NCL/NYC/MEX?

The 4th Trimester is over!!!

2012-01-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

Life after the birth of my son Jose Julian Ramirez Quinn
Sept 23, 2011

So I have been told that the first 3 months, post delivery, is often referred to as the 4th trimester, as the baby really is still like a fetus and not very well adapted to life out of the womb. My friend Sinead also told me that I should be prepared to be exhausted for the first few months and likened them to a war zone. In my naivety I'd said - ak I'm just going to sleep when the baby sleeps, I'll be fine. I was thinking - how hard can it be - the baby will just sleep, eat and poo. Well a few days in and I understood Sinead all too well!!!
I had a c-section which was OK but for the first two weeks I was pretty incapacitated. Julio had to take me to the bathroom and shower me for this period too - poor guy. I also reacted to the vast quantity of antibiotics they pump into to you here in Mexico and spent the best part of the first month vomiting. 3 hospital stays later, when the right mix of medication was discovered (the same stuff as they give to chemo patients to avoid nausea) I managed to get on top of that. Then the baby started to get really bad colic. He'd scream in pain from around 7pm until 2-4am. Julio and I would drive round the Island in the middle of the night as the sound of the car's engine seemed to pacify him. It was a horrible time, I was physically and emotionally wrung out. Doctors and others pointed to my breast milk as the likely cause of the colic which meant I had to give up all dairy (very hard for a veggie). I came under a lot of pressure to switch to formula, which I resisted. I felt like it was all my fault, I felt like a terrible mother because I couldn't do anything to relieve his pain and I felt like an even worse mother because there was a little part of me just thinking PLEASE stop crying so I can get some sleep!!!

Wow it sounds pretty horrible putting it all down there is print.

Anyway things have changed so dramatically now. He's 3 months and 2 weeks and a changed baby. He still has some remnants of colic and I still have a very restricted diet, but he now cries for 10mins tops. Mammy can make him feel better by rubbing his belly, burping him, feeding him or rocking him to sleep. He smiles, laughs, gives me big soppy kisses on the cheek and makes lots of Agoo - ahoo and other noises. He tends to sleep well most nights and gets in a good 2-3 hours sleep most days, with other short snoozes. I'm really falling in love with his little spirit. Looking into his eyes you can see a kind and gentle little boy who wants to learn all he can and please mam and dad.

Julio and I have finally moved into the new house. Just the first floor, but it is slowly coming together and we really hope to get the whole thing finished this year. Julio and his brother are in the final stages of making a crib for the baby.

During the pregnancy I put on a wopping 50lbs in weight. One welcome effect of the nausea and vomiting was a rapid loss of this weight. I'd had to fight the urge to become depressed about my weight during the pregnancy and had prayed hard to god to help me get my body back into shape quickly after the birth. Well he answered my prayer, so next time I need to remember to ask him to help me loose weight in a sensible time frame without the nausea and vomiting!!!

I'm still 10lbs over my ideal weight, but probably about the same weight as I was just before getting pregnant. I've been out running twice and want to continue this 2-3 times a week and also go to a yoga class once or twice a week.

I also managed to do a shore dive on New Years Day while Julio looked after the baby. It felt really amazing. I saw an eagle ray and lots of my old friends from Villa Blanca Reef (squid, shrimp, arrow crabs, puffers to name but a few). Most of all I just felt the most overwhelming feeling of peace - it had been a while since I'd felt that way! I've toyed with the idea of doing some scuba work, but I'm not sure I want to leave my little boy alone just yet. I want him to feel safe and secure with mammy at all times. Lets see how things progress on that front. I also think diving is pretty tiring physically and might be very difficult on top of breast feeding and being a mammy.

Well I tried several times to upload a recent photo of Julian and my computer just doesn't want to do it. Lots will follow, as well as happier tales of motherhood!!!!!

Only a little over 7 weeks to go!

2011-08-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

This Thursday will mark this little guy's 33rd week. In 4 more weeks he will be officially full term and there will be only 7 weeks left until his due date.

EXERCISE
WALKING Since I got back to Mexico I've been walking in the gym for 45 mins almost every morning. Its been a combination of brisk walking on the flat, with usually around 15 mins walking up hill. This has had a tremendous effect on my circulation: swollen feet, ankles and hands. It has also really helped to keep my digestive system in good working order (keeping constipation at bay!). I am hoping that walking will also help when it comes to my body's ability to push this little guy out. My mam said having my brother was just like having a big poo - so lets see!
YOGA I'm also keeping up with the yoga - two classes a week as well as 20-30 mins on my own in the gym on the days that I do not have class.
SWIMMING Because of the walking and the yoga, swimming has become more of a fun activity than real exercise. I enjoy snorkeling because my body is weightless and my whole system gets treated to a nice cooling down. It is my most peaceful time of the day.
I cannot stress the value of exercise enough though. It has really made a huge impact on how well I feel physically.

WORK
Since I got back to Mexico I have had a fair amount of follow up work from my trip. I have written first drafts of two reports and am 1/2 way through my final overview report. Having this work stresses me a little and I will be pleased when it is all behind me. Another problem with working is that I have to sit at my desk for long periods of time. I sit on a wooden kitchen chair, which is not ideal. The whole process makes my tailbone ache, ankles and hands swell and lower back very sore!!! I am pretty proud of myself for managing to keep work going through my pregnancy though.

NEW HOUSE
Well the new house is still coming along. More slowly than we'd hoped, despite my poor husband putting in several hours a night to get doors, windows and plumbing finished. I am focusing on being thankful to have a house, that is paid for in full, almost completed. Hopefully the builder will be gone and we will have moved in to at least 3 rooms in the downstairs of the house before the baby is born. My husband will take 4 weeks off work for the new baby and as well as spending time with us, he'll be able to work more on the house.

EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Generally I have been feeling good. The one thing that I really struggle with is the weight that I have gained during this pregnancy. I was very overweight for a good portion of my 20's this was all tied up with depression and lack of self worth. Putting on those lbs again is bringing all sorts of old emotional baggage back to the surface. If I mention the way I feel to people they just laugh and say 'you're not fat you're pregnant!'. But really that does not help me. I just have to try and avoid the negative thoughts I'm having. Looking at the ultrasound pictures of my little boy, feeling him kicking inside me and having such a loving husband all help, but there are down times. I am excited because this weekend there is a Buddhist monk coming to the Island to talk about dealing with negative emotions. I am working really hard to finish my reports before then so that I can use the three day seminar as a starting point to a positive last month of my pregnancy.

On the whole I am excited, while trying to stay patient. I thank god every day for my blessings. I have a wonderful peaceful life, an amazing caring husband who I love more than anything else in the world, a baby on the way, most of the time I don't need to work, I have wonderful family and friends and a house almost completed. Life is good:)

Even though I try to be happy in the 'now' I can't help having turned my attentions to getting back into shape after the birth. It helps me to picture dropping all of this weight, and getting fit and strong again. I also must admit to looking forward to being able to sleep on my back and stomach!

Most of all I am looking forward to seeing my little baby boy and seeing his dad hold him for the first time.

Sweat and Sore Noses

2011-07-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sweat

I would like to share some thoughts I have on sweat. As a starting point I’d like to admit to being a profuse sweater in my time. Not only did I sweat a lot, but if I did not wear anti-perspirant/deodorant my sweat would smell. Indeed when I worked in New York, anytime I forgot to apply deodorant in the morning I would have to run out to get some by about 10am to keep things under control.

Shortly after I moved to Cozumel a work friend, Fernando, and I got talking about sweat. I told Fernando that I had to bring Michem Deodorant in bulk from the States every time I would travel there, because it was the only thing that would keep my sweat under control. He said I should stop using it and see what happened and that I would be surprised at what a difference healthy living and a stress free environment would have had on me. Yeah - right I thought – crazy man. Of course I never tried a day without my trusty Michem. Life went on.

The one night early on in my pregnancy I had a really vivid dream that toxins from my deodorant were going to have a really bad effect on my baby. OK, I thought, lets give this a go. To my amazement a day went by with no deodorant and I hardly sweated at all. What little dampness there was, was completely odor free. Maybe just a first day thing right? Michem boasts in their advertizing that their product “works so well you can even skip a day”. So another day, then another, then a week and now I have been deodorant free for months. No smell. Well I say no smell, but there is an exception to that rule. If I eat something bad – like something really sugary or with lots of chemicals, my sweat smells terribly for a couple of hours – like my body is expelling all of the toxins, then its back to normal. This has happened less than ten times in 4-5 months.

What is the explanation for this wondrous turn of events? Well I have a few theories:

1. Fernando was right and when you take stress out of life then your body manages its sweat more effectively.

2. It is a pregnancy related phenomenon – I will report back on this when I see what happens after I give birth

3. It is all about the toxins your body consumes – food, air etc. This would gel with my experiences following eating chemically food or drinks. My diet has been fairly free of toxins since I got pregnant.

4. I read recently on line that salt water was a natural anti-perspirant. Well I am in the ocean almost every day as I swim to keep fit since I’ve been pregnant and before that was diving for work almost every day.

An interesting turn of events was that following 3 weeks of working for my old company, auditing in a stressful office environment, my sweat began to smell again (note that this 3 week period also had me out of the ocean). Not as bad as before, but on the 2 last days of my trip I was forced to break out the emergency sachets of deodorant that I always carry in my purse.

I will report back as my research continues. I dearly hope that after pregnancy I continue to smell so sweet. I do not like putting so many chemicals on my skin and I’m sure I read somewhere that application of deodorant has been linked to cancer.

Sore noses

So Mexico is vey humid. There are good and bad things about this. We’re in a constant battle with mold, the weather feels 10 degrees warmer than it is, and making your hair look nice is almost impossible, on the negative. On the positive, my normally dry skin is naturally soft and I never need to moisturize.

Another negative is that my nose has become accustomed to this gentle environment. When I leave Mexico my nose is assaulted first by the painfully dry air on the flight and then the assault generally continues with A/C or dry heating in hotels, apartments and offices in NY and London. I invariably spend entire trips with a sore and often bleeding nose. This is another condition that is no doubt exacerbated by pregnancy.

Although this situation drives me to distraction, I’m really writing about it to share some solutions with others of you who might suffer moving from humid to dry environments.

During a particularly harshly air-conditioned flight to New York I asked a flight attendant if she had any recommendations to combat the dehydration, which invariable results from flying. She had a great one. Take a damp washcloth and place it over your nose during the flight. This may look silly, but happily looking silly has never bothered me. The cloth provides a barrier to the harsh air coming out of the a/c system and also actually hydrates the air you are breathing. When I employ this system during a flight I feel great at the other end. I’m often lucky enough to get to fly business - where they provide you with a washcloth (due to my brother’s working for BA) you might have to bring something from home.

During my last trip I was having real problems with the A/C in the hotel. Greece was hot as hell but the A/c was VERY dry and my nose was in terrible pain during the night if the A/C was on; I would sweat my ass off if the A/C was turned off. I tried putting a wet towel over my face but it kept smothering me and/ or falling off. Then I had an epiphany. My luxury eye-mask has a little roll over the nose to act as a double barrier against incoming light. I was able to soak this in water and roll it over my nose. Problem solved. I can now sleep like an angel in the most horrible of dry environments. Throw on a pair of earplugs and I’m totally environmentally sealed! It is true that I look very sexy when traveling.

31 weeks down - 9 to go!!

2011-07-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Love this latest little ultrasound pic. He's fattening up nicely! And look at that little nose - just like mine:) The doctor has said that he's just the right size for his age - He weights about 3lbs and is already in the heads down position - ready for his big arrival. She's all on board on trying for a natural, drug free birth and says I seem healthy enough, so lets see what happens. I need to sign up for birthing classes. Must get Julio to call and find out what time they are. Also starting to read my hypnobirthing book and listen to the CD.

England - baby update

2011-06-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of my third trimester. This is a picture of me with one of my best friends from childhood Claire. Miraculously we both became pregnant with our first children within days of each other (Claire's estimated due date is 4 days after mine). Claire lives in Madrid and we were able to coincide our trips to the UK which was nice.
As to the pregnancy itself. I'm feeling pretty healthy - the swollen ankles which plagued me in Mexico seem to be a thing of the past (although I feel fat!). The cool air works well with pregnancy. I have done two nice walks with my parents, which I wish I could do in Mexico. The weather is so hot in Cozumel for walking and it is hard to wear sneakers and proper shorts. I'm going to give it another go when I get back, or join a gym, because walking is supposed to help a lot with your body's ability to perform in during labor. I've also done some light yoga which helps tremendously with back pain. I will need to keep this up during the working part of my trip, and add more strength work.
My parents have both been able to feel the little kicks of their first grandchild and I have been able to buy some nice bedding and a few more items of clothing for the little guy. I have been able to stock up on homeopathic remedies for the birth and vitamins as well as some herbal teas and essential oils - all claiming to ease/ speed up labor in some way or another. I've also received some nice presents. This little baby is going to have a LOT of clothes!!!!
Starting a weeks work in London tomorrow. The working part of my trip is likely to fly over - time tends to speed up when you are working in a busy office environment I find. One week in London and then two in Greece. I'm spending some time in London with friends which will be nice, but in Greece, other than a weekend with Cat, it will be all working and sleeping. Last year the Greek section of the trip went faster because there were no friends to see and I felt more rested.
Julio has also been busy working on our house. He and his brother have made a beautiful job of the windows in the kitchen. This one still needs to be stained and properly hung, but I'm very happy about the way it looks. I married well!!!
OK off to shower and finish packing for London.

26 weeks down - 14 to go

2011-06-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

We just had a doctors visit and my little man is growing like crazy! In these pictures he has his hands behind his neck. It's funny, because that is exactly the position that I was lying in so that I could support my neck to see the monitor when the doctor gave me the ultrasound. I noticed with this ultrasound that you can see his little bones much more clearly. The doctor has said that everything is healthy. He has a good strong heart beat - we could see all 4 little chambers beating away, and he is the right size for his age. My blood work and blood pressure were great. Looking like I have a small bladder infection and am taking a short course of antibiotics to sort it out, but other than that everything is A OK and I have been given the all clear for flying.

Of course it is very difficult to tell what the baby is going to look like from these pictures but it does look like he may have inherited his Mam's nose:) His kicking is getting stronger and stronger and he now seems to interact more with what is going on on the outside. If I wear a tight waistband he kicks against it, or if Julio presses his ear to my belly he sometimes gets a little jab! He also seems to get more active if he hears music, or if the sun shines onto my belly.
I'm leaving on Thursday to spend a week with my parents and then 3 weeks working for my old company: one in London and 2 in Greece. It will be a long trip and I will REALLY miss my husband, but I am trying to look at the positives. One big plus is that I will get to see family and friends and another is that the weather in England will be nice and cool. I will also be able to buy some nice bedding for my little guy and maybe some curtains (or material for curtains) for his bedroom. The work itself is pretty interesting and I like the people in both offices. When I get back to the Island I will have only 10 weeks to go to the D Day. So far this pregnancy seems to have gone quite smoothly. I'm going to continue to look after myself and hope all goes as well for the birth.
Oh yes and you know I am never one to pass up a compliment? Well the doctor said that the skin on my belly looks really nice - did I moisturize? Hey lady moisturize is my middle name and I've been slapping oil on to prevent stretch marks every time I take a shower - sometimes even more often. So far it seems to be working. If I can get over the stretch mark hurdle all I have to do is kick my butt into a good exercise regime ASAP and I'll be back to normal before you know it.

Rainy Day

2011-06-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

So at last we got some relief from the HOT weather we've been having recently. There is a big low pressure system to the South of the Island and it has rained all day. This morning I went to the supermarket early and when I got in my car to leave the battery was completely dead. A friend came and jump started the car, but it died again when I got it back to the house (yes I'd driven it around a bit to charge it up). So I think the battery is just dead. It's probably as old as the car - almost 6 years - so its had a good life. Tomorrow we're going to go and get a new battery and oil change etc...
Anyway the upshot of all of this is that I've been stuck in the apartment all day. So I decided to break out my paints and start on that self portrait I've been planning for a while:
I like right side of my face (stage right), but the other eye went wrong and my nose went a little wonky. My lips are too small, but I kind of like the shaping on the face and color. Next I'm going to do my interpretation of my Green Man bust, or maybe another Buddha face.
The cool weather that came with the rain has allowed me to get into the kitchen and do some cooking. Julio is going to come home tonight, rather than work on the house - so looking forward to a nice dinner with my husband.

House Update

2011-06-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, while my job has been to grow our son, Julio's job has been to oversee the building of our house, as well as actually make all of the doors and window's and install plumbing and sewage with the help of his awesome brother Christian (Christian also put in the electricity for us). Things are starting to come together with the house.
A big step forward this week was the pouring of the second floor roof. Same as last time, the builder erects a wooden platform to hold the cement while it dries flat onto the roof. Over this platform they lay a grid of re-bars to keep the whole structure strong, and then Julio and Christian put electrical hosing over the lattice work. I went to see the pouring as I missed it last time. We hired a big truck to come and pour the whole roof. Here it is in the street. You can see the big hose which pumps all of the cement onto the roof.Here is a shot of the cement truck guy and the builders spreading the cement over the rebars and wooden platform (the orange hose is the electrical tubing):And then the finished roof:
We can see the cruise ship's from our roof and it's pretty breezy up there. One day I'd like to put another couple of rooms on the third floor and a big palapa (big grass roof).
Julio and Christian have been working until 11.30 almost every night on doors and windows. Here are two views of the kitchen. You can see that they have completed the outer frames (actually these have been completed for the whole downstairs exterior). They've also completed the first window:Right now they are working on the back door. Like I said, Christian has been great - he's a carpernter by trade and Julio is also pretty good with wood. Them being so talented is saving us a ton of money. I know Julio is very tired but I think he enjoys working on the house and I guess it's nice for him to be able to spend so much time with his brother. The downside is that I get to spend very little time with him, but it will all be worth it in the end. I also know that Julio and his brother have far more attention to detail than local workers. Now we just have to hope that we can get the house into a state we can move into before the end of September. Once upstairs is ready for doors and window they are going to concentrate on the baby's room so we can get that completed at the very least. I hope that the downstairs doors and windows will be finished soon too so that we can tile and get the kitchen underway.

