Arriving in a Commercial Come to Life

I have returned! After a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, I'm now back home with tales of adventure to share here over the next few days.

The main adventure, in this instance, was scuba diving. A friend of mine for many years (coming up on two decades soon -- wow!) is a scuba instructor; he and his wife have been on more dive trips than maybe even they can count. But I myself never had any interest in it.

That was before my far more adventurous boyfriend came along. Around half a year after we met, he went with his father on his first scuba diving trip to the Cayman Islands. He loved every minute of it, and I think from the moment I picked him up at the airport, the fuse was lit. He wanted to go on another dive trip, this time with me, and it was only a matter of when.

And the matter of getting certified, of course. Having the aforementioned instructor friend made it a lot easier. Scheduling was hardly an issue, and the normal expenses weren't a factor. I just had to get over my anxiety over the basic idea. We did all the training here in Denver, and then it was off to Mexico to be thrown into the deep end.

This was a group trip. Joining me and my boyfriend were my friend the instructor and his wife, and my sister, brother-and-law, and niece. We stayed at one of those "all inclusive resorts" on the beach. Palm trees, a massive pool, endless drinks from a swim-up bar. The whole cliché, for real. I mean, this was the actual view outside my hotel room patio:

And this was a leisurely 60 second walk from the room:

Of course, the photos don't quite convey the sometimes agonizing heat, but you didn't notice it as much when you were sitting in the pool with daiquiri number six.

We arrived in the late afternoon, got situated, and tried to grab dinner. We had to do a bit of searching, because the main buffet restaurant was closed that night. Instead, food was being served in the showroom, where "Michael Jackson" was going to perform after dinner.

We left before the show really got started, but curiosity made us peak back through the open showroom door to catch a bit of it. Basically, it was what you'd expect: a Mexican Michael Jackson impersonator lip synching his way through all the big hits. I didn't grab any pictures myself, but someone else who was with me might oblige with an update. It's a thing to say I've seen, though hardly a highlight of the trip.

Update: And here's the picture:

The truth is, I didn't unwind all that much that night. I could blame it partly on the beds that would be the big sore spot (literally) of the whole trip. (They were hard as a rock and outfitted with the typical "one is not enough, two is too many" hotel pillows with unusually scratchy pillowcases.) But the truth was, my mind was on the vaguely crazy thing I was planning to do in the morning. Sure, people go scuba diving all the time, but it was going to be a new experience for me.