cash out at an ATM which saves us a hell of a lot of hassle. We are going back to Tulum tomorrow to finally relax on the beach for at least 5 nights. We´re having a good time, but it´s been kind of stressful with the money situation (and a bout of "Traveller´s Sickness") but I think now we´ll be able to really enjoy ourselves.

Tulum, Mexico: We found our Paradise. (days 4-7)

After a hectic few days arriving in Cancun, getting enough cash to subsist for a few days, finding lodging in Playa del Carmen, and diving, we headed south on the ADO in search of a place where we felt at home. We were hoping to find somewhere to camp on the beach, but Tulum town, where the bus dropped us off, is quite far from the beach. We found an ad for a cheap hostel near the Tulum Ruins (which we haven´t seen yet) so we took a cab there and dumped our heavy backpack. We made a system where we keep the camping supplies and clothes in the big bag and then carry all of our valuables with us wherever we go, so we took all of our cameras, ereaders, DS-es chargers, et cetera on two free bikes from our hostel. We went in search of a rumoured Subway (Jim´s favorite fast food). We missed it on the first pass and instead rode past the ruins and down onto the beach road which is lined with hotels.
On the way we saw a few cool critters such as a lovely iguana basking in the sunbaked road:

We spent the night at Hostel Los Lobos and the next day headed towards the beach. We had scoped out a few place the day before, and chose Papaya Playa because they allowed camping on the beach, and because it was right next to Cabanas Copal which was our first choice but didn´t allow camping and was all booked up. It had a pretty nice vibe and we were very happy to get down to the beach. One of the big draws of Tulum for us was that it was supposedly a nude beach and, as we discovered over the summer, we love swimming naked! It´s very liberating and refreshing. So once we set up our tent, we dove right in.
While swimming was heavenly, it turns out camping on the sand is not very comfortable (and very sandy.) After a few hours of swimming and deliberating, we decided to rent a cabana for the night. It was definitely worth the extra $16 to have a comfy bed, complete with mosquito net, that we didn´t have to share with our luggage. The added peace of mind that comes with a lock on the door helped, too. At this point we are out of cash again so we are going back to Playa del Carmen to wait for our PIN so we can spend a carefree week or so on the beach in Tulum.
Enjoy some of these pictures from Papaya Playa!

A Florida Christmas

Well, it's December 31st and an amazing year is coming to an end. We've been living in our van for 6 months and loving it. I finished my last semester of college with an almost 3.0 cumulative GPA. We left New York for a long-term trip across country and we're so happy to be back on the road and out of the cold. We found a few WWOOFs (http://www.wwoofusa.org/meet)that we want to spend time at, and we can't wait to experience the country and meet some new people. Right now we're at my Grandma's house in Tampa, FL and the days are flying by.
Here are some pictures from Christmas and around Florida.

My Grandma has a tiny yet beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

A beautiful Kurta from my mom's trip to India.

Christmas Night, we made and decorated a Gingerbread House

After a quick photosession...

it was promptly devoured

No one spared the destruction...

even Celeste joined in.

After the Gingerbread Disaster of Christmas '09, Jim and I went to my Aunt Debby's house and discovered that we want to be Pet Photographers.

Paji the African Grey who can duplicate Debby's voice exactly. I thought it was a bit strange when we were talking to her in the living room and heard her say from the bedroom "Wanna take a shower?"

Calypso, AKA Little Man who, of course, thinks he owns the place.

My Grandma's dog Skipper who gives Kuzya a run for his money in the race for World's Sweetest Dog.

The beautiful Husky Cherokee who loves nose kisses. That is, your nose.

And my aunt's newest addition, a Chinchilla named Pacino. He's so soft and sparkly after his dust bath.

Jim hasn't been having too many allergic reactions to these dogs, so he got in on the fun:

Later on, I went to the beach where there was a kite surfer riding the wind.

And finally, I got a new hairstyle for the new year and our new life.

Look out for our: Snowdrift Adventure and Photographin' the moon.

New Hampshire

A few weeks ago, we went up to New Hampshire where our friend Desmond has a house. It's right on the border of a state park which has great rock climbing, hiking trails and a beautiful lake. The leaves were just turning and it was just fantastic.

This is White Horse Ledge and Echo Lake

I thought this picture looked better rotated. It looks like a painting!

Tony and I decided to go for a swim. It was cold and I got numb but I loved it.

I can't wait to go back and climb mount washington next year!

New Camera, Rubin Museum, A Night in New York

Before we left on our big trip, and partly for our two-year anniversary, Jim and I decided to buy a DSLR camera in order to become better photographers and take pictures we could possibly make a living off of in the future. We ended up getting the Canon Digital Rebel XSi along with the standard 18-55mm lens, a 50mm lens, and a 55-250mm telephoto lens.
This weekend we went into Manhattan to practice and learn more about our camera and its functions, while trying to take some nice pictures.
Here are some of our favorites:

We came across the Rubin Museum while in Manhattan, which is a whole museum of Himalayan Art.
These first three are taken by me, experimenting with depth of field and composition.

After that, we walked through the streets some more and came across a lovely puppy who looked like a dirty Snowy.

We made it to Union Square, which was already all set up for the Christmas market. Here, we experimented with long shutter speeds:

In this one, Jim was supposed to stay still for 2 seconds but a little kid ran in front of him and was posing for the camera. Jim cracked up and the camera caught him laughing.

I took this one of Jim on the subway platform. I love his expression and his crispness.

Back in Great Neck, we experimented with really long shutter speeds (30 seconds) and multiple exposure, leading to a ghost-like effect. It came out pretty well for our first try.

Now we're in love with our camera and can't wait to get more use out of it in the future.