Baby update

2011-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

23 weeks down 17 to go!! So how is pregnancy so far? It's strange! I can now feel this little man wriggling around inside of me. I wonder what he gets up to because sometimes he is very busy indeed.
I get periods of feeling more calm and peaceful than I have in my entire life. I can feel his little life force inside of me and it makes me feel more connected with everything. It's this serenity that has meant that I have yet to succumb to the worrying that I have heard can plague other pregnant mothers. I even feel strangely calm about giving birth (lets hope that does not change).
I do find the weight gain hard to deal with. Those of you who've known me for a long while will remember that I was fairly obese in my 20s. With that obesity came a decade or more of pretty intense depression (which came first the fat or the depression, I'm not sure, but for me being overweight is not a happy state). People who've known me for less than 10 years can't imagine me being overweight, but being overweight and the way it made me feel, is something that scares me quite a lot. Today I packed all of my little clothes in a vacuum bag to make room for maternity clothes and clothes I have bought for the baby. During my swim I tried to find a calm place of reason 'I will loose the weight when I give birth - it will be a fun challenge'. I'm generally trying to put all thoughts of this nature out of my mind.
What else. Well I have a nice little belly and so far no stretch marks (I am so hopeful that I will follow in my mother's footsteps and not get these). I do plaster my stomach with anti stretch mark oil after every shower . I had a rotten two months of morning sickness, and since have been pretty comfortable. Unfortunately I have started getting acid indigestion. Today I went out and bought some tums and that seems to have been a big help - so lets hope the tums continue to work.
I'm excited. In 4 months (Sept 29th - or probably within the 2 week period thereafter) I should be looking at a little baby. Julio is also very excited and I've been feeling more in love with him than ever over this time. I have a business trip for a month starting June 23, which I hope does not put too much stress on my body. I'm going to take it easy though. It's not a stressful assignment and I will sleep as much as I can when I am not in the office. When I get back to Mexico there will be only two months left until we meet our little son.
I'm so pleased that I have my husband who will make the best dad in the world!

Long overdue House update

2011-04-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well things have moved along quite significantly since I last posted about the house. The downstairs is almost completed. We have the electrics and sewage in and the plumbing all completed and ready to go in when the house is more secure (people have a tendency to steal the copper pipes). Here is a picture of the entrance doorway - with my study to the right:The terza is also looking good. Picture more plants and flowers - we will be spending a lot of time out here:This is the stairway in the kitchen leading to the second floor:The second floor is coming along well. Almost all of the walls are completed. Really all that needs to be done before we are ready to put the roof is the supports for the roof over the stairway and the same for the roof over our balcony. Here is a picture of our bedroom (15'x15') - the door on the right leads out to our balcony/deck - it's a nice size (6'x18'):Here is the view from our deck/balcony:To the right of that we have 2 walk in closets each is about 4'x6'. It is difficult to see from the picture - but I am very excited about my closet - it will even have a little window - so it's going to be more of a closet come dressing room:This will be the en-suite bathroom - the builder forgot to leave space for the window - which will have to be added once the roof is on - CAREFULLY!:The main hallway was so spacious that I decided it would be a good idea to add a second 1/2 bathroom (just a toilet and sink) for the use of the other two bedrooms. Sadly I didn't think of this until the roof was on the first floor - which left us with problems in terms of plumbing - there is no way for the sewage pipes to get into the room:This meant that Julio and his brother had to spend their entire Sunday drilling a hole in the roof down through the first floor bathroom and main sewage pipe:After a hard days work in the blazing sun they were successful (with only a small breakthrough into the kitchen wall):
Here is the hole from below as well as the channel they had to cut into the bathroom wall to take the drain down to the main sewer line. A hard days work:This is the spare bedroom - with my mother-in-law is standing in the doorway which leads to a smaller balcony/deck - that's going to be a nice place for a morning coffee and yes this room will have A/C for visitors:This is that baby's room. It is probably bigger than our bedroom so it can house two kids if we go on to have another of the same sex (lets see how this one goes first!):Finally here is the view from the street. The room you see on the second floor is the guest room. The painted red wood in the windows of the exterior wall is just temporary - we don't want to put in the good doors while all of the construction is going on as they may get damaged:It is all pretty exciting. I'm hoping that the roof will be put on the first floor while I am in New York this month. Then all of the finishing will have to be completed before September (D day is September 29th). I love the house every time I go and visit it and there are very few things I would do differently I we had to start again. It is going to make a perfect home:)

Pregnancy - sleeping, swimming and yoga

2011-04-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well I'm now in my 17th week of pregnancy. The great thing about this is that morning sickness is pretty much a thing of the past. I still have to be on guard though - if I eat the wrong thing I can feel nauseous for the whole next 36 hours!
I've been finding sleeping increasingly hard. I'm now at the point where I can't really sleep on my belly without squashing it's contents - sleeping on the side is supposed to be best during pregnancy - even better if it is the left side. Unfortunately I was 'blessed' with wide hips (hopefully a boon during childbirth), and as a consequence it is impossible for me to lie on my side without sagging in the waist, causing my back to curve and ache like hell. I've tried putting a pillow under my waist and one between my legs, which help a bit but all in all I wake up with a pretty sore back.
I had determined to do an hour of yoga every day as well as my 1.2 mile snorkel swim. The swimming has been a pleasure - I love the ocean and it also lets me escape from this heat and see friends on the beach. I rarely miss a day.
Yoga has been more of a chore, until this morning! My back felt in such a desperate need of as good stretch out that yoga was great. My yoga teacher is sadly on vacation this month, which means that I am left to motivate myself to do a morning yoga session each day. I am going to persist with this though as it does bring such relief to my back. Looking forward to Selene's return as it is so much nicer doing yoga with a group.

14 Weeks 4 days down (25 weeks 3 days to go)

2011-04-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm pregnant! and at 14 1/2 weeks: 3 1/2 months and our little baby is about 4 1/2 inches long. I'm starting to get a big belly, but I look more fat than pregnant. Here are two little pictures taken from our most recent ultrasound:
The first is a 3D ultrasound image and the second is just the regular one. I like the second one cos you can see it's little nose. Maybe my husband and I can see these things because we caught the live version. I can't feel any movement just yet - probably in another 4-8 weeks. Actually I feel rather more like I have a nasty illness (or two month long hangover) than pregnant right now. It is going to be an interesting journey and I'm still finding it hard to put being pregnant together with actually having a child after 5 1/2 more months! We're very happy though. So far all tests have come back with positive results so we are officially out:)

I have been pretty sick, although this is showing signs of letting up A LITTLE. I've given up work almost completely now. We didn't know I was pregnant for the first month as we had a negative pregnancy test result and a light period. As a result this little peanut has been scuba diving on many occasions, while mommy has been lifting tanks weighing well in excess of the recommended 30lbs, running and roller skating!!!

I have been exercising regularly (especially over the last month). I'm swimming a little over a mile almost every day and doing prenatal yoga 3 days a week (working on increasing that to 6 days any day now) and I also plan to re-work daily meditation back into my schedule. I am very blessed in that I do not have to work. My head has been very 'foggy' and nausea has left me feeling like doing very little, but I have taken up painting. It's been something I've been meaning to return to for ages (maybe 20 years!). Anyway here are two of my first attempts:
Between painting and exercise I've been pretty busy. Our house is coming along well too. The ground floor is structurally complete including plastering (sheet rock if you are American), electric, sewage and water (well almost) and the second floor has all of its walls. We are hoping to get the roof on the second floor before the end of this month, then it will be a race against time to get it all finished by D day (September 29th).

When I say I've stopped working - that is not absolutely true. I will be working in New York for my old company for 2 weeks at the beginning of May which will be nice. Great to see friends (both home friends and work), good to fill in some time (I'll be almost 20 weeks when I return to Mexico) and fantastic to get some shopping in. I am desperate for refills of my favorite shampoo and conditioner and I have a long list of baby things to buy. All very exciting!

Christmas

2010-12-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve here in Cozumel and I'm just waking up from an afternoon nap following a week of intensive working (diving). Ever feel so tired that you almost feel drunk? Well that is how I am feeling today!

Anyway I tried to call my parents and borther to wish them a Happy Christmas and kept getting cut off (skype must be overbirdened at this time of year). So I've been lying here thinking of all of the wonderful Christmases I had a child and how lucky I was in comparison to lots of the children here. Its not really about privaledge or money but about the love that was in our house particularly at Christmas time.

Buying our tree - Christmas always started with the family outing to buy our Christmas tree. We'd all troup to Chopwell Woods to choose our family Christmas tree about 1 1/2 weeks before Christmas. I remember times where there was light dusting of snow. I'd be in my duffle coat and wellies. Trees would be piled high in groups of height and dad would pull trees out, one by one, for our approval. Mam would usually want a Scotch Pine tree (that none of the rest of the family would like) and then we'd settle on a classic pine tree, full of thick branches and smelling heavenly! We'd then take it to the man who'd push it through a big machine, which would put the trees in big net bags for transportation, and pay. As a little girl I remember hugging the Christmas tree in its net sock:) We'd then strap the tree to the top of the car with washing line, strung through open car windows, generally with a lot of family bickering and my dad sustaining some mild injury, which would usually bring us back to a state of hilarity!

Back at home we'd have to wait for my parents to drink coffee and maybe eat some lunch and then dad would cut the end off the trunk of the tree, to make sure it could drink the water we'd feed it and it would be set in a bucket and lodged in place with bricks (in later years things would get easier, with the advent of specially designed Christmas tree holders). Andy Williams would be playing on the record player while the decorations were broken open. In those days the decorations were stored in an old dusty suitace in the attic (actually I believe that that suitacse is still in the attic).

First the lights: we had little pink gold, green and blue carriage lights which were magical and then borbles, and ornaments. The ornaments came out every year and we knew them well. The pipecleaner Santa Clause, the little toy train, my favorites: the little drummer boy and his girlfriend, and of course the golden angel for the tree top. Many of the ornaments had come from my grandma's house, I especially remember a white raindeer and two little elves that sat on the branches. I can still smell the mixture of dusty old decorations mixed with fresh pine. Then when we'd finished it would be growing dark and we'd all settle down and watch television with the tree glowing in the corner. I could sit for hours, as a child, gazing into its sparkling branches. Imagining the little ornaments springing to life. We'd all choose our favorite light, or favorite bauble. Mam would always choose one of those clear baubles that look like big soap bubbles, because of the way some light close by to it would reflect in it and make it look a pretty color.

After much anticipation and opening of advent calendar windows, Christmas eve would finally arrive. I would be so excited - Santa Claus! Imagine, as if by magic, someone would come and fill our living room with presents. We'd usually be sent to bed early after leaving a sherry and a mince pie out for Santa Clause, and of course stockings for Santa to fill with presents (my dad's socks). Dad would read me a book I had on the nativity storey and also an illustrated version of 'Twas the night before Christmas". We were told to go to sleep or Santa might not come. I'd sometimes stand up in bed, stick my head under the curtains and press my forehead against the glass, looking for Santa's sleigh as it sped through the night. It was the most intolerable night of the year in terms of trying to get to sleep. I felt like I didn't sleep a wink, but in all likelihood that is probably not true. I'd talk to my old bear, big ted, about all of the things I hoped Santa and his elves would bring for me, into the early hours of the morning.

We had to stay in our rooms until a time set by my parents (probably 7am) when we'd be able to wake them up. We would all stand at the top of the stairs while my dad would go downstairs to check the living room and see if 'he' had been. He always had and we'd all rush down stairs and into the room where our little Christmas tree was glowing, surrounded by presents. I remember stockings filled with nuts, tangerines, foil covered chocolate coins and little trinkets. I'd always get a doll, my brother the latest Star War's toys. We'd go to church and I remember often hearing a baby crying and believeing that baby Jesus was actually hidden somewhere behind the little door that the priests would comeinand out of. We'd see Carol and Pete, my mam's friends with their kids Claire and Micheal who were mine and my brother's best friends; Then we'd go to Grandma Charlton's for more presents and then Grandma Quinn's - where all of my aunts, uncles and cousins would gather, drink sherry, be happy and exchange more gifts. Christmas lunch would be turkey with all of the trimmings (back then I ate meat). Grandma Charlton and my aunt Judith and uncle Robin would be there. After lunch we'd watch the 'Wizard of Oz', which was always televised on Christmas Day at around 3pm (in the days before video). That movie was a little like Christmas, all is grey and dull until the day Dorothy opens the door into Oz. I loved that movie. Then by evening time we'd all be wiped out and fall asleep on the sofa, well fed, happy and tired!

I hope that if I am lucky enough to have children I can make their Christmases as magical as mine were as a child.

Long Awaited House Update...

2010-12-08T16:38:00.001-08:00

At last I have found the time to get my photographs saved to my computer and uploaded to blogger. I had planned to do this at work (here in the dive shop there really is NOTHING to do in low season - I've spoken to only 4 potential clients today in a period of 5 hours), but the internet service was so slow that I could not upload the pictures. I decided to go ahead and write this and add the pictures at home while I cook dinner. Phew – this is why it often takes me so long to write a blog post!

So my last update predated my trip to Greece and London in October/ November. Before I left, preparations were being made to put the roof on the house (the roof will ultimately be the floor to the second floor of the house). Here in Mexico houses are made of bricks and the roof of flat concrete. Once the walls are in place a platform is constructed in wood to carry the weight of the concrete, which will be poured to make the roof:

After the wood is laid, tubeing is placed over the top of it to house electricity cables and the drainage pipes were also laid for our 2nd floor bathroom.

Our roof was poured the day before I left and I did not manage to be there to take pictures. There are a few ways to make these cement roofs and we arranged for a cement truck to come and pour pre-mixed cement. This only takes a few hours and the pre-mixed cement has additives which make it harden faster and give it more resistance to moisture. After the concrete has been poured it is left to harden over a period of 5-7 days and then the wood is taken away. This is the house as it looked when I arrived back from my trip:

Obviously the walls all need to be finished with a smooth layer of cement, and ultimately painted, but you can see how things are shaping up. It was really cool for me to arrive back on the Island and see the house with its roof. For the first time, I could walk into each of the rooms and get a good feeling for the space of each room and how it will look when we move in. I was very happy with the way all of the rooms looked - each one felt just right. Here is a picture of what will ultimately be our living room. You will see that the room has been partly finished (we'd say plastered in England). The groove running round the walls, about 1/2 way up the, is being left for a ceramic chair rail (maybe dedo rail in England). They would usually be made of wood in England or America, but because of the humidity here, we have chosen ceramic.

Before I left we'd planted a coconut tree in our back garden/ yard (we've actually already planted another of these in the opposite corner of the yard now). Here I am, pulling weeds out of the dirt around the tree:

Here is a picture of the back of the house taken from the yard. Again, all still needs to be finished and windows and doors added (the white metal gate is temporary - to secure Julio's work room until we have wooden doors made). The picture looks into the kitchen with the terrace in the foreground. I am really looking forward to our spending a lot of time out on the terrace - most of the year we'll probably eat out there:

Here is another picture from the side of the terrace and yard, with our little coconut tree in the corner. We planted this tree a little over a year ago and it is almost as tall as me, although we have actually planted it below ground level so it lost a few feet!

The last picture is of our kitchen. I LOVE how big our kitchen is going to be. I already have my eyes on the washing machine and refrigerator that I want (I find it less easy to get excited about an oven – they all look/ do the same).

So there you have it. We still have a lot of work to do. Julio’s brother Christian is almost finished putting in the electricity (with the help of a qualified electrical engineer) and when the walls around the windows are finished (hopefully this week), Julio and Christian will be able to make a start on the windows and doors. When I look at the land I sometimes see a dirty messy building site, and other times I am able to imagine our lovely finished home. I promise to post more soon.

England

2010-12-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Well I have been so delinquent in writing my blog that it would surprise me if anyone is still reading it - except maybe my parents (who I know are more excited about an update on the building of our house than our England trip which they witnessed first hand).

Life has been such a whirl wind since September that I've not had a chance to sit down and write. I'm now sitting at the desk in the Dive Shop that I work for. A cold front has hit the Island and the hotel has only 30% occupancy, so it has been a very slow afternoon. I do have other work I should be doing but I decided that it would be much nicer to update my blog instead. I just realized that the most recent photographs from our house are still on my camera - so maybe for tomorrow.

England... It seems like an age ago that my husband and I set off for England. It was Julio's first time out of Mexico and first time on a plane! We were very lucky because my brother works for British Airways and we were able to get an insanely good price on Club Class tickets through him. The jorney over to the UK was a breeze as we were able to sleep all of the way. We then rented a car and drove to Newcastle, arriving late at night. It actually felt very natural for me to have Julio in my parents home (which ofcourse is home to me to - my parents have lived in that house since I was born). It was weird for us both to sleep under duvets/ down comforters and still be a little cold.

On our first day, we went with my parents to an old English stately home called Wallington Hall. The Hall has beautiful grounds full of gardens loaded with flowers and trees.

We both liked being outdoors and enjoyed comparing the plants and trees with those in Mexico. Julio was particularly impressed with the Robin, who has a very distinctive song as well as a bright red breast.

It made me think of how excited I feel when we get parrots in our back yard in Mexico - this little Robin must seem just as exotic to Julio. Here is a picture of my parents walking through the walled garden:

We stayed in Newcastle for a few days. Julio met all of my cousins - and for the most part managed to understand their Geordie accents. We had lunch with my best friend Lisa and coffee with a friend Julie. It was really nice to introduce my husband to all of the people who mean so much to me in my life. Most of the time we just spent relaxing with my parents. Of course I managed to squeeze in a shopping trip! I also took Julio to Tyne Mouth to see the sea off the North Coast - a little different to our nice, warm cristal clear waters!!

We had also really wanted to spend a little time alone together as we really have never been on a vacation together before. We decided to have a mini belated honeymoon in The Lake District. The Lake District is a mountainous area in the North West of England which is famous for its lakes and hiking. We stayed at a little cottage in Troutbeck.

We had two days alone and then my parents, brother and girlfriend and my aunt and uncle all came over to join us for a family get together. The cottage was beautiful and had amazing views over the fells. The weather was a little crappy - but then the Lake District is also famous for its rain! This did not bother us in the least, we hiked over a mountain into the town of Ambleside, cooked in the cottage, snuggled, talked, watched videos and enjoyed the views out of the window...

I was very happy to find that my husband fitted into my life in England as well as we fit together in Cozumel. I think he and my parents are developing a real fondness for each other, and it was a first for me and my brother to sit at a table with both of our partners.

Day three juice fast

2010-09-01T08:47:00.001-07:00

Well, so far this fast is proving very difficult. Or at least should I say yesterday evening and this morning have been hard. I had forgotten what a terrible headache detoxing produces. Last detox, I got my headache on the evening of day 1 and it was over by day three. This time it started the afternoon of day 2 and is still here the morning of day 3. Hoping to see the end of it today. Today is the day of the salt water flush. Believe me, drinking a litre of salt water is the last thing you want to do after 2 1/2 days of juice fasting, but I'm hoping it might see an end to my headache. I'm treating myself to a cup of camomile tea after this!!

Detox Fast

2010-08-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last year on Sept 2nd I started a detox fast for 5 days. I intend to start a similar 7 day detox fast on Monday Aug 30. This time I am also going to incorporate a 'master cleans' drink first thing in the morning - that is water with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. I also plann to add chia seeds to my vegetable juices for protein and they also are good for cleansing the stomach and intestines, as well as helping prevent dehydration. This time I want to make it to 7 days. Last time I managed 5.

As with before my main aim is to improve my health. I have done quite a bit of reading about fasting. Eastern cultures will often fast to allow the body to care itself when people are sick. The first part of the fast (1-3 days) is said to flush out toxins and thereafter the body is able to rest and repair important organs like the liver and kidneys. People have shrunk cancerous tumours by fasting, and its said that toxins flushed out by a good fast, left to build up might lead to cancer's in later life. There is also research to suggest that fasting produces positive effects on those with depression or mental health issues. Well I'm happy to say that my lifestyle here in Cozumel has blown away the depression problems I used to have, but recently I have been feeling a certain amount of mental angst about one thing or another and I remember that by day 4 of my last fast I was feeling truely on top of the world, mentally. This is the part of the fast that I am looking forward to.

As with before though I'm going to need a good deal of resolve. I've been reading the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandi) which is titled "The Storey of my Experiments with Truth". The book deals with his experiments with morality in his search for absolute truth -Sat Nam. I have really enjoyed this book on many levels. Of course Gandi is an inspiration and actually a very entertaining writer. I mention his book though because of his experiments with food and their effects on his spirit. He fasted regulalry and I liked his discussion on the difference between 'trying to do something' and 'vowing' to do something:

"'I believe in effort, I do not want to bind myself with vows,' is the mentality of weakness and betrays a subtle desire for the thing to be avoided. Or where can be the difficulty in making a final decision? I vow to flee from the serpent which I know will bite me, I do not simply make an effort to flee from him. I know that mere effort may mean certain death. Mere effort means ignorance of the certain fact that the serpent is bound to kill me". I think Gandi had the same idea as the Jedi Master Yoda who said "Try!???!! Do or do not, there is no try".

Well I am intent on completing my week long fast.

One small amendment has been brought about by the fact that I cannot find cayenne pepper on Cozumel and also all of the Maple syrup is not REALLY maple syrup, but sugar syrup with maple flavoring. So I'm back to juicing and drinking leamon water with chhia seeds.

Diving today for FUN!!!!

2010-08-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

As you may know I've been living on the Island of Cozumel for almost 2 years. I work as a Scuba instructor and, at least in the high season, dive almost every day. I do love my job, but like every other job, it does become work. It can be stressful looking after people and, although I always snatch a few minutes of relaxation during each dive, its just not the same as diving for sheer fun.

One of the other instructors who I work with, Fernando, has also become a very good friend. He is also cave certified and although he has much more extensive experience of cave diving than I do, its been around the same period of time for both of us since the last cave dive.

The slow season is now upon us. We went from the hectic roller coaster of July/ early August, with 10-15 divers a day as well as tons of certifications to barely a couple every day at the pool. We're meeting to work out a pared down schedule which will mean we each only work 3 days a week, although I intend to work a few shifts in the dive shop.

Fernando and I got to talking on one of these slow mornings about cave diving. We've had these talks before and always decide to go but we never quite get round to it. This time I think we just might. He is in the process of getting his gear all set up and going to the mainland to pick up some equipment he has there, but I have everything all together. I also have a set of doubles that I bought off Hans when he left Playa which had yet used. Fernando and his friends did a lot of cave diving and I am concious that I will not be up to their experience level so today I decided to hop into my doubles and take myself for a test dive in the Ocean.

At first it was a little rocky (literally). Not as bad as the first time I put on a set of doubles, but I was very concious that my fin stroke was making my body seasaw through the water. I remembered that I hate my fins (I wear a full foot fin normally, but have paddle fins & booties for cave). They were pretty cheap (DEEP SEA) and they are an aweful fit. They really hurt the top of my foot. If I were really to get into cave diving I would have to buy a new pair of fins. I loved my old TUSA fins - they broke, but I would really like to replace them.

Of course, with double tanks, you have lots of air. I planned to dive on Villa Blanca Reef where I work, as I know it very well and its only around 20-30 feet deep. My plan was to spend the first hour playing around with my bouyancy/ trim and taking pictures with my camera. I then planned to do valve drills and run a line, like I would into a cave, with a primary, secondary and other tie off. I figured on being in the water for around 2 hours. My major limiting factor was most likely to be my bladder, as air supply and no decompression limits were unlikely to become problems.

That morning I'd been watching the latest Shrek movie. In particular the part where, Shrek is granted his wish of being a scarey Ogre again for one day. He tears around scaring people, knocking things over and playing in the mud, and the music playing in the background is 'On Top of the World' by the Carpenters. This is just about how I felt during my dive. I was able to stop and look at all of the creatures I see on my daily tous of the reef, pick up shells and look inside, and just enjoy not thinking about anybody else but me. Almost an hour had gone by before I stopped to look at the time - I also realized that for that whole hour I had done nothing but think about what I was doing right then and there. By this time my trim had become much more even. I made my way back to the area where I had planned to do my line drills. Reached down for my very expensive and extremely sexy Halceon reel and found that it was not there. 'HUmn' I thought, I was sure I'd attached it to my harness before I got in. Oh well, its probably on the bench. I went ahead and did my line drills using my spool. I did a couple of drills shutting down the right and left posts on my manifold (for people who dont dive - when you dive in double tanks its important, in an emergency, involving a tank malfunction that you can isolate and shut down the offending tank quickly and save your air supply in the ramaining tank). Easy peasy - its so easy to do valve drills in a wet suit after the torture of struggling through them in a dry suit with 7mm gloves on!!! Its difficult to do a share air drill on your own, but I practiced pulling my reg out of my mouth, slipping the long hose over my head and presenting it to an imaginary diver in frount of me, while switching to my back up.

When I got back to the dock, my husband informed me that my beloved reel was nowhere to be seen. Although I'd had to end the dive due to a rather pressing need to go to the bathroom I decided to go back. My desire to get out of the water to go to the bathroom necessitated a quick search. I followed my own dive plan out and turned back with no sign og the reel. I was just making peace with the situation (you never use that reel, you could always use your big, ugly, NJ wreck reel, of all of the valuable things I have this is one of the least useful etc..), when something made me turn my head to the left. There she was!! with her little pink bobble, which stops the line slipping through the bit on top. When I collected it I saw the hole where I'd stoped to photograph a lion fish - she must have slipped of her clip then. I was very happy and made it back to the dock having spent just 20 mins in the search and managing not to pee in my wet suit.

When I got out of the water my husband noticed that one of my back up lights had exploded - a small loss in comparison to my reel:)

So it was a nice dive and I feel much more prepared to go for an easy cave dive next week. We're planning to dive Aerlito and stay on the mainline - nice and simple. I think Fernando has it in his head that we might do a decompression dive as well, once we get out equipment all together - in the open water. I will be pleased to flex my decompression diving muscles again as well. My plan is to leave my dry suit in NJ sometime soon and dive the next time I am in NY for work. Maybe I'll invest in a small storage space. Oh I did have a wonderful day of diving today. Made me miss my old cave buddy Michele Carvale and Jose, Fernando and Hans.

Guanabana fruit

2010-07-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

I tried Guanabana fruit last night for the first time. The one I ate looked a bit more like this:

They are pretty good. Not so good as to knock the Pitaya off my #1 new fruit spot, but sweet and juicy. I did a little google search on guanabana's and found this:

"The Guanabana Fruit has cancer curing abilities. The Sour Sop or the fruit from the Guanabana tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. The taste is not bad after all. It’s completely natural and definitely has no side effects.."

Although this statement seemed a little too good to be true I did some more digging and it does seem like there is ainterest in the cancer fighting properties of the trees leaves. I also read that is is good for both bacterial and fungal infections, and is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders. I'm in!

I like to try new fruits and I figure if they have health benefits as well, all the better. I think I'm going to buy another of these tomorrow and maybe try to make a shake with it. Now that the slow season is approaching I'm considering another juice fast followed by a much healthier diet.

Almost ready to put the roof on the first floor!!!

2010-07-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

The house is really starting to take shape now. I'm starting with a picture taken from the street of the front of the house. The clear area on the left will be the car port. The window on the right will be my study.

Here's another picture of the front door and my study window - a little closer:

This is my study again and the cruved supports at the top is where we will have a little 3' balcony on the upstairs bedroom (which will also probably be the guest room):

Looking into the kitchen from the terrace:

View of the upstairs stairwell from the kitchen:

From the kitchen, looking through the double archway which leads to the living room. The bathroom door is off to the left and the double cupboards/ closets are to the right. The background is the living room and front door:

This picture is taken from the terrace - my husbands work room is off to the left and one of the kitchen windows is right of that.

Here's a picture of the terrace with one of the workers moving bricks for some perspective:

And finally the kitchen taken from the double arch hall way leading to the living room.

Its all very exciting. We've also been shopping for tiles for the floors and bathroom. I'm hoping the roof will be put on in the next month or so. The builders are slowly leveling all of the walls at the top, so that the roof will have a strong even base. They will also need to finish the supports for the terrace roof so thae roof can be puored all in one go.

38th Birthday

2010-07-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

Wow - I am 38! I remember when I was younger thinking how old will I be in 1999 (like the Prince song). Anything older than 27 seemed incomprehensible. So how does it feel being 38. Very nice indeed. My life is going very well these days with my Mexico move being a huge positive turning point.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!!

By popular demand (or at least the insesant demand of my mother!!!)

2010-06-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well the house is going through another growth spurt. My impression so far, is that the fastest thing about building a house is the actual building of the house itself. The foundations have taken a long time and I am told that all of the finishing of the house (electric, water, plastering, tiling, fittings, windows, door etc..) will take a very long time.

So I think the last pictures I posted were of the foundations looking like a 3' high wall, outlining where our rooms are going to be. Well things have advanced a litte from then. We now have a good number of walls and the land around the foundation has been filled to almost floor height. It is very difficult to show the progress clearly in pictures because its difficult to get enough of the house into the camera shot to make sense. So here it goes.

First is the view into the kitchen from the terrace. The kitchen will be aproximately 15' x 15'. Along the left of the picture leading towards the back are the bathroom, living room and study:

Then my husband in the kitchen poiting to where the stairs to the second floor will start (taken from the terrace). His being in the shot gives everything a little more perspective:

My husband's work room - or as I like to call it his 'man cave' (6' x 9'):

Me standing in the living room at the door of my study before the foundation was filled (the living room will be around 12' x 18' and my study will be 9' x 9'). I say 'my' study but I will let my husband put a small desk in there:)

My husband standing in the study doorway after the land was filled. The front door will be to his left.

Me in the kitchen this will be where the sink will be and the washing machine will be to my left, with a nice bench inbetween.

View from the kitchen to the covered terrace. You can see that our garden, behind the terrace, will be small (9'x24'):

The bathroom:

My husband and mother-in-law looking into my study window from the driveway, this is where my desk will be so that I can monitor all of the comings and goings!

So there you have it. I am hoping that Tropical Storm Alex will take its wet weather away today so that work on the walls can continue. It is possible that we will be able to get the roof on the first floor by the end of this week or next. Then I have to wait until all of boring stuff is completed before we can start the exciting things like choosing the decor for the bathroom!!!

New York

2010-06-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have just returned to Cozumel after two weeks in New York. I think I have written about this before, but it is the wierdest experience being back in New York, especially because I spent two weeks working in my old company. More than just visiting a place, its like visiting a different time in my life and an all together different me.

Work was actually great - I felt like I fitted right back in. I love the people who I used to work with and two weeks of quick chats and lunches made it possible to catch up with almost everybody.

I had been worried that my 1 1/2 years in Cozumel might have irradicated all knowledge of shipping from my brain (thanks to my VERY bad memory). I was pleased to find that this was not the case. Everything came flooding back and by day 2 it was like I had never been away. It was nice to sit and work at a desk for a change and give my back a rest from lugging tanks around.

So what are the differences between working as a scuba instructor and working in an office (probably more sensible to ask what are the similarities but bear with me). It was a friend who put her finger on the main difference. She'd taken a year off from her stressful, marketing position and had recently returned to work. She told me that returning to her desk job had had a dramatic effect on her health, this she put down to feeling very disconnected to the universe. That is exactly what I think I felt. Here in Cozumel I feel very at one with nature and the forces at work in the universe. I feel the sun, wind and sometimes rain on my skin. I'm in the Ocean alomost every day; sometimes its soft and billowing waves wrap around me like a blanket, sometimes they knock me on my ass. The current rocks me to and fro or flings me 1/2 mile in 5 mins. In the city we tend to live and work in environmentally sealed buildings, see the world virtually through computers, communicate by e-mail and telephone. Our appartments are luxurious but airconditioning and tinted windows keep us at arms length from what little nature exhists in the city. Two weeks was a nice break but I was very ready to get back to my Island.

I did have a great time catching up with friends. A couple of dinners with Carey, catching up on her eventful life is always fun. I managed to spend some quality time with Allie and little Griffin, and also a nice dinner with her husband Hans. Cat was in town from Germany for a flying visit and I got to hang out with her and Beth. Allie came over for dinner and although we had to cut things a little short due to Cat's jetlag, my general uselessness at staying up late, Beth's early presnetation and Allie's mommyhood, it felt good to have a girly night with close friends. A wonderful weekend in Lake George with Christine. It did rain which stopped us from getting out on the boat - but did allow us to hit the outlet mall, where I was able to load up on flis flops for me and my husband.

I also managed to spend some time with a good friend who has also decided to take a year off from corporate America - boy did he look more relaxed.

I stayed with friends in NJ and Long Island during my trip. For the seocnd week I had the use of a friend's wonderful apartment in Jersey City.

A great 10 min train journey to lower Manhattan (perfect for early morning shopping trips to my favorite discount designer store - Century 21). The most wonderful thing about this apartment were the views. Check out the views of Manhattan from New Jersey. I'd have to say that I love crazy New York...

Looking at these pictures I am reminded of what Hans said about loving the energy of the city and being inspired by it everytime he needs to be in midtown for work. He is right about that. Maybe its something about so many people being packed into such a small space, all busy like worker ants. There is a creative energy about the city- it almost buzzes with the energy of its people. Maybe not the peaceful connection to the universe that I feel in Cozumel but there is definitely a powerful and compelling energy to the place.

On the morning of my return I woak up early to get to the airport for a 8am flight and caught the sun rising over the city...

Later when I returned to the Island, I watched the sun set over the ocean with my wonderful husband...

...and I thought to myself that both were beautiful in their own ways. I am lucky to be part of two such wonderful places.

My Wedding

2010-05-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

I am really very very happy to be married to my husband. My parents flew over from England for what was to be an intimate affair with less than 30 guests. We wanted our wedding to be special but did not want it to turn into a huge production so we decided to get married in a house my parents were to rent on the beach with only family and a few close friends.

The house was amazing and we got married right on the beach. There were some stressful things about organizing the wedding. Actually the fact that it was so small meant that most of the leg work was down to us, but in the end everything worked out perfectly.

My parents arrived on the Sunday before and we collected them from Cancun airport. My parents had met my husband before and already were very taken with him. The weather was unseasonably warm for April which was nice in a way - but a little difficult for my parents who prefer a good hike through the rain in the lake district in England than a day lounging on a tropical beach, dipping in and out of the water!!!! That said, my mother was very brave in the water and was looking very comfortable swimming in the Ocean at the feet of the house by the end of her stay. Next trip snorkeling, and perhaps the trip after scuba?

I'd ordered two sundresses from England back when I lived in New York, one in blue and the other in white. I remember thinking 'I can't wear the white one, it looks like a wedding dress'. I put the dress into a drawer and thought little more about it. As it turned out it worked perfectly for a beach wedding in Mexico, even the embroidery looked a little Mexican in style. Then last October, when I returned to England for a few weeks I bought a veil and a little gold hair grip:

My aunt Jude in England could not make it to the wedding but sent me a little box containing an old gold watch which belonged to my grandmother. I'd not seen the watch in years and holding it in my hand brought images of my grandmother flooding back. We were very close and It meant a lot to have her special watch on my arm on the day of my wedding. I know she would have loved to have been there, and in a way I think she was:

"SOMETHING OLD - my grandmother's watch, SOMETHING NEW - my veil, SOMETHING BORROWED - Allie lent me some diamond earrings, which I think had belonged to her grandmother, SOMETHING BLUE - a blue bead in my locket".

My husband wore a traditional guayabera shirt with a pink rose in its pocket:

A good friend here on the Island, Josie had asked if she could buy my bouquet as a wedding gift. I chose light pink roses and dark pink daisies. It worked perfectly with my dress.

Allie was my bridesmaid and thankfully stayed in Playa Del Carmen for the whole next week, which gave me some time to catch up with her properly and get to know her lovely son Griffin:

A friend Tanya is a wedding photographer and kindly took pictures of us as a wedding gift. She turned up an hour before the wedding and took pictures of us in the house and on the beach:

I walked onto the beach with my dad who handed me over gladly to my husband. I think my dad has been waiting to give me away for a very long time and he was very happy, especially since the bright sun gave him an excuse to wear a hat for the occasion (my dad likes to wear hats!).

My new nephews, Alex and Jesus gave readings from the Gospel of St John:

My yoga teacher, spiritual guide and friend Selene conducted part of the service with a beautiful meditation on love. This was a very special part of the wedding for me as I meditate in a group with Selene twice a week and these meditations and my yoga have been an integral part of my really finding myself since I came to Cozumel.

We were married a little after 6, by Fr. John Skivington, a priest from England who'd married my parents years ago, and we think christened me (but no one can really remember this). He gave us the cross in his hands as a gift (it will have pride of place on our terrace when the house is built!).

It was wonderful for me that my special friends Cat, Hans and Allie were able to make it to the wedding from Germany and the States as well as Sophia from Playa Del Carmen and Josie from the Island.

Another good friend on the Island, Monica gave us our cake as her wedding present. My mam had ordered beach wedding figures in outfits which matched mine and hubby's:

We were given lots of generous gifts from friends in the US, England and here on the Island. We're enjoying some beautiful cotton bedding, new glasses and plates and are looking forward to sleeping on a new mattress that we have ordered with all of the $$ gifts. Most of the money we received will go towards building our new home. Thank you all so much for your generosity - it was lovely to know that friends and family were thinking of us even though they could not make it to the wedding. I also wanted to say that it was very difficult limiting the number of people we invited. There were many people who we would have loved to have had there but the numbers would have gotten out of hand and our little intimate gathering would have turned into a crazy party. I hope no one is offended by their lack of invite, there were many of you who we would have loved to share our day with. That said, I found it difficult to speak to all of the people who did make it to the wedding and I have no idea how brides manage to pass the time with all of their guests when they invite 100's of people!

It was especially nice to have my parents and brother there for the whole week of our wedding as we were really able to spend time with them - I think it also allowed them to get a real sense of our feelings for each other which hopefully made them feel a little happier about the fact that their daughter was to marry a Mexican and settle on a continent some 8 hour flying distance from home.

How does it feel to be married - well pretty much the same as it felt just living together. I feel very loved and secure. He is one of the most honest and kind people I have ever met, he's my best friend and he brings out the best aspects of me. Our marriage brought about a subtle change, in that our bond feels a little tighter. Its nice to make vows to each other in front of family and friends. It also feels nice to wear his ring on my finger and see him wearing mine.

Circus in town

2010-04-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Once a year or so the circus visits Cozumel. I used to love the circus when I was a little girl and even in Mexico the circus smells and sounds the same. The sawdust, candy, animals, big top. I tend to have a bit of a fascination with circus folk. Mystics, wanderers, they all set my imagination alive. And the animals; I remember being thrilled at elephants, lions, tigers and miniature horses. Even now as an adult I can't help feeling a little bit of childlike excitement walking past the circus.

Now though, as with so many things as an adult, I also see the badness in the circus, and in particular the way these magnificent animals are treated. In England and also I think America now the use of exotic animals in traveling circuses is prohibited. If it were not I would boycott them in the same way I boycott Sea World and the two dolphin discovery parks here in Mexico.

Sadly here in Mexico there is no such protection for big exotic animals. The circus travels in grueling heat with, from what I could make out, 20 tigers, 5 or 6 lions, jaguars, leopards, cougars, monkeys, camels, horses - well over 100 animals kept in tiny cages. I've never been to the circus as an adult, but on Sunday we were parking to go to the supermarket when BF noticed the animals cages at the end of the parking lot. We wondered over to see what was going on and found truck loads of animals packed in metal cages, on trucks, parked out in the blistering sun. I was overheated on the street and I was wearing a little sundress - imagine this heat in a fur coat. I'm always armed with a camera on Sundays to catalog the house progress so I snapped a few shots of what we saw.

These lions were collapsed on the floor of their 10' x 4' cage. The big guy's mane was all matted with sweat and the tiger, below, was lying on his back with his tong out, panting like crazy in an effort to cool down. In fairness they were all given water and seemed in fair health (in that their fur seemed healthy and they were not skin and bone). But how sad to see such grand animals trapped in such meagre conditions.

Despite being saddened by their plight, I must admit that it was amazing to see these animals so close up. The lions reminded me of my cats Bigsy and Bets snuggled up together and this tiger looks like he's waiting for a belly rub. I guess its this cuteness, together with the thrill of the fact that they are actually quite powerful killing machines which is such a crowd puller. I'm not sure what can be done to stop this. I'm sure there are animal rights organizations here in Mexico, and hopefully the world will continue to wake up to the fact that we should treat animals with respect. In the meantime I will continue to boycott such places and to air my view on animal captivity whenever I think I might be in a position to dissuade someone from swimming with dolphins.

The foundations are underway...

2010-04-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well its over 3 months since we finished our wall and that is pretty much the time it has taken to get planning permission and water connected to the land. Last week though, we were eventually able to make a start on the foundations. The rectangle you can see will be our downstairs bathroom. Between that and the front wall will be the living room and small study. The photo was taken from what will be the kitchen. A few months could see a lot of progress on the ground floor of the house. One of our favorite topics of conversations is how we will finish each room. We get ideas for decorating everywhere we go.

BF's brother has made good progress on the doors he's making for the front of the property. He's just finished the walk in gate and added a black iron mesh to the windows in the top of the car port gates.

The water Meter has been connected

2010-03-27T17:14:00.001-07:00

All systems go (provided someone does not manage to steal it before we get a Iron mesh over the meter hole this weekend).

I have a pretty highly developed patience level. I account this to years of working with a colorful crew, teaching scuba diving and a genuine effort on my part to be more chilled. Lately though, my patience has been resembling despair when it comes to the commencement of building work on our house. We finished the wall around our property in 2009 and it has taken a full 3 months to get the water connected so that we can start building our house.

Anyway it is looking like the builder will be able to get started on our foundations next week. I am very cautiously excited about being able to see the outline of our ground floor soon!!!!

House Updates

2010-03-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

BF's brother is making a really good job of our doors. This picture is of one of the car port doors. They are 7' tall. Tonight he was adding an iron lattice to the windows at the top and we're going to paint them this weekend.

The saga with the water company continues. After months of waiting we were eventually connected, but that very same day our meter was stolen. We've had to pay for a new meter to replace this BUT that still has not been put on. Its very frustrating because this is the only thing stopping us from going ahead with our foundation. Hopefully things will be resolved by next week. We are also going to fit some iron bars over the water meter cubby hole so that it can't be stolen.

Some progress at last!!!!!

2010-03-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

So for the first time this year things are moving again on the house building front. BF's brother is a carpenter and has been building doors for the front of our property. He's made two frames for the car port gate. I think the frames must be the most difficult part. All that needs to be done now is fill the bottom half of the gate with solid wood and the top with iron lattice work. Obviously we'll then be finishing the doors well. On sunday we tried them for size against the wall. There are some parts of the gates which will need to be shaved and other parts of the wall which will need to be chipped back, but we should end up with nice solid doors which reach within an inch of the ground and arch of the car port.

I like the way the gates are coming along. BF designed them and I think his brother has done a really nice job. The rocks that you see piled on the land are what the builders will be using to start the foundations of the house. We are still waiting for the water company to hook us up to the mains. We need water for the builders to mix their cement. 'Other people' have just used water from the mains without a contract to mix their cement but some have been fined for this and we don't want to risk that. Hopefully we should have water within the week and the foundations can begin. This will be exciting as we will really be able to see how the house is going to feel.

We have planning permission!!!!!

2010-02-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

We received planning permission from City Hall to start building our house last week. Rocks for the foundations will be delivered this week and I'm told that our Valentines Day will be spent carrying all of these boulders inside of the property:) I guess our builder will start to dig the foundations next week and then we'll really be able to get a feel for the size of the house. All Very Exciting. Pictures to follow...

Some philosophical thought

2010-01-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

Its funny, I do tend to believe there are forces at work in the universe that influence what goes on in our lives. I imagine these forces to form a fabric, like a great Ocean. You may be lucky enough to have been coasting through warm, tropical waters for most of your life, perhaps hitting the odd strong current or even hurricane, or you may have landed in the North Atlantic and had nothing but turbulent cold seas.

What made me think of this was that I have had a short spate of bad luck recently (a minor cold front) - my computer died; my external hard drive overheated; my new computer no longer fitted many of the leads I use; my new external hard drive refused to co-operate with my new computer; my favorite web site for downloading TV shows and Movies seemed to have banned me; I sprained my wrist and damaged my shoulder; there were some other persistent minor health issues, requiring unpleasant medication; the weather in Cozumel has been unseasonably bad and for some reason, although our hotel is at 80% we're making no money and I thought to myself - I'm in some type of negative current here. Then I thought what do you do when you're in the Ocean caught in a rip tide. You don't freak out and frantically swim against it - you'll just end up being pulled out into deep water. You relax and swim perpendicular to the current and out you pop into calm water again. So as I was beset by all of these minor issues, I decided not to get myself all wound up fighting against them, but let them slip out of my mind. I concentrated on running, yoga and meditation instead. Don't you know it - this week every little thing that was going wrong seems to have righted itself. New leads and hard drive will be arriving over the weekend, I seem to have returned to full health, my wrist is at full strength and my shoulder is almost better (indeed the injury has been a good thing as it has reminded me to be less reliant on my right arm - I'm now driving with my left).

It made me think of depression, you could view depression like being in an area of dead calm with no wind or current to carry you to the nearest harbor. This is a little harder to escape than a rip tide. You'll have a long and arduous swim with little sign of progress, but finally if you persist you'll make it to the shore.

Goodness knows what type of squall I had stumbled into during my years in New York, but I was definitely on a downward spiral. Perhaps a whirlpool spiraling out of control - again its no good grasping for the surface if you are caught in a whirlpool - you need to be smart and swim out of the side. Mine was a pretty big whirlpool and perhaps I also hit a few tropical storms.

What's my point? Well I think it is this: You are but one force and although you are somewhat in control of you life you are also navigating through forces which you don not control. In life you need to be alert because if you panic and flail around in a rip tide, you will most certainly end up in unkind seas. If you take no action when the wind falls from beneath your sails then you will stay in the doldrums. You need to recognize when life starts to carry you in a direction you don't like and take early affirmative action. My hope is that we have this amount of control over the fabric of the universe:)

Yoga Marathon 2010

2010-01-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, Cozumel hosted a yoga Marathon. I was only able to attend three of the events, mostly because I felt like relaxing that day and spending some time with my BF.

The first event was at 6am - Meditations and Mantras at sunrise. One of the wonderful things about living on a small Island is that you are able to see the sun set over the ocean on the West side of the Island and rise over the morning on the East side (commonly referred to as 'the other side' because the East side is not populated - no big hotels, just long sandy beaches.

I woke up at 5.30 and decided to go to the meditation. Quick face wash and out. The drive was beautiful. There is one road, the transversal, which runs across the Island and as I drove to the other side the day started to dawn. By the time I reached the beach I didn't need my lights on any more. The other side smells wonderful - the plants at the side of the beach are beautifully fragrant and this mixes with the fresh salty breeze. The day was warm, even though it was pretty windy. We all sat facing the sun, feeling its warmth on our skin, it warmed me right through, filling me with light and I prayed a little for things I would like to happen this year and just generally for my own physical and spiritual well being (mostly I do direct this type of prayer to others, but I'd already decided to devote this day to me). It feels pretty cool to sit firmly in the sand and feel the earth beneath you, with the wind stroking your skin, the sound of crashing waves filling your ears and the light of the sun filling your head and body. After the meditation we took some pictures. I had not been prepared for the photo shoot and had worn raggy old jogging pants:)

I had to leave right after the meditation for work, but carried the feeling of being full to the brim with happiness all through, my morning working at the pool, to my dive at the beach, to lunch. Lunch was at Selene's house. She has a lovely little walled garden in the back of her home, which will be a main inspiration for my garden, when the house is built. Selene had prepared a wonderful 5 course meal based on activating the chakras. All was vegetarian and complimented by wholewheat bread made by her boyfriend. The bread was a special treat as it is impossible to get good bread here. Dessert was the best - some kind of cheese cake made with summer fruits. After lunch I took a guided meditation with Lisanthi. Unfortunately this was in Spanish (well I do live in Mexico after all) and I missed most of it. She sand and played drums though and even if I did not understand much of what was going on I had a very relaxing experience.

Goodbye to 2009 and looking forward to 2010

2010-01-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

I had a dream last night that I was walking down Beaconsfield Road in Low Fell (the town where I grew up in England). I passed a stone built house and heard the sounds of Trumpton (a 70's children's TV show) drifting out of a window and saw my grandmother across the street waving to me. All was warm and well. I woke up this morning with the same warm secure feeling.

I have travelled a lot in my life and lived in many places. I have had a whole host of life experiences, many of which left me feeling exposed and a little depressed - the world had never really lived up to my expectations, despite my efforts to experience all it had to offer. But 2009 was a year that changed all of that. They say that women really come into their own in their 30's. Well life has really come together for me. Having made the decision to get out of my crazy life in New York, 2009 saw me really settle into Cozumel. I almost don't remember the last time I felt stressed or worried. Yoga and Selene of Yoga Shakti, have really helped me find this relative state of peace. I have a wonderful job diving everyday and the ocean really soothes my soul. I find that I spend less time berating myself for my faults and weaknesses and more time just enjoying myself. Less nightmares and more good dreams.

Most of all, after years of searching, I have found a wonderful man. They say 'you have to kiss an awful lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince' and my goodness did this ring true for me. I never really understood the saying but for me it could be translated to 'you have to be treated like crap by a bunch of men before you grow up and start looking for a good person rather than base your selection on a cute smile or nice blue eyes - ignoring the obvious signs of alcoholism, arrogance or plain old nastiness (froginess)'. My friend Allie told me my picker was broken - and its seems moving to Mexico fixed my picker and I have finally been able to pick a good one! My fiance is a very loving person and most importantly makes me feel really secure and happy. He is also the most handsome man I can think of.

We started to build our house this year, on the Island. 2010 should see at least the first floor finished. I'm going to put regular posts on my blog as the house starts taking shape.

2009 has been a really good year, the only blemish is that I do miss family and friends in England and America.

I used to spend most of my time 'looking forward' to things, but right now I just feel happy where I am. As usual though, I do have a few goals nutritionally for 2010, and of course am looking forward to getting married in April.

So to all - I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2010 is the year that everything falls into place for you, and that only good things come your way.

Our Wall is Finished and we LOVE it

2009-12-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

At last the wall is finished. We're so pleased with it. Unfortunately the tree may still have to go to make room for the sewerage, but BF is going to build a little walled bedding area on the inside of the windows and we're going to plant bogenvelia to make the front look nice.

Here is me modeling the wall:

We have plans

2009-12-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

The architect got very excited when a Gringa walked into his office and then very disappointed when he discovered that I did not want him to design my whole house but only transfer my own basic sketches:Into blueprints for the house:You can see that we are trying to save some space for a small garden in the back, with a covered terrace outside of the kitchen. The second floor will have three bedrooms in roughly the same places as the three rooms (kitchen, study and living room) on the ground floor. The architect did have some good ideas on placement of closets for the second floor which was good.

We will be waiting until January to put in our planning permission application to City Hall as the planning permission only lasts for one calendar year. If we did it now we'd have more fees to pay come 2010.

The wall is now almost complete. I had taken some earlier pictures but was worried about the overall outcome, so waited to post them until now:
We decided to put a facade of rocks on the front face of the wall. Our reasoning is that paint and cement take a beating from the sun and a rock front will take far less maintenance. The rock face sold in the hardware stores is really expensive but luckily BF's brother had a connection with a rock guy so we got a good deal. Its not quite finished but I really like the way it is turning out and the best part - zero maintenance!

Sunday on the Land

2009-11-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today we met with the builder and tested the size of the car port space against the car. Looks like she'll fit. I had been teaching an architect to dive a few months ago and he suggested that we stake out the plans we'd made on the land itself and walk from room to room to see how it feels. We did this today and it all looks great. It was a good exercise too because we were able to see that the car would be a little squashed in the front and have made the decision to move the whole structure 1 meter back. The next two weeks should see the completion of the front of the wall and hopefully by then we'll have the planning permission to get started on the house.

Land - More Progress

2009-11-21T15:24:00.001-08:00

We're making progress. As you can see we have three sides of the wall in place. Thanks to the hard work of Josie, Julio's mom and sister and of course me we've filled a lot of the land so that flooding is more under control. Julio chopped down the tree at the left in the front. The only tree we have left is the one on the right with the sign on it. We had to cut through a big root of this tree for the wall in the front and for what will be the sidewalk, but that was two weeks ago now and the tree still seems healthy. I'm happy this tree will be staying as it is one of the reasons why we chose this plot of land. We going to grow some kind of flowering plant up the tree so the front of the land looks pretty. Next week the builder will start on the front of the wall. We're buying some natural rock for the front so that we don't have the problem of having to paint it and the maintenance involved in sun cracked paint. We had a look around at tiles this weekend which was a little bit exciting. Planning bathrooms will be fun.
Today I went to see an architect while BF was at work. I'd drawn up some plans for how we want the house and he's going to draw them out properly so that we can take them to City Hall to get planning permission and within the next two weeks we should be able to start work on the house foundations. All pretty exciting stuff - stay tuned for more!

Zen Buddhist Retreat

2009-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Last year my mother went on a retreat to a Zen Buddhist monastry and so on this most recent trip to England I signed up for Throssel Hole's introductory retreat. I arrived there early after a drive with my mam through some pretty dramatic scenery. I was greeted by one of the 4 monks who had been assigned the task of running the retreat for the weekend. The retreat was to be a silent retreat, although the monks is not a silent order.

The Abby is surrounded by well kept lawns which are full of rabbits grazing in the sun. It was a bit nippy (after all we are talking England in October), so my strolls outside were limited. That first evening we were given a presentation on how to meditate and set about the first of many meditations in the meditation hall. I really liked the feel in this hall. The big statue of Buddha dominated the room and during meditation the place was overtaken by silence. There were 9 people on the retreat and that night we all slept in the meditation hall. I was worried I would not sleep well but I actually slept like a baby. My bed was closest to the alter and there was something nice about sleeping under the big lit statue of Buddha. It felt like sitting under a giant Christmas tree and during the night monks would come and light incense under the Buddha - I guess I fould the smell relaxing.
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I enjoyed the silent part of the weekend. The Abbey had been my first stop in England after New York and my head was buzzing with thoughts of BF, and experiences of the last few days. It was good to decompress. The schedule on the retreat was fairly strict. Morning meditation at 6.30am followed by service at 7am, breakfast at 8, a talk on some element of spiritual practice, a work duty (I got to carry wheelbarrow loads of rocks up and down a hill - it was good to be outdoors though and the body heat generated by the hard labor was welcome!). Then lunch, an other work duty, meditation, evening service and bed.
I did not love the rigid routine although I can see that for some it might be easier to meditate in a situation where everything around you is being taken care of. I enjoyed the silence but found it hard to be around people all of the time. I believe I am a bit of a loner in that it is very important for me to spend a few hours by myself every day. It is good for me in Cozumel that my BF works so many hours as I am left to my own devices for most of my day. I found that during the odd 15 mins of down time at the Abbey I would go off and find somewhere to sit alone.
I found the meditation easy the first few times. After a while my back started to hurt and I found myself longing to leave the Abbey and sit on a comfy chair, eat what I wanted when I wanted etc.
It was an interesting place though and I wonder how it would be to submit yourself to a regime of Zen meditation for a longer period like a week or a month. The Abbey would have been nicer in warmer weather too as the walk from the meditation hall to the common room was along a corridor which was almost outdoors with a flagstone floor which was very cold to walk on.
I prefer my meditations with Selene in Mexico, on the whole, although am certainly considering making the odd Zen meditation part of my weekly routine.
I would recommend the Abbey to anyone interested in Zen - but go in the summer and take a good pair of slippers!

England

2009-11-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

I did have a wonderful trip back to England and New York and will write about it soon. I just wanted to get some pics up of the land as people have been asking about it:)

Back in Cozumel

2009-11-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

After a month of being at home in England (via New York) I am finally back on my little Island with my BF. It was wonderful to see my BF again as the month appart was very difficult (thank goodness for skype!).

Its taken a week for me to get relaxed into the pace of life here again, get over my jet lag, get back into a healthy eating and exercise regime and get my stuff in some state of organization. Those of you who know me well will know that I am not a happy bunny when things in my life are not in a state of good order. Just before I left the Island the external hard drive on my computer started to overheat. Good timing, in a way, as I was able to buy a new drive in the US and bring it back with me. The frustrating thing has been setting the thing up. I'm almost there and for now have worked out a system for cooling my old external drive down with fans while it is at work. Life is returning to the kind of order I can deal with. The Archers (my favorite radio show) is again accessible and I am happily able to watch my favorite TV shows again. I'm back at yoga and meditation and my yoga studio has added three new classes which I am really excited about. Work is slow but set to pick up by the end of the month, which gives me a nice easing in period. We have a tropical storm approaching us right now, which is bringing a lot of rain with it. Great weather for tidying the apartment, cooking and getting some work done on my computer.

Apart from seeing my BF the most exciting thing about being back has been seeing the progress on our piece of land. BF worked hard while I was away, buying materials, organizing contractors and generally supervising the building of the wall which will surround our property. The wall is 2.4 meters tall (the tallest it can be without a more detailed and costly planning permission than the one we have). Anyway building work has gone well. All of the labor has been paid for and we have most of the materials. Here is the foundation of the wall:
The wall that you see on the right hand side of the back of the land is on the property behind ours and we plan to build our wall right up against it. We don't want to share any wall with our neighbors so that we can do what we want with it. Here is the first part of the wall built:
The gaps you can see have now been filled with rebars and cement to make the wall strong. The contractor has also made it round most of the back of the property and part of the other side. It has been an expensive job and has taken probably as much materials as it will take to build the ground floor of the house. When the contractor is finished building the wall he will cement over it to make it look nice and protect the bricks. We'll build the front part of the wall with rocks so it looks nice and doesn't need to be painted every year or so. We're very pleased with it as we both like our privacy. It will be wonderful to sit in our own little private back garden:)

Unfortunately the tropical storm which will be with us into next week has put a halt to building work for the time being. I am pretty calm about this though. A friend advised me to keep all thoughts of finishing our house out of my head. He said if you get excited about completing in any kind of time frame you will be faced with dissappiontment after dissapointment. Very good advice - slow but sure, I'm just excited that the building of our new home is underway!

Progress on our Land

2009-09-20T17:20:00.001-07:00

Before...
After...
We hired a contractor to do most of the clearing, but two days ago, aided by two of BF's friends, we removed two truck loads of undergrowth and trash from the middle of the land. I helped initially but after the first tarantula limbered out of the branches, I decided to retire. Hard work I do not mind, but tarantulas clawling on me is something I cannot do! My retirement was well timed because the tarantula's husband or wife was discovered soon after. On the up side, we found two tortoises (one was a baby). I hope they stick around when we're moved in.

Yesterday my current landlord was having a wall demolished on his property. Our land has some very large slabs of flat rock in the middle of it. We will build our foundation on top of this rather than dig it into the land. This will mean a small wall (about 1.5') that will need to be filed with rocks. We decided to take the rubble from the wall onto our land. 30 buckets and 3 car loads later, with aching limbs we managed to accomplish the small pile of rocks you see in the center of the 'after' picture. Poor BF carried most of the buckets, but I would say I carried a good 1/3 of the total, and I have the sore muscles to prove it. The pile looks bigger in the flesh!

Here is a rough sketch of the wall we are planning (this should keep the dogs/ poop off the land):
I'm off to England for the month of October, leaving BF in charge of the project. I'm hoping the next update will show quite a lot of change, but I've been counseled by my friend Fernando, that when you are building a house you have to not focus on it becoming completed, just take things little by little as there will be MANY set backs!!!

Juice Fast Over!!!

2009-09-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

My 5 day juice fast is over and I feel great - super healthy both physically and mentally. It made me think that people who follow macro-biotic or raw food diets may have something. I'm resolved to try and keep my diet more healthy and well proportioned. Eating enough to sustain your body without overeating and making yourself sluggish while digesting food. I'm resolved to stay off the coffee and diet coke for good now and no more pre-dive chocolate bars.
I would say though my skin has retained a sensitivity to the sun which I think may have some from some deficiency due to relying solely on juicing - or perhaps some nutrient has done that. Going to go back to juices for breakfast from time to time and plan to do another fast in the New Year, but perhaps with porridge for breakfast so I can continue to dive.

Juice detox day three

2009-09-04T14:20:00.001-07:00

Today was the best day so far. Last night I went to yoga and meditation. I think the yoga really helped to work some of the toxins out of my system and my nasty headache started to lift. I slept really well last night, aided by a torrential rainstorm. This morning, I made a beet, celery and apple shake for me and BF. He's being very supportive and joining me for my morning juice. I felt full of energy on the way to and at work. We had some clients who one of the other instructors will teach and one client for me on Sunday. I'll prefer diving on Sunday as it is my last day of fasting.

When I got home after work (at 10.30am! just like to throw that in to remind myself of how lucky I am) I prepared for my salt water flush. I made 1 liter of water with just two teaspoons of sea salt. It was such a horrible prospect to drink this mix that I decided to add a little freshly squeezed lime juice. Actually it was not so bad. The idea is that the stomach can only hold two cups of liquid. I drank 4 which flushes the salt mix right through your intestines flushing out any matter. Within 5 mins the salt water mix began to take effect. No stomach cramps or pain but out it all had to come. No more food in this lady - jut freshly squeezed juices!! It feels pretty clean and I feel full of energy.

So far this has been an interesting experience. I think it is a great exercise in mental control. This is one of the aspects useful to yogis in fasting. You need to mentally be in fasting mode. It will be intolerable/ impossible if you are continuously thinking of chocolate or marmite on toast or... (you get the idea - I cant bear to write any more about delicious foods). You need to be in flight mode. Once I get on the airplane, I don't think of the hours of long journey I have ahead, I just concentrate in the now and then on sleep, actually. Or the frame of mind you take to the dentists - just concentrate on other things until it is all over. Actually because of the nutrition you are getting from the juicing real HUNGER is not a huge problem. A juice or water will keep hunger at bay for the most part.

Another aspect of fasting is that the clearing of toxins also clears out emotional baggage. I have to say that after the excesses of my trip to New Jersey and Sue's stay I was not feeling to hot mentally. I was worrying feverishly about things which weren't worthy of the worry. Now I feel much more at peace. Going to yoga again tonight. Tonight's class is an advanced class so it will be much more physically taxing. Still when it is over I intend to flop right into bed.

In retrospect I think it would have been a good idea to prepare for the fast by excluding coffee, fatty food, etc. from my diet - this would probably have aleviated most of the headaches of days 1 & 2. It is clear to me now that living as I do in Cozumel not only makes me feel good, but it is almost necessary for me. I can't cope with the way excessive living makes me feel and I can't cope with New York or England without excessive living. My body is not designed to be able to cope with all of the rich foods and alcohol. I get easily depressed when I live like that and honestly the only way I can get through the days living in a big stressful city like New York is rewarding myself with a big fatty meal with friends and definitely far too much alcohol. Even one glass of wine at night is enough to send me off balance, into a pre-depression worry, the next day.

So this has been a great experience so far and one that I will repeat, probably in November as work is too hectic in the New Year and fasting will not give me the calories I need to dive every day.

There is one little downside to all of this goodness and that is that I am starting to take on a reddish color from all of the carrots and beet juice I am consuming. I'm going to concentrate on green vegetables this evening!!

Day 2 almost over

2009-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

Its almost 6pm on the second day of my fast and I am still nursing an almighty headache. I am hoping that yoga tonight will help work some of these toxins out of my system so that the headache leaves. My BF made today much more bearable by collecting three fresh coconuts for me. I drank one fresh, right off the tree and another a little later with strawberry and pineapple juice. A great cocktail mix BTW!!
I have to say I did not anticipate this headache and I am also feeling mentally groggy. I think I will walk to yoga tonight because driving seems to require a little more concentration than usual. I am drinking plenty of water and this week I may buy some Ice Lollipop makers as the pulp from the fruit juices I'm making would taste great frozen.
two days down three to go. Tomorrow will be like cresting the hill. I do not know how Allie managed to do this for 10 days. I am going to feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction after 5.

Day 2 am

2009-09-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I went on to drink:

4. cucumber and lime
5. lettuce, tomato, cucumber and mint
6. pineapple, strawberry and flax

I felt OK when I got into bed - a little tired but not super hungry and then my goodness, through the night did I feel bad. All of my body ached (joints and muscles) and I had the worst headache. A bit like the worst hangover in the world without the nausea and dehydration. I also feel a bit emotionally weak. Detoxing is supposed to clear all of the toxins from your body AND mind though, so I hope to feel like a ray of sunshine by next week. OK off to make a breakfast juice.

Detox

2009-09-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well following a general decline in the healthiness of my eating habits and a very indulgent weekend in New York, I have decided to detox my body. I am doing a juice detox. Mostly juiced vegetables that are good for detoxing your liver. Today so far I have eaten:

1. apple and carrot juice
2. beet, radish, carrot, apple
3. pineapple, flax and celery

I figure I will have two more juices before bed.

So far it is OK. Food has always been an issue for me. I've struggled with crash dieting, a touch of anorexia and overeating (I was once 50lbs overweight). Its always been a battle. Its 4pm now and having consumed liquids only does not feel so bad. I'm sweating a lot which may be the start of the toxins exiting - or just summer in Cozumel. My throat is also sore - which could also well be a little bit of detoxing stating and I have a headache. I'm planning to be on juice for 5 days and then I want to do two days with porridge for breakfast, juice for lunch and something simple like brown rice and veggies for dinner. Looking forward to my body feeling clean and healthy.

My liver is probably thinking - what the hell is going on - ooohh lots of healthy stuff!!!!

OK I can't eat but I can lie in bed and watch an episode of Buffy the vampire slayer.

FALSE ORCA

2009-08-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

As a youngster I was a Member of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. I loved to listen to whale song and read all about Marine Mamals. However I had never heard of the most recent guests to the Island. Last week a pod of 'false orca' were spotted off Cozumel. Here is a link to a video posted on utube by the Marine Park:

They look a lot like Dolphins and are actually part of the same family (delphinidae). BUT they are much bigger:

As its name implies, it also looks very similar to an orca and, like the orca, the False Killer Whale attacks and kills other marine mammals.

From Wikipedia:

The False Killer Whale has not been extensively studied in the wild by scientists; much of the data about the dolphin has been derived by examining stranded animals.

Although not often seen at sea, the False Killer Whale appears to have a widespread, if rare, distribution in temperate and tropical oceanic waters. They have been sighted in fairly shallow waters such as the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea as well as the Atlantic Ocean (from Scotland to Argentina), the Indian Ocean (in coastal regions and around the Lakshwadweep islands) and the Pacific Ocean (from the Sea of Japan to New Zealand and the tropical area of the eastern side).

The total population is unknown. The eastern Pacific was estimated to have in excess of 40,000 individuals and is probably the home of the largest grouping.

The false killer whale and a dolphin have mated in captivity and produced a fertile calf.^[3]. This is apparently the first mating between two different species that has produced fertile offspring, i.e., without postzygotic barriers. This offspring is called a 'Wolphin'.

The False Killer Whale has been hunted, but not extensively, in the West Indies and Indonesia. In Japan, a small number of these cetaceans are killed every year.

False Killer Whales have long caused anger amongst fishermen fishing for tuna and yellowtail. The dolphins take the fish from the longlines used by the fishermen. This led to a concerted effort from Japanese fishermen working from Iki Island to deplete the species in the area - 900 individuals were killed for this purpose between 1965 and 1990.^{[citation needed]}

Several public aquariums in the world, including Seaworld Orlando have False Killer Whales on display.

Recent evidence indicates the insular population of false killer whales in Hawaii has declined dramatically over the last 20 years. Five years of aerial surveys undertaken from 1993 through 2004 have shown a steep decline in sighting rates. Group sizes of the largest groups documented in surveys were almost four times larger than the entire current population estimate ^[4].

On 2 June 2005 up to 140 (estimates vary) False Killer Whales were beached at Geographe Bay, Western Australia. The main pod, which had been split into four separate strandings along the length of the coast, was successfully moved back to sea with only one death after the intervention of 1,500 volunteers coordinated by the Department of Conservation and Land Management.

Just prior to sunrise on 30 May 2009, a pod of 55 False Killer Whales was discovered beached on a sandy beach at Kommetjie in South Africa (latitude 34° 8'3.98"S, longitude 18°19'58.22"E). By 9 a.m. already 50 or more volunteers had arrived to help swim out the whales into the ocean. Many more volunteers came throughout the day to offer their services. Late morning a decision by the authorities asked all volunteers to stabilize the False Killers Whales on the beach. No further attempt was made to take the whales into the open sea. At approximately 4 p.m. after considerable debate by all the authorities present, the decision was made to initiate euthanasia by shooting the whales; approximately 44 whales were killed. Fortunately, due to the efforts of the first volunteers in the early morning, some of the 55 False Killer Whales survived.

It clear from this event that not much is known about these mammals. Why they would find themselves in such a predicament? How long can these animals survive at the water edge? What options are there to get them back into the ocean? What are the options of handling these whales? How best to take care of these whales while rescue operations are put in place? What are the signs of stress in these mammals? How does one minimise the stress levels? How to keep the pod in communication?

We understand that these whales need to be turned on from one side to the other every 20 minutes to reduce pressure on their internal organs. That they need to be kept cool if in the sun and hydrated.

For example in the case of the beached whales in Sydney on 23-24 March 2009, the 11 survivors from a pod of 80 whales that beached themselves near Margaret River on Australia’s west coast were pushed back out to sea on the 24th. The long-finned pilot whales were loaded onto trucks at Hamelin Bay where they had come ashore the previous day for their release at a better spot 20 km away. Flinders Bay was picked because it is deep, sheltered and far enough from the original stranding site to deter the whales from coming back on shore. "There’s a juvenile in the middle of the pack as well, which is good", Department of Environment and Conservation officer Laura Sinclair said. "It’s looking more positive. They’re not meandering back to the coast." Margaret River schoolchildren were among the 200 volunteers keeping the whales wet so they didn’t dehydrate and die. Some stayed up all night to help in the rescue effort. Individuals measuring up to 6 metres long and weighing up to 3.5 tonnes were hoisted in a sling onto a truck for the trip from Hamelin to Flinders. They were penned until the pod was back together and then released together. From the above example. it is clear that whales can survive even road journeys if cared for properly.

The planning for the same incident: A spokesman for the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) said they were trying to herd the remaining group together to form a pod they hoped to entice back out to sea by the morning. DEC Incident Controller Greg Mair said veterinary assistance had been organised to assess the health and well-being of the remaining whales as well as equipment to try and take them back out to deeper water. “The main strategy is to re-group the animals, which are spread over five to six kilometres of beach, into one pod and hold them overnight in Hamelin Bay until day-break when they will be transported by truck to Flinders Bay for release,” he said. “This method has been chosen to ensure the whales’ greatest chance of survival,” he said. He added that a scientific team was collecting samples from the dead whales for testing as part of research into what causes whale standings. The DEC said long-finned pilot whales tend to strand both individually and in pods, and the last time the species stranded in WA was in 2005 when 19 beached themselves at Busselton. Of those, 13 were successfully returned to the ocean It is the second mass stranding of whales on Australian beaches this month.

Weather Guide to Cozumel

2009-08-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd impart some of what I've learned over the last year on the Island - weather wise:

January - March: Cool mornings, afternoons in the mid 70- mid 80. Often nice beach weather, ocean a brisk 79 and often with strong currents. Pretty busy season for tourism here on the Island.
April - May: Mornings can still be cool but often 80/90 in the afternoon, the evenings still cool off nicely. Ocean is starting to warm to the 80's and the currents are starting to die off. A beautiful time to visit Cozumel. The winter high season stats to taper off and things become less crazy on the Island.
June - August. Very HOT. Not good for people without air conditioning. This would be the time I'd most like to come on vacation if I was staying in an air-conditioned hotel (aren't they all). The Ocean temp is up to 82/83. Great for diving, warm water, warm surface intervals, warm nights out - no sweater for dinner. August does start to cool off noticeably. The rainy and Hurricane seasons officially begin in June. I think this year has been particularly dry but August has brought a good few storms which start to give relief to the heat. Tourism fairly high with Texans escaping their summer heat!
September - October. Peak rainy season. I arrived in September last year and it rained almost solidly from September 15-Oct 15. The ocean is still warm for diving and the air temperature is still high. Good to visit if you are lucky enough to miss the rain. Low season - great deals to be had if you don't mind a little rain between your sun.
November- December. Tail end of November stating to really cool off. Sweaters and jeans creep into every day use. Less rain. Mornings and evenings cool but often very hot beach days. The Ocean starts to chill back to 79 by the end of the year. December is a high month for tourism which stays high through April spring break.

I've been lucky enough so far not to have experienced any real hurricane activity. This winter is expected to bring a moderate to strong El Nino (a periodic warming of the seas in the eastern Pacific). This can often suppress hurricane activity, so hopefully this will not be a bad hurricane season.

Clearing Land

2009-08-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

I usually have the day off on Sundays, but this week I had to work as some divers we'd been working with wanted to take a private boat out. This meant that BF and his mother went to our piece of land ahead of me and started to clear ground. When I arrived I was already exhausted, but I got working. Actually it was not as hard as I'd thought it might be. We concentrated on the front part of the land. This area was mostly grass and small plants. Lots of aunts and bugs, but when I am hot and tired I find my tolerance rises to things that would normally make me scream like a girl:)BF's mom barely makes 5' tall and she's well into her sixties, but my goodness can she clear land. She made mince meat of a small tree in minutes with her machete. She grew up in the jungles of the Yukatan and the family would chop old dry wood to take into town and sell. This lady may be up in years but I would not like to cross her!! Anyway after several hours of back breaking work for BF and his mom and about an hour from me, the front part of the land (where we will have a little 6' path of garden, and a drive for the car, is clear:My future mother in law looked exhaused but her eyes were sparkling. I think she enjoyed hacking away at those branches. Perhaps it reminded her of days gone by or perhaps she just enjoyed helping us start work on building our home. I plan to go back on Wednesday and do some more work. Hey its good exercise too.

Carriage Horses Cozumel

2009-08-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been to Cozumel you will have seen the carriage horses lined up on the main road, by the Ocean down town, waiting to give rides to tourists - mostly from the cruise ships. I feel very bad for these horses, as they are often mistreated.
Anyway yesterday I was sitting in my car (watching buffy the vampire slayer on my ipod) waiting for diving clients when a horse carriage in front of me toppled over, spilling its passengers onto the sidewalk. The carriage landed on it's side on top of the poor horse, who's body was pinned betwen the two wooden posts which attach the horse to the buggy. I jumped out of my car and over the overweight tourists on the pavement to see how the poor horse was. Obviously in distress he had the whole weight of the carriage on top of him. Luckily about 6 of the cab drivers from accross the street rushed over and helped lift the weight of the cart off the horse, while the driver tried to keep him calm and held his head. After much struggling the horse was released from it's harness. There is no quick release on these harnesses so the carriage had to be pushed further on to the horse to get the buckles undone.
My heart was in my throat as I watched the horse struggle to get up. The first attempt failed and he hurt his back slipping onto the poles. The second time he made it. What a lovely animal. He stood calmly while the driver re-arranged the harness on his head and then allowed himself to be led over to a tree to be teathered while the carriage was righted and the damage assessed.
It seemed like the horse escaped unscathed, although he really did not walk far enough for me to see if any of his legs had been lamed. Ofcourse the driver reharnessed the horse to pull his carrige back home.
I would ask any visitors to Cozumel to think twice about taking these carriage rides. Take a cab or a nice long walk around town. Here is an article written by the Cozumel Humane Society on these animals.
People can be so heartless when it comes to animals - it really makes me sick.

We're buying some land.....

2009-08-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

One of the things I wanted to do if I decided to settle in Cozumel was buy some land, with a view to building a house. I'm 37 and, although I did briefly own an apartment from the age of 18-23, my assets currently amount to a car, a computer and some fairly sexy dive gear.
Anyway BF and I decided that buying land was a sensible way to go. We searched the Island tirelessly for the ideal spot. Let me tell you, it is difficult. Land falls into 4 rough categories here on the Island:

Jungle: Anyone with a 10 year plan and a little cash to risk should think about buying land in the Jungle. We've found plots as big as 30 meters x 20 meters selling for as little as $15,000. People are buying these plots and building like crazy. Some really interesting neighborhoods are likely to develop with properies boasting nice large gardens. I love space and I also love peace and quiet and so was initially attracted to these pieces of land. There are, however, some drawbacks:

No electricity, water or sewerage. These will likely be connected at some point in the future if enough people build property in a given area, but there are no guarantees. Could be 6 months, 6 years or never. It is possible to dig a well - and find good water. Electricity can be difficult though. Solar panels and wind generators are expensive and limited in capacity.
Mosquitos - the jungle mosquito is significantly larger and more ferocious than his down town brother. In town, trucks spray bug spray at night to keep the little blighters under control. not so in the jungle. My skin has become pretty immune to the city mosquito, but the jungle variety leave huge weilds on my skin. They are bigger, meaner and more prolific.
The distance to town. We have one car between us. Neither of us really wants a scooter and biking it into town would be a pretty sweaty task in the summer.

Down Town/ Town Center: Unfortunately due to Cozumel's popularity as a vacation destination, down town prices have been forced through the roof by wealthy Americans buying up land (I appreciate I own my job and actually just being here to this fact as well). A piece of land measuring 20 meters x 8 meters, will set you back $70-80,000. Simply out of the price range of anyone living on the Island and earning local wages.

Neighborhoods / Suburbs: Land is very difficult to come by in nice neighborhoods. Often land sales are opened up to only certain categories of worker (like hotel staff). BF's mother lives in a nice neighborhood but finding a plot of land for sale at a reasonable price is extremely difficult.

Government sponsored developments: Several large construction companies are developing neighborhoods in areas just outside of the suburbs. These neighbrhoods look a little like the English council estates. There is a very small house on a piece of land flanked very closely on each side by an identical very small house/ piece of land. The added incentive with these pieces of land is that locals are able to take a loan from their own social security funds to finance the property. This is a pretty inticing deal, especially as the building company will readily finance the balance you need to buy. What is the catch?? Well BF and I were a little short on the cash we would have needed to pay for the property outright and it turned out that the building company loans applied extortionate rates of interest and rediculously honorous payment terms. We very nearly did this as there were a number of properties on street corners with larger pieces of land. It was only when we discovered the rediculous terms of the builders loan and reasoned that we would actually be paying for a building that we intended in the most part to demolish and re-build that we decided to go back to the drawing board.

And so it came to pass that on one sunny Sunday afternoon we decided to go on a real hunt of the neighborhoods. It was this day that we stumbled on a neighborhood that we really liked with two blocks of empty lots for sale. The price was high but something that we decided we could manage. Here is the piece of land that we are in the process of buying:and again a few steps in with BF in what will be our yard/ garden. You can see from this one that it is a fairly decent sized piece of land:We are pretty excited. The street is currently dirt road...But we are told that a proper road surface will be laid this or perhaps next week (we are on Mexican time after all).
Our first project will be to clear the land. An advantage here, over jungle, is that the land has already been partially cleared. We'll be out with machetes on Sunday. I will definately try a little clearing, but think I might soon become, cool drinks and pizza delivery person.
After clearing the land we want to build a big wall around it. Firstly because we like privacy and secondly in the hope that any building supplies that we store inside of the wall will be relatively safe. Then on with our house. We will build a first floor to begin with and then eventually a two story, 3 bedroom home. I also have a secret scheme to make a third floor palapa hang out. But that is way down the line.
Exciting stuff - more to come.

New Fruits

2009-08-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

Food here in Mexico is OK. When I used to come here on vacation I used to love it, but now it has become a bit 'samey'. Everything served with tortillas, cheese, lime, salt lots of oil and chili peppers. Its tough to cook in the summer because our apartment is so HOT. My BF and I have 2-3 favorite restaurants which we go to quite often. We have menu favorites and because I am vegetarian my choices are limited - in short food is becoming dull.
The only exception to this, is fruit and I have recently discovered two new fruits:

Pitaya (five star fruit rating - a must try)
I love this new fruit. It comes from a climbing cactus, that grows on walls trees etc. It is a beautiful bright pink on the outside:And white with little black seeds on the inside:
It is about the size of an apple. You peel the fruit with a knife and eat the flesh inside. It is really delicious. Its so different from any other fruit I've had that its difficult to describe it. The flesh is a bit like melon in texture with tinsy little black seeds that just give it a little crunch. It's as sweet as a strawberry but quite a unique taste. I love them as is, or blended with ice 'pitaya water'.

Tuna (one star fruit rating)
Also the fruit of a cactus, (as opposed to a tasty game fish). I was very excited to try the tuna, following my experiences with the pitaya. Sadly I was sorely disappointed. Dull green on the outside: and... dull green on the inside:It is filled with pretty large hard seeds that you would not want to swallow. I would not bother with this fruit. Unless I had a bad tuna, when it comes to cactus fruit, Pitaya is the way to go.
There are many other fruits that BF will buy and make me taste. Nothing very nice as of yet but I plan to give each of them a write up.
There is a store that I call at almost daily to buy a mixed fruit salad and some fresh juice or another. We like watermelon (sandia), pitaya, and strawberry (fresa) so far. I did try chaya water and it was OK. The chaya is a green leafy plan a bit like spinich. Very good for you, I expect, and taste wise it is definitely manageable. Next time I plan to mix it with orange or pinapple.
More exotic fruits to follow.....

Terapia Holistica

2009-07-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to visit Eduardo (Jesus Eduardo Orduno), a holistic therapist operating in Cozumel.
Eduardo lives near town and gives his consultations under a roof top palapa with drapes covering the sides for privacy and shade. As a starting point he asked me why I'd come to see him. Actually I feel happier and more peaceful now than I have in a very long time, but I still have some nagging insecurities and in general desire a higher level of peace in my life - so I thought 'what the heck' lets give this guy a go.
Eduardo explained that he worked with 27 (somewhere in that region) points in the body where the spirit/ soul and the body connect. At these points it would be possible for him to detect problems in the psyche. He uses a dousing pendulum at these points and if the pendulum swings back and forth, all is well. If it moves in a circle then there is some blockage. He then works with glass slides containing flowers and metals. He places these on your hips, belly button, throat, and between/ above your eyebrows (third eye). These also operate to re-balance any abnormalities. I was asked to breath slowly with my eyes closed and hold my breath for a few seconds on the inhale. I did a little mantra meditating as I listened to the birds singing in nearby trees. Eduardo found no real problem areas, although reactions suggested I often had a troubled mind.
The end of his treatment is to place his fingers at your inside elbow and ask his pendulum which flower essences will assist you. He narrows down from 100s of flowers by asking his pendulum yes/no. He was a lovely spiritual guy and by the sounds of it provides healing to a great many souls in distress. I enjoyed the experience a lot. All of my flowers had properties such as, forgiving myself, accepting past 'mistakes' as learning experiences, letting go of self doubt, being happy in the now etc... He said that I was operating at a pretty high level, spiritually, and that the flowers he'd given me showed that. Apparently there are levels/ steps of healing and I'm operating one the highest level. That's nice to hear because after all of these years its kind of how I feel.
So following this process the soul lets Eduard know which flower tincters to add to a small bottle. He gives this mixture to you as part of his serivce with directions on taking the drops every so often (the dosage is also determined by your spirits needs comunicated by the pendulum), but generally once every 1-3 hours, 6-12 times a day.
It was a pretty cool experience and I would recomend it. Lets see how I feel taking his flower mix. All of their properties promote exactly what I want to accomplish. I think just the act of thinking about your goals at prescribed times through out the day is a good one. I guess its a bit like meditation beads. You meditate with a set of beads and soon just picking up those beads assists you to a medatative state of mind. The taste of the drops may do nothing more that: remind you of your goals and inner beauty, or they may indeed possess properties which heal the soul.
If you are feeling low or have any specific problems, worries or depressions, or like me just searching for more balance, I would recomend Eduardo. I will report back.

One other thing that Eduardo sugested is that for general skin health a glass of carrot juice a week is a must - this is a real wrinkle reducer/ preventer. Say no more - as soon as I got home two glasses of freshly juiced carrot juice.
Oh yes he also said not to worry abou the pre-cancer cells on my back - they were healed and would not return.

Bird Update

2009-07-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

So my little friend never did come back. I had a look on the internet and think that he is a love bird. I hope he made it to the jungle and found some little love bird friends.

Skin Cancer

2009-07-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to be like one of those people who have had a tracheotomy due to throat cancer and stand up on buses to warn people about the dangers of cigarette smoking.

When I was in New York last summer friends (applying sunblock for me) noticed an odd looking bit of skin on my back. Just above an average sized freckle this piece of skin is about 6mm x 4mm and looks like a fresh scar. Before I left NY it seemed to have faded so I stupidly ignored it instead of going to a decent specialist in New York at a time when I had health insurance. Anyway a few months ago I became aware that the said mark was still at large. I didn't like the look of it so I went to see a local doctor here who'd helped with my chest infection. His best guess was a fungal infection. 10 days, a course of fungal cream and $90 later this was ruled out as a cause.

After much searching I found a dermatologist in Cozumel. Her diagnosis was, as I feared, pre-cancer cells. She prescribed a 30 course of 5% Fluorouracil cream. This is a topical anti cancer agent (chemotherapy cream).

I was not convinced by this doctor. She had many certificates on her wall but did not use a light of magnifying glass or any of the usual doctor tools to come to her diagnosis. I find these things comforting. Anyway I came home and did some research on the internet. I'd been avoiding this so far because I did not want to scare myself. It looks like I probably have a Actinic Keratoses legion. Only 10% of these ever become squamos cell carcinomas (cancer) and the cream she'd prescribed was a pretty common treatment with a reported cure rate of 80-90%.

I was a bit freacked out at this point and really wanted to have it removed and sent to pathology, afterall psoriasis orr eczema can often be mistaken for Actinic Keratoses. After much angsting, and correspodning with a dermatologist in Playa who confirmed the treatment as valid, and discussing the matter with a friend in New York who'd used the cram for treatment of similar legions before, I decided to go with the treatment my Cozumel dermatologist recomended.

I have just finished the treatment. The cream basically burnes the affected area away. I went back to the doc and she said she could not tell if the legion had been cured until the skin healed. Another course of a different cream for 10 days should do it.

So I will find out soon if it has gone. Either way I think I am going to consult with a dermatologist in England when I get home in October.

What steps am I taking to avoid more damage to my skin? Well I work as a scuba instructor and am in the sun a lot so I bought three dive skins. These are t-shirts made of a lycra type material with a UV protection factor of 40. I wear these all day when I am at work to keep my back out of the sun as well as factor 80 sun block on my face and ears. I have always been very careful about applying sunblock to my face - purely driven by vanity but I would always leave out my ears. Ears are aparently a common place to get skin cancerr so they are now part of my regime. I reapply sunblock each time I get out of the water and always keep a bag containing a selection of sunblocks in my car.

I am lucky in that I was not really exposed to the sun in my teens when most damage occurs. In my 20ies though I was a bit of a sunworshiper and also spent a little bit of time on sunbeds. Unfortunately I will probably never know if this was a pre-cancer or something more inoccous, but I figured either way I need to look after my skin more.

So I wanted to ask people to be more responsible in the sun. Apply sunblock regularly and wear a t-shirt if snorkling or surfing. I work in a hotel and see badly burned people on a daily basis. Burning on the first few days just seems to be part of their vacation routine. 'No use in crying over spilled milk', they say but it takes just a little bit of effor to protect your skin and its well worth it.

Little Bird

2009-07-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today was just like any other - actually I was a bit more tired than usual, having just spent two days teaching an advanced open water class. When I opened the gate to the yard outside of my apartment I heard an unusual bird call. I looked up into the tree and there was this little colorful bird. Obviously an escaped pet:

He was very interested in me and I wondered if he was hungry. Probably if he'd escaped from a cage he would not know how to feed on his own. He did look a little fluffy and young. So I tried to tempt him down with bread crumbs. I then walked up to the roof and held my hand out to him. I was within about 5 inches and he was quite comfortable. Honestly I was just a bit scared of being pecked or I might have coaxed him onto my hand.

After consulting with Julio I grabbed some gloves from the car and re-attempted contact. This time I was armed with papaya. He was really interactive but very warey of my hand. Twice he jumped onto my gloved finger to take some of the papaya. The second time I moved him closer towards me and he got scared and flew into the higher branches of the tree.

I then decided to stop molesting the little guy and left the papaya on a branch for him to eat. After my afternoon snooze I went back outside but he seems to have gone.

I feel sorry for birds that are kept in captivity, on the whole, although my friend Fernando has a little bird who is a real character and thinks he's one of the family.

This little guy though is clearly domesticated and I'm worried he will not be able to survive in the wild. Part of me wishes I'd been braver and grabbed him to keep him safe from the nasty big Mexican birds and part of me thinks he'll be better living free, even if it is a short little existence.

If he's around later Julio may try to catch him. Either way I really enjoyed my encounter with this little bird.
Does anyone know what he is????? Or have any views (preferably informed) on whether or not he's likely to be able to survive in the wild?

Parents visit

2009-06-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

YES I'm still alive. I've just dropped my parents off at the airport in Cozumel after a weeks visit. Pretty tearful dropping them off and no sooner had I pulled out of the parking spot I was in, did I get pulled over by the federal police. My car carries New Jersey Plates and a Mexican permit which has expired. The law here is that you do not need to renew your car permit if you have a valid FM3. Unfortunately the Federal Police are famous for not knowing this. Anyway luckily for me I was very tearful when I was pulled over. I find tears are very helpful in these circumstances. I used the quite genuine tears for my parents departure to convince the federal police to let me go on my way with not much bother.

So PARENTS VISIT. We had a really lovely time, marred only by the heat (oh and mosquitos). My parents are not used to extreme heat and relaxing into an Island pace, lounging by/ in the ocean took them the whole time they were here to get used to. Even then, frequent trips into A/C buildings were a must. My parents skin, unused to evil mosquito bites, became very sore and swollen when they were bitten (unused to having to lather on bug spray at sun set and in the mornings in the garden, they were bitten frequently).

The flight from England is pretty grueling, although THOMPSON AIR now offer direct flights from London to Cozumel. After a 10 hour flight they were exhausted. I'd booked them into a hotel called Hacienda San Miguel. Its a very good choice if you are visiting Cozumel and want to be in walking distance of town but in a quiet setting. They have well kept gardens filled with, red flowers, well groomed bushes, little lizards and lively humming birds:

Here is a picture of their room:

We spent many mornings drinking coffee and talking on this little terrace.
It does make me very sad that I do not live in the same country as my family. I also have a great fondness for England, although I have to say I didn't much like me for most of my adult life in England although there are many reasons why I choose to live here and not there.

Why not England or New York??

I think I had a hard time with the transition into adulthood in England. I didn't much like myself there and going back reminds me of that me.
Really I think its true to say that I have struggled with a pretty serious alcohol problem for much of my adult life. Having struggled over the years to get on top of this and perhaps even just as a function of getting older I've pretty much conquered this but again the prospect of moving back to the UK scares me because drinking, as a way of life, is how I know living in England. Pretty much all of my old friends drink, a lot, socially and I'm not sure I could slot back into that without it becoming a problem for me.
England is cold and the Ocean is freezing. I love diving and swimming and even just looking out over the tropical waters of the Caribbean.
The only way I could afford to live in England or America is by working in an office. Not to put to fine a point on it, I find this way of living soul destroying. I can't do it anymore.
Now this one is a toughey, but MEN. Now I know there are some wonderful men in England and in the USA and many of them are my friends, but I have again and again been devastated by the behaviors of men I have chosen to become involved with. Sex in the City is a pretty accurate portrayal of the dating/ relationship scene in New York. I know bad relationships are everywhere as well as here in Mexico, BUT here I have been lucky enough to find a lovely, wise, honorable and caring man the likes of which I've not encountered before. I think my man is one in a million and probably nothing typical of Mexico BUT I'm going to stick my neck out and say that in my view big cities attract (or create) f**ked up individuals who go around treating each other terribly.
I love my simple life in Mexico. I've stopped living like a crazy worker aunt. I have free time for yoga, meditation. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to just relax without filling my life with work, stress, teaching, but I'm learning a lot about myself.

Things I miss about England and New York

My FAMILY - I miss my parents brother, and extended family a lot.
FRIENDS - I have the most wonderful friends in the whole world in Newcastle, London and New York/ New Jersey (as well as a few others scattered across the States and the world). I miss you all terribly and hope to maintain annual month long visits to the UK, via NYC.
I miss the English countryside and North Eastern British beaches. The Jersey Shore, Lake George, the Berkshires
Marmite, white bread, salt and vinegar McCoy's crisps. NY pizza, sushi, health food, bagels
Joico hair products, discount shopping
ENGLISH - I'm still struggling with Spanish - I miss being able to interact with everyone around me easily.

So it was lovely to spend a week with my parents and sad to see them go. Next time they will avoid the heat of June, July, Aug and September. I'm also pleased I will be seeing them for a good three weeks in October.

The Moon

2009-05-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had the most beautiful moon. The moon is full this Saturday so it is already pretty big. I've never seen such a halo around the moon. It was really beautiful. Julio and I climbed up on my roof to take photographs.
You will be looking at the same moon in Newcastle, New York or Berlin, but I bet yours does not have this amazing halo. Hopefully my yoga group are doing a full moon celebration on Saturday. It is likely that the halo will stick around until then - I'm guessing it is caused by humidity...

It just been a matter of days since swin flu registered on my radar...

2009-04-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

...and already the effects are taking a serious toll on Cozumel. The Cruise Ships upon which many rely for income have imposed a 2 week ban on stops in Mexico.

Yesterday I went to Playa Del Carmen to pick up some stuff and say goodbye to my friend Hans. I'd decided to do some beading on the ferry which soon made me very sea sick. In a rush to get onto dry land I left my nice pink butterfly beach bag on the ferry. All that was in there was a bottle of water but I was sad to loose the bag. Hans made the comment that it was a timely reminder of the impermanence of everything. I agreed tha it was indeed.

It was a growing dissatisfaction with the materialism of New York that was the major motivator for my move to Mexico. I wanted to be free of the insane drive to acquire more money, power and possessions.

When I arrived here life became simple. I've had a very peaceful seven months. I've been blessed with Selene, a wonderful teacher of kundalini yoga who has taught me much in terms of yogic theory and meditation practice and I have had more time to devote to reading -much related to spirituality. I've made good friends and met a wonderful man who is wise, kind and content.
Recently, however, I have begun to develop a bit of a preoccupation with the future: looking for land to build a house on, decking out my apartment in nice furniture, angsting about whether or not children are in my future. They are all forms of the grasping for possessions that I was trying to move away from.

Right now is a low few weeks work wise in any event. Its difficult to say how this swine flu outbreak will affect Cozumel at this stage but I think it is safe to assume that the effects will be serious. With North America and Europe advising travelers to avoid Mexico, the tourism, upon which Cozumel relies, is likely to dry up to next to nothing for a spell.

So far in life I have been very lucky with work, in that since the age of 17 I have always had a secure well paid job. Not so now. We have clients to take us through this week but then the likelihood of earning nothing at all for the near future.

I have savings in my bank account which puts me in a better position than others. The distress I felt yesterday related to the fact that I will probably have to start living off my savings for some time, rather than immediate pressure of no money to live on, like some of my friends.

I remember, as a little girl, I would embark on ambitious building projects. I'd have visions of grand, billowing tents and set to work on creating my visions with only a cloths horse and some sheets and blankets (perhaps a few card board boxes). My mother told me that she would dread these creative urges of mine as invariably I was not able to conjor my visions and ended up in bitter and inconsolable disappointment.

I believe that I've continued with this pattern through out most of my life. Following unattainable pipe dreams and encountering disappointment after disappointment. Now though I fell my perception is changing. I am truly beginning to realize that attainment of external, material goals rarely makes for happiness. The Buddhists believe that such grasping is at the route of all human suffering and I think that I have moved beyond just understanding this to making it a reality in my life. So I am viewing the forthcoming time as a reminder to live in the now.

My boyfriend, of course, takes this all peacefully in his stride. He's seen a few hurricanes in his time and has gone through this all before. I once asked him if he'd ever wanted to be rich and he just laughed a 'don't be absurd' laugh and said no.

To my parents and more conventional friends - don't worry I am not planning a life of poverty. If things get too bad here, we'll come up with a game plan.

For now though I'm seeing this as an opportunity for growth. Rather than building castles in the sky I'm going to enjoy all of the free time I'm likely to have. Exploring in our kayak, studying Spanish learning more about my boyfriend and friends. I've just started designing my own jewelery and plan to enjoy rekindling the artist in me.

I am sad that I'm unlikely to be able to see my parents in two weeks but thankful that they are healthy and that I am able to talk to them often on the telephone.

I'm avoiding 'what ifs' and thinking too far in advance.

As to the swine flu its self I am overwhelmed with the amount of media coverage, and information which is flying around on the internet. Right now I feel pretty safe personally. I'm pretty healthy and on the grand scheme of things think that the odds of getting sick or dying are slim. Honestly there is so much speculation out there that its tough for me to form a view on any of it.

So I will keep you all posted on how thing progress both in my life and in Cozumel (probably more now than before as I'm likely to find myself with much more free time on my hands!!)

Swine Flu

2009-04-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Swine flu went from something I had heard a whisper of last week to something pretty serious withing the space of a week. I've read a lot about this flu on the internet. Around 100 people have died in Mexico City, and now there have been cases in the US, Spain, Scotland and perhaps Manchester. Obviously I am very saddened by deaths of people in Mexico City, but having lived through the mad cow era in the UK and anthrax scares following September 11, I tend to take a pretty philosophical about these things. If its not something you have control over then don't worry about it. I'm afraid I've developed a bit of a tendency to hide my head in the sand during world crises.

Two things that have personally impacted me on this occasion:

Two of my very dear friends who lived in Playa Del Carmen have decided to move up their leaving date. They are expecting a baby and for unrelated reasons had made the decision to return to the US. I just got a phone call 10 mins ago telling me that they've decided to leave today, for fear that travel may become increasingly difficult over the next month, as a result of the spread of swine flu. A wise move (and when an unborn baby is involved I think caution is the best way forward) but its meant that I didn't get to say goodbye which has kind of hit me hard today. Its made me feel a little lonely here in Mexico. I still feel very happy in my choice of lifestyle and just in myself at peace and content, but increasingly recently, I've been missing my friends in the US and UK. Other than the friends who are now leaving I suppose I have begun to develop one or two close friendships in Mexico (and of course my boyfriend who is my best friend ever). Teaching by the pool one day last week I overheard one of the guests listening to Led Zeplin - this reminded me of living in England and of all of my friends from Uni and I suddenly became not 'homesick' but 'friendsick'. Then with my only really close friends leaving Mexico this feeling got worse and today - well I'm feeling a little bit alone.

I also spoke to my Mam - my parents are planning a trip to Mexico on May 11th. I am very excited about this, but my mam said today that her friends have been calling her telling her not to come. I kind of poo poo'd this but now it seems that there is a real possibility that travel to Mexico might be seriously impacted. The European Union health commissioner has advised Europeans to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico. I hope this does not affect my parents trip as I really want to see them (although I don't want them to get swine flu).

This brings me back to the feelings I had of remoteness right after September 11th when I was marooned in Brooklyn on my own.

There is also the issue of the impact all of this will have on tourism to Mexico and the impact that that will have on my and other's in this region ability to earn money. Coupled with the US economic situation and media coverage of drug wars here in Mexico I worry about falling tourism.

Ak I'm being a big baby I know and I am incredibly lucky with the life I have here. As usual I'm just going to trust that this will blow over. I'm about to deliver a bottle of fresh orange juice to my boyfriend who is sick (excuse for a big hug) and then head to pilates and yoga to put my mind into a peaceful state.

Going to miss my friends though!!!

Lion Fish - ANOTHER 10 mins of fame

2009-04-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you may recall my radio debut when I was interviewed by Radio Newcastle following the September 11th 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York. Well today I was captured in the lime light once more. The reason???? This little guy:

He is a Lion fish - actually a juvenile Lion Fish, about the same size as my little finger:
Lion fish are native to the Indo-Pacific, but have recently been spotted here in Cozumel. No-one knows how they got here although there are various theories involving releases in Florida. They look innocent enough right?
In fact they are voracious predators eating native fish and crustaceans in large quantities. They are not known to have any native predators here in Mexico and because of this and the fact that they reproduce quickly there is concern within Cozumel's National Park Organization that they will compete for food and space with local species and damage the delicate ecological balance on Cozumel's reefs. They are equipped with venomous dorsal, ventral and anal spines, which deter predators and can cause painful wounds in humans.

So how does this involve me? Well on Saturday I was diving along with a group of divers and I saw a tinsy lion fish. Pretty cool I thought and looked around for something to catch him with. 'Rats teeth', I had nothing. So I left the little guy at large. Well today I armed myself with two plastic bags - those who know me know I like to dive with back ups:)

Anyway I figures I might see him in the same spot as on Saturday. The conditions today were good and with my discover scuba group in tow I made my way back to the spot where I'd seen him. On the way we saw two carribean reef squid. This put me in high spirits because I love to watch squid. When I got to the general area I started to look around. We found a sting ray and I checked a few rock piles which looked like the ones I'd seen him on on Saturday. Just as I was about to give up hope (what are the chances of finding such a little guy in such a large ocean I thought), there he was. Hanging out on a sponge. So I poped out my little plastic bag and scooped him in.

He caused quite a stir on Sunset Beach. One of the other instructors (Caesar from Caribbean Divers) called the local TV station - Chanel 10. My first thought - I look a mess - hair like straw, dry salty wrinkly skin from the ocean, and they're going to want me to talk (yikes!). I made a quick decision not to attempt to speak in Spanish (a wise move I think). The reporter took lots of video of the fish, a little of me and a lot of Caesar. I have to say Caesar took to the lime light very well!

I then took my little friend to see Julio where we transferred him into a cooler. Feeling hungry, I returned home. I had planned to keep him overnight, take him to show the people at work and then take him to the Marine Park tomorrow. Well, within 10 mins of my getting home I received a call from the Marine Park asking if they could come and collect him. Someone had turned me in! They arrived in minutes. I learned that this was only the 3rd lion fish to have been caught in Cozumel. Sadly I doubt my little friend will survive the week. The NP officer told me that he'd probably end up pickled in alcohol. When he saw the look on my face he back tracked and said that they would probably keep this one alive to study. A likely storey - I think he was just trying to stop me from crying.

So off he went in a big white van. Very pretty little thing - difficult to believe he'd cause such havok:

And so the question is -am I a reef preserver or a lion fish murderer???

TEMEZCAL - March 21st Summer Solstice

2009-03-28T13:53:00.001-07:00

Selene my yoga teacher, decided to arrange for a temazcal to celebrate the Spring Solstice. On March 21st daylight shares equal time with darkness. During the months that follow up until the summer solstice there will be increasingly more hours of light in the day. A temazcal is an ancient sweat lodge used by the Mayans; a location to bathe and to heal; a communal room where stories are shared and spirits appeased; cleanse the body and prepare oneself for love and birth. Our day focused on letting go of the old.. the birth of a new self.
Here is Selene right after the Temezcal:
Our day starte at 2 with a 2k hike to the area where the Temezcal was to be held. We walked through the Cozumel jungle. In this area the jungle was around 30-60 feet tall which is tall for Cozumel where much of the jungle was dwarfed by hurricanes Gilbert and Wilma. I really enjoyed walking through the jungle - which in places was not dissimilar to forrests in England. The sound of the wind russtling in the trees and the birds singling is very quietening. When we arrived we were given a choice of fresh fruit juices. I chose cucumber and lime juice. It was really refreshing and I plan to make it very soon for myself. We made a concious effort here to begin to enter a more quiet reflective state - in preparation for our meditation:
Next we moved to a clearing in the jungle where a fire had already been prepared for us. The air smelt of burning wood and copal (an incense made out of a local plant - used like sage, in Mayan rituals).
Selene lead us through a meditation focusing on connecting with the elements. The earth beneath our feet, the wind in the trees, fire and water (represented by the conch shell). I closed my eyes and felt the heat of the fire on my hands, the smells of the burning wood and copal as well as the earthy smell of the jungle. I could see the sun and fire burning red on the lids of my eyes, feel the little stones and roots under my feet and the wind on my face. I felt very connected with these things.

After the meditation one of the men from our class, Jonathon, talked us through a manifestation exercise. We chose three of our most heart felt wishes and wrote down a wish on a piece of paper as well as the reason why we wanted this thing and reasons why we felt we deserved to get them. We were told that it is important to keep these desires secret (especially from those involved in our desires). This was to be a private person contract with the 'powers that be', whatever that might mean for you (God, Gods, Buddha... ). Secrecy of desires is a theme I've been noticing a lot in discussions on manifesting. I a firm believer that dreams should be held close to your heart and not shared with others. I went through many years of sharing my dreams with anyone who'd listen (wearing my heart on my sleeve) and I think this detracts their potency somehow; almost makes them impotent. Now I am back to being a private dreamer:)
Anyway after thinking of my top three desires and writing them down on three pieces of paper we were sent off to bury our dreams like seeds and invited to trust that mother earth would take our seeds and grow them into our dreams. I spent some time looking at some of the taller trees. I think trees are very magical things. Old and wise; silent witnesses. My mam used to hug trees - I just like to get close to their trunks and look up towards the sky - this way it almost looks like they are touching the clouds:
This was an amazing root ball - probably from a tree uprooted by Wilma:
After meditating we practiced yoga for 20 minutes before starting the temezcal. During many of the poses your face is facing skyward and I enjoyed watching the leaves of this tall tree swaying in the breeze:

We then played some Mayan instruments: drums, pipes, rainmakers and shakers. A few people dances but for the shy amongst us - jumping around in bikini's was a little too much:

The temezcal is an igloo shaped cement hut:
Inside there is a bench around the walls with enough seating room for around 14 people. There is a pit in the center. The room is heated by adding hot coals to this center pit, the leader of the ceremony then pours water, infused with herbs onto the red hot coals. This water turns the whole room into a steaming sauna:
The coals are heated in a separate pit until they are quite literally red hot.
Hot rocks are added 4 times during the temezcal. This is referred to as the 4 doors of the temezcal. We started by thinking of our grandparents. Selene spoke in Spanish and one of the girls kindly translated for me and another Amercian girl. Its nice for me to listen to guided meditation in Spanish as I find my mind cunjures up its own immages as Selene talks in Spanish. Sometimes when the English translation comes I've been spot on and other times I have been thinking way off course. Either way its all good. I spent some time contemplating my grandparents and how sorry I was that I never really got to know both of my dad's parents or my grandfather on my mam's side. My dad talked a lot about his parents on our road trip down and I took this time to remember some of those stories and think of my grandmother Charlton with whom I was very close. Sadly all are now gone. I then started to think about my own parents and how they have helped formed who I am today. I am very lucky to have two outstanding parents, both spiritually and intellectually.
There was much chanting, shouting singing, breathing and listening. There is something bonding, intimate and spiritual about sharing a temezcal with a group of people with whom I've begun to build nice relationships. I was warned of searing heat, advised to find a clam mental space, to control my breathing in order to cool me down (exhale twice the length of my inhale). One lady had to exit the temezcal before the second lot of hot rocks were deposited. Whether it is because I had been diving so much, or because the weather was not yet warm enough to have heated the stone of my seat - which was quite cool, I'm not sure, but I have to say that I did not find the heat remotely overwhealming. Indeed when the curtains opened to deposit more coals, I found myself shivering! After the seremony we left the hut as babies leaving the womb. We ate water mealon, edamame (my first edamame since leaving NYC - quite a treat) and apple choped with lime juice and Cayenne pepper. Here are Selene and my friend Michele post Temezcal:
Michele and I decided to leave before night took hold. We started the 2k treck through the jungle in the half light following sunset and by the time we reached the car were stomping through the darkness, in a pretty thick jungle. We could here all sorts of scarey night sounds and see pretty big bats flapping around overhead. We were very pleased we were on the road - and pleased that we were sure that it was the right road (Michele was more sure than me).
Anyway thanks to Selene and the yoga group I had a wonderful day and have a very fond memory to keep. I also had an impressive collection of huge swollen bug bites thanks to my thin white skin.

Carnival in Cozumel...

2009-02-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

Well to be honest I did not enter into the true spirit of carnival. Nevertheless the 4 days leading up to ash Wednesday were crazy here in Cozumel. All over the Island dancing in the streets, the official parade started at 6 every day. One curious thing about this island is the number of transvestites who live here. Not your hot New York type transvestite mind you - glamor is far from the grasp of the Cozumeleno transvestite! In any event this is the time for all manner of craziness to come out. I'd see Elvis getting into his car on the way to work (apart from dressing as women, the Elvis costume is the most popular carnival getup).
I walked into town to nights and the streets were crowded:Here is the King of Carnival:
And an idea of the feel in the streets:

The parade was cool. Allie would have liked the pirate float - I liked the Wizard of Oz float. We walked around the square and listened to a Cuban band. Some people were dancing well, others not so much:) I'd really like to be able to Salsa. I might look into learning some day soon. Vicki and Eddie could have shown these people a thing or two. I was back at home by 10.30. One of my students the next day reported drinking til 5 - this, I guess, is really what Carnival is all about but I am getting old and boring!!

Bloggin like Crazy...

2009-02-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Yes twice in one day!!! As promised I thought I would show you my new apartment. I think my mother pictures me in a hovel knee deep in roaches (BTW its has been weeks since the last roach attack). So here it is...
My Kitchen - see the clock, all the way from England - this clock chimed every 15 mins in the back of my car on the drive down to Mexico.The other end of my kitchen - the sink was the only thing in the apartment that I did not have to buy:You can see I have two electric hobs on a counter next to the door (I need to replace these with gas) and a little cooker on top of the counter. Note the Heinz Tomato Ketchup on the bench. Tomato sauce sandwiches are still a staple for this girl:) Mam's painting is by the door, with a picture of my parents in Rome underneath. Bigsy is on top of the fridge, together with a picture of Daniel and Lee (My best friend Lisa's kids).
My bedroom is a little messy:I usually make the bed religiously, every day, as soon as I get up. Today I was tired and so I planned to leave it until after my afternoon snooze. As it happened I did not have time to snooze today. You might just see Big Ted in the left (a very well traveled bear). I painted the room mint green which I love. I bought a heavy Mexican chest of drawers, which I also love and a nice bookcase where Buddha sits. Julio gave me a bed frame his brother had made.
My clothes closet is on the other side of the room as well as another bookcase: My Green Man is hung by the door. The closet has no doors but that's good here to avoid humidity.
Finally my bathroom - small, clean and white. It works well:
I am EXTREMELY happy here.

My Job

2009-02-24T05:05:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give you an idea of how my day runs here in Cozumel. I set my alarm for 7am and leave my apartment by 8, then I drive to the hotel I work in. I walk through the staff entrance of the hotel to my dive shop which is right on the beach. Usually I stop and take a look up the beach to see how the ocean is behaving that day (a bit like checking my e-mail first thing at the American Club!). Rosie works in the shop: Usually she starts every day with a prayer on the beach for good luck with $$$ that day. She also pays us and gives me advice on Mexican men and cooking. Go Rosie!
I am one of three instructors. Here are Fernando and I in our uniforms - one of our students took this picture:
And here is Luis:
As soon as we get to the shop we load up tanks and set them up by the pool, as bait. Now we sit in wait until customers attracted by the 'scuba lessons at 9' sign come over and ask us what its all about. Usually we get 4-5 people. We teach a short classroom session and then jump into the pool with the students. The pool is around 65 degrees and the worst part of the day is jumping in htere. This is me with Emily working on equalizing:After the pool we encourage people to sign up for a beach dive. So far we've made no money so this is the important part. We usually have a good sign up rate. We earn $26 per diver who agrees to come for a 'discover scuba' dive with us.
At around 12 we head off to Sunset Beach. Here I am breaking down gear after a dive:We work in rotation, so every 3 days its my turn to teach the discover class in the pool. The other two act as back up - bringing gear etc. The person teaching the pool takes the first 4 divers to the beach. If more than 4 sign up a second instructor comes along. In addition to the discover scuba lessons, we also teach certifications - mostly Open Water Diver. When its busy we usually have one or two certifications on the go. We also take turns in teaching the three day cert courses. Yesterday I started teaching a certification for two guys and taught the discover course in the pool because Fernando and Luis were already in the middle of certification courses. Its busy right now but we're making a nice amount of money. This is good because many on the Island now are having trouble finding work.
After work I generally come home, listen to 'The Archers' on the radio, have lunch, call parents or friends, take a 2 hour nap, go to yoga and then meet up with friends or boyfriend.
Might I add that when its not my pool day and there are no certifications, I can be finished work by 10.30. I like these days almost as much as my day off. They are true rest days because I have nothing planed and can laze around my apartment.
Stay tuned for apartment pics!

I'm Back...

2009-02-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

BUSY
Well its been a while since I've blogged - apologies. After Christine and Cat left I had a lot of work to do in making my new apartment habitable. Mostly painting. I painted my apartment in NJ and I have to say that this was a much harder task. Firstly paint in Mexico smells much more strongly than its US equivalent. Add to this that I'd developed a nasty chest infection and you can imagine that painting became a mammoth task. When I was finished I had to leave the apartment for a week for the smell to completely clear so that I could stand being in there again. I'm not sure that there is a Health and Safety Authority here, to speak of but I'm pretty certain that the paint I was breathing was not entirely healthy for me. Next time I will definitely wear a face mask.
NEW APARTMENT
So now I am in my new apartment. I've cut my rent in two and I love my new place. I bought all of my own furniture, which is really nice. I have a mint green bedroom, sunshine yellow, eat in kitchen and a white bathroom. Everything is how I like it. I still need a bed base, bedside tables and a desk, but need to save a little for those.
ILLNESS
I have been hampered a little by my illness. I basically got sick after the January full moon celebration - all that dancing around with the cold wind running through my hair! I had a pretty bad chest infection with very irritating chesty cough, followed in quick succession by a head cold.
BOYFRIEND
I have a boyfriend too, which is taking up a little of my time. One of my, self set, blogging rules is not to talk about romantic relationships. There are a few reasons for this. Primarily - well they are private. Also I like to keep my blog focused on the constant things in my life. I want to be able to go back and read it without thinking - Uggrrrhhh!!! Sad reflection on my past relationships, but there you go.
So why do I mention my new relationship???? I guess its just because it has been occupying my thoughts a little recently and so blogging about other things has seemed less exciting.
WORK
Work is good. Loving the guys I work with Fernando and Luis. We all work pretty hard but Cozumel has been beset with an unending stream of North Fronts - which bring cold temperatures, wind and rain. This has not been good for business as it is difficult to convince people to jump into a frigid pool when its gray and cold.
VISITORS
Michele Carvale and her fiance Bill are currently in town. Great to see them. Both very happy and excited about getting married.

So there it is an a nutshell. I'm setting myself a new, once a week blog target. Perhaps next blog I'll add some pictures of my apartment.

New Year with Friends Catherine Holt's and Christine Norton's Visit....

2009-01-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

So I have yet to blog about the visits of two of my favorite friends, from New York, Cat and Christine. Christine arrived first on December 28th. I was able to take the day off the first day after her arrival which was nice. We spent the day driving around the Island, stopping off at every beach that caught our fancy, and catching up on everything that had happened since we last saw each other. Christine and I have become pretty good friends over the years. We met through diving and tended to see each other once every three months or so. Christine is awesome - I think she looks just like Katherine Hepburn. She's also fiercely honest and together, I love shooting the shit with Christine about all and everything. Here she is standing on one of the rocky beaches:Cat arrived on the 31st. I picked her up from Scuba Shack and then she came to sunset beach with me while I dove with some resort divers. Cat had a massage while I dove and then we had lunch with my co-instructor Fernando and his kids. It was nice to introduce Cat to Fernando and show her where I work. i really miss having Cat in my life. We'd tend to see each other once a week in New Jersey. One of my favorite nights out would be to go round to Cat's house, order sushi and drink some wine. We'd talk, sing and watch the New York sky line. Anyway Cat and I finished on Sunset Beach just in time to pick up Hans and Allie from their Hotel for a quick chat before we all got ready for dinner.

We spent NYE at Sorisi's, an Italian restaurant which is normally awesome. Unfortunately they were overrun and the food was not great. Nevertheless we had a good time. Here are some pics:

Christine left on Jan 3rd which gave me some quality time with Cat. It was great to hang out with one of my best friends. I only wish Cat would come and live in Cozumel - so she's be a stone's throw away again. I MISS YOU CAT!!!!!!!!!

Full Moon Meditation

2009-01-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Last night was the first full moon of 2009 and I went with my yoga class to the other (Eastern most) side of the Island to see the moon rise and meditate with some of the pople from my yoga philosophy class.

2009 is going to be a special year. The year carries the master number 11 which condenses to a 2 year. The last time we had the influence of a 11 year was in 1910. Last night was a particularly powerful night because it was 1.11.09 (3 more 1's). Also 11 people showed up for our full moon meditation.

Apparently in numerology the number 11 is a Master Number – ‘Master’ meaning it is of intense/high vibrational frequency and works within the etherical, magical and transcendental realms of creation. Master numbers possess great potential for learning and growth, and can bring major transformations in life. Right on, this is definitely what I need for 2009.

The number 11 is the most intuitive number and is a clear channel to the subconscious. It is the number of leadership, personal power and spiritual truths. The number 1 by itself represents leadership, initiative and new beginnings… thus two number 1’s together opens a gateway of potential far greater than the sum of its parts.

The gateway of the Master Number 11, is the freedom of choice. The freedom to choose a path of truth, authenticity & Love, or conversely to recoil in fear, pain and stagnation. This is nice for me because on of my themes for 2009 is letting go of past romantic hurts so that I can be open to new relationships (perhaps a healthy one!).

So when we arrived it was a cloudy night. We set up and began to meditate in a circle. We thought of the things we wanted to say goodbye to from 2009 - negatives in our lives. Selene's ex husband played drums and we danced to balance ourselves and connect to the earth. We then lit Copal incense as an offering in recognition of life's pain so far the focus was - we value what we've learned from suffering but have now learned enough. We moved the Copal around our bodies to cleans out auras and as we did this the most amazing red full moon came out of the clouds:

We then each said what we desired for ourselves for 2009 and what we desired for the group. By this time the moon was out in her full glory - sending a great silver path accorss the ocean to where we sat on the beach. More dancing, then we all stood in the waves, feeling the power of the moon; imagining her standing above us and her silver energy surrounding us like armour which would protect us in 2009. The wind was whistling through my ears and hair and the silvery light of the moon was very powerful. I wished for the things I wanted in 2009, and offered those wishes to the moon. There was much heart felt hugging. I like a good hug:)

Mam and dad (and Barbara B) you will be pleased to know that we also felt guardian angels placing their hands on our heads and the power of the holy spirit flowing from the moon's energy. Perhaps I'm a bit of an old hippy but I loved my full moon meditation experience.

Gopi Krishna - "KUNDALINI - The Evolutionary Energy in Man

2009-01-09T15:39:00.001-08:00

I just finished reading a book on Kundalini yoga. I started taking classes in Kundalini yoga when I arrived here in Cozumel. I practice yoga three nights a week and take yoga theory/ meditation classes two nights a week.

What is Kundalini? It is believed that Kundalini is a force which lies dormant coiled like a snake, at the base of the spine in every human being. Yogi's bellieve that when awakened the Kundalini rises up the spine, through the 7 chakras and finds expression in the form of spiritual knowledge, mystical vision, psychic powers and ultimately enlightenment. Variously described, the Kundalini seems to represent a great increase in the connection between the mind and the universe/ nirvana/ god/ the powers that be. A higher level of conciousness, closely connected to the health of the physical self: "a marvellous transformation of the nervous system and brain, resulting in the manifestation of a superior type of conciousness"

Gopi Krishna was an Indian man who inadvertently awakened his Kundalini through yoga and meditation practices. He's a very down to earth guy who remains very humble despite his experiences:

"...the manifestaion [is] not a mark of special devine favor, vouchsafed to me in particular or earned by me as a reward for merit, but as an ever-present possibility, existing in all human beings by virtue of the evolutionary process still at work in the race, tending to create a condition of the brain and nervous system that can enable one to trancend the existing boundaries of the mind and acquire a state of conciousness far above that which is the normal heritage of mankind at present. In otherwords, instead of believeing that the experience, in spite of its marvellous and sublime nature, denotes a subjective apprehension of ultimate reality, complete and whole, it represents to me an upward climb from one rung of the ladder of evolution to another "

The book also contains a psychological comentary by James Hillman. He ponders whether these events actually took place in Gopi's physical body or in his yogic body/ body of the imagination. All agree that the chakra system of the yogic body is not suposed to have any objective existence in physical space. Gopi believed that his physical body was for him the material place of projection of immaterial events and there in the 'body' they were experienced by the senses and felt to be real. Our pshychology clearly can have an effect on our physical bodies - look at psychosomatic symptoms. I seem more susceptible to illness when I'm mentally run down and invincible to colds when I'm feeling on top of the world.

So is this a load of whoey? Interesting question - I have also purchased two books by Jung (who I think is fantastic) on Kundalini and yoga. One is a series of lectures and the other 'The Psyche-Body Connection". I certainly believe that there is a strong link between physical and mental health. I also strongly believe that people radiate energy - some have a powerful positive energy - those people I like to be around - Selene and a number of people at my yoga class, Allie, Cat, Monica. There are others who ooze negative energy and I can feel that accutely when I'm near these types. A Kundalini practicioner will cover their head with a turban to protect their prana/ kundalini power from such negative energy. My aunt Judith tells me that in body therapy its is recomended that you wrap a garment around your chest to protect your own energy from the negativity of others. Bit difficult to whip out my wooley hat around people who give off negative energy (Cat I was REALLY feeling ill last week when I was wearing my wooley hat around you!). My energy definately swings and yoga most certainly keeps me sane.

I will report further on the opinions on Jung on this phenomenom when I get through those books. For now I am reading, and loving, the "Tibbetan Book on Living and Dying".

Cozumel's Mayan Ruins - San Gervaiso

2009-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

My friend Cat just left Cozumel to return to her new home in Germany. Allie, Cat and I decided to spend her last day visiting the ancient ruins of the town of San Gervaiso, which contained the ruins of a temple built to honor the goddess X'cel ('she of the rainbow'). Ix Chel was the Mayan goddess of childbirth and medicine.

Her temple was built on Cozumel because the Island was the eastern most point of the Mayan territories. Of course, the sun rises in the east, with its light hitting Cozumel before any of the other Mayan provinces, and so the island was chosen to celebrate the beginning of life (conception and fertility). Incidentally the second most eastern point is the Island of Isla Mujeres, which literally means 'island of the midwives'.

Women from far and wide would make pilgrimage to the Island to pray at the shrine of Ix Chel for their families' fertility. Many weddings were performed on the site. This arch was at the opening of the town:
You can see that the curve of the arch has six inverted steps on each side. The moon is full every 28 days and each of the steps represents a full phase of the moon with the top of the arch representing the 13th moon of the year or the 'blue moon' (second full moon in one month which happens once a year - actually New Years Eve of 2009 - which will be cool for camping on the beach). The arch would cast a shadow to the east or west depending on which side of the solstice the calendar was on. This acted as a sign for the towns people to plan or harvest crops.

Under the arch is a stone map of the Island showing all of the reefs - this would act as a guide for sailors:The light gray stone in the middle represents the Island with the broad end being the north and the point - Punta Sur. The smaller rocks surrounding the Island represented reefs and shipwrecks.

We paid $6 each to enter the sight and also $20 for a guide. I would strongly recomend paying for a guide as we learned a whole lot about the site that we otherwise would not have.

Another interesting feature of the town were these 'wells': Rather than containing water they actually lead to a system of underground passageways that lead to different locations in the town. Our guide has explored these caves during his training - very Indiana Jones!

I will definitely go back to this site with more guests as I am very interested in Mayan culture and would like to here the tour guide explain the site and the various numerological significances of various stair cases and positioning of buildings.

Christmas in Cozumel

2008-12-26T19:54:00.001-08:00

Christmas (although I only really felt Christmassy for 24 hours) has been nice in Cozumel. People here are pretty religious so Christmas is a big thing. Most celebrate on Christmas Eve. I went to a friend's house for Christmas Eve and ate chili's stuffed with cheese and rice - very nice. I stayed up talking until 2am which is pretty late for me. I enjoyed spending Christmas with one of my new close friends. I have to say I did miss family. My parents went to church with my brother and his new girlfriend. They did all of the usual things on Christmas Day - family gathering at my uncle Rob's House; lunch at home - I imagine they all sat around and watched television having over eaten in the evening; Boxing Day with Judith and Robin.
So last night I decided to walk around town tonight practicing with my new camera - taking shots of Christmas in Cozumel. I took a little video of this Santa - I pass this house every day on the way to yoga and see Santa rocking away:

The town square has a big nativity scene:The main Ocean Drive is festooned with street lights:A huge tree, complete with snowman family, stands by the Ocean just West of the main square:Lots of Church Services (and no Mam and Dad, I did not make it to Church but I do now have the schedule on my refrigerator - which is a step closer):I'm looking forward to a year even more full of changes next year. My fortune cookie today said 'don't let doubt bar your progress' - a good piece of advice for 2009.

2008/9

2008-12-23T18:58:00.000-08:00

Here I am sitting at my computer thinking about the New Year and its Christmas Eve tomorrow:)

We had a last yoga class for 2008 last night and Selene suggested that over the holidays we sit and write down a list of the bad things in our life from 2008. For for me these are mostly to do with negative thoughts and feelings - insecurities/ self doubts. I made a pretty specific list.

She then suggests that we go to a quiet place and read this list and make a conscious decision to say goodbye to those negative patterns - I think I'm going to find a nice quiet area of beach and burn my list and perhaps tell those feelings I have no time for them any more - if I'm going to be talking to myself it will have to be a pretty quiet area of beach!

Then we are to put together a list of things we'd like in our lives in 2009. My dreams for 2009 are pretty simple. I'm going to meditate on that list, in the sun and then again try to manifest those wishes by saying them out loud. I guess praying is what I'll be doing.

This has been a pretty mad year for me. I feel very contented since I moved to Cozumel - but I still think I have a lot of fucked-up-ness to let go of. 2009 will be an interesting year.

I think I'm going to take a day between Christmas and New Year to go to the beach and meditate on throwing out the old and being brave enough to press ahead with the new, because I have friends in town over New years and I think things will be pretty hectic.

Wind and Kite Surfing

2008-12-10T05:12:00.000-08:00

Miguel had an ear infection and was not able to dive for much of last week and so when I heard that there was a Kite and Wind Surfing Competition near to my hotel I called Miguel and we went to check it out:
http://www.cozumeldigitalcreations.com/video/client.php?title=annavima.mov&code=5228429284
Those are my feet walking through the sand (notice the lack of any nasty blemishes). It was a nice day, despite Miguel sneaking off to hide and taking lots of video on me! We didn't manage to get much of the kite surfing but, believe me, it was pretty cool. This was on Friday and the wind was pretty good. It had calmed down for Saturday which was a bit of a fly in the ointment for the competitors.

Rich vs. poor

2008-12-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

Its funny, since I've been in Cozumel I have not missed my NY salary. Now, by New York standards I was not wealthy by any means, but if I was careful with my money I could go on nice vacations/ holidays several times a year. I could afford to buy myself nice clothes. If there was something I wanted I could usually buy it and pay for it later without too much to worry about. I could eat out with friends whenever I wanted, buy nice birthday and Christmas gifts for friends. I earned more than anyone in my family and most of my friends in the UK: I guess its not that nice that that meant something to me - but it was somewhat of an accomplishment. I'd set out to do well in business and I had. BUT I became very disallusioned (not sure how the heck you spell that word) with wealth. I found wealthy people to be not at all content. I found myself reading books on Buddhism and the connection between mental anguish and the material world - always needing to be better, richer, have more possessions is not good for the soul - I agreed with this.
When I left New York part of what I was making a conscious decision to leave was the materialism of the city as well as my healthy New York salary. Its funny, yesterday was the first day I had anything like a pang for my wealthier past. My friend's Christine and Cat are coming down for New Year and its suddenly struck me I could look online for clothes and have them shipped to Christine for her to bring down. Suddenly I was crazed by the urge to spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothes as I trawled through Banana Republic, J Crew and French Connection's web sites. Then I realized that my Abercrombie sweat shirt had not made it to Mexico with me. Suddenly I desperately needed THAT sweatshirt. Also that day, I'd had a telephone call with my mother, who is now retired but running an increasingly successful child psychology business. Currently she has two part time jobs (1 & 1/2 days a week) I think which will pay her more money in a week than I make in a month. Don't get me wrong - I'm really proud of my mother and not jealous so much as feel like as my parents get older I should be the wealthier one so that, if I need to look after them one day, I am able to. Well that, and again I guess, a pride thing.
I also got an e-mail from my friend Lisa telling me her kids would miss me at Christmas time and it reminded me of how I would love to get them nice Christmas gifts. My mum also told me that she and my aunt had talked about how they would miss my gifts this year (I guess I'm the only one who buys them girly gifts - from NY too - which was nice for them). All of these things just hit me, as things I missed, a little yesterday.
Its funny though - I earned good money today and yesterday at work (we work only on commission so it varies) and really since I've been here money has been fine.
I don't really recall wanting to do something but not being able to because I didn't have enough money. Most of what I do here does not cost a lot. It is bound to be a little difficult for me when I see Christine and Cat who are living my old kind of lifestyle, but on the whole I think I have gained more than I have given up. There is no need for me to feel like I have to spend money and go out to dinner every night. Cat has already told me that she wants to have a really relaxing time and have a detox and I know Christine understands and respects what I am doing. Its me hankering after my old ways that worries me, not Cat and Christine. I guess its a bit like being an alcoholic in a bar. But really, who needs a bunch of new clothes, or to eat and drink tons! I have to admit that I recently spent $20 on two Clarins lip glosses which is not really in keeping with my new lifestyle - but I do like to buy myself little presents from time to time.
In summation - I'd say I had a little panic attack about not being wealthy anymore and then decided all is fine. I have no debt, money in the bank, air miles to fly to New York, a brother who works for BA and can get me free flights home and a pretty darn good lifestyle down here. If my parents get sick I have time to go home and be with them, and they don't need money. I have not been stressed since I arrived and smile everyday on the way to work. Right now I'm off to meditation to work on my manipura chakra. Life is good - but I may have to re-read some of the Dali Lama's books to calm my little material desires.

26 Again

2008-12-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

So a few weekends ago I went out to a party and then Carlos and Charlies with my friend Jimena (on the right) and her two friends from Mexico City. Jimena is only 26 but very mature for her age and with my immaturity we're pretty much the same age:) There girls are all gorgeous and skinny and I felt like a bit of an oldie. I'm usually not a big fan of Carlos and Charlies but this was the 5 year anniversary and it was a little less crazy than usual (or perhaps that is just because I said my goodbye's at midnight. Anyway a very nice night out being 26 again! Of course the next day I had to have a long afternoon snooze!!!

Sophia's Birthday Saturday

2008-11-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

On to more savory topics, this weekend was Sophia's Birthday. After a week of pretty much no work, I'd decided to officially take the day off. Of course the referral couple I'd planed to start on Sunday decided to move their dives up to Saturday. They wanted to start at 12.30 and during my briefing at Sunset beach realized that they did not have their booties. There was nothing for it but for them to go back to the hotel to get them. So an hour later we were in the water. At 4 I was just finishing up after the second dive.
I try to be very relaxed when I am teaching but after saying my goodbyes I dove into me car, careered home in/ out of the shower and was on the ferry by 4.45 - phew - not bad going. I kind of like the ferry journey to Playa. I tend to watch my i-pod on the way there, it like time stands still for 45 mins and you can feel like watching 45 mins of True Blood is a very useful way to spend your time.
Hans and Allie met me off the ferry and we walked up 5th Ave. Playa is getting BUSY! We stopped for a glass of wine in a posh wine bar on 5th and then met Sophia, her boyfriend Graham and other friend (who's name escapes me) in a nice little Italian restaurant.
I'll be honest I ate like a pig. I'd been eating at home all week. Baked potatoes and tuna, pasta and sauce and the odd fish taco. Also that day all I'd managed to eat since breakfast was a snickers bar. So I inhaled dinner (as well as some bread and cheese in the wine bar earlier!). Hey its good to over eat from time to time.
At 10.15 I was flagging. I have to admit I REALLY like to sleep on the ferry on the way home. I get three seats and lie down and pass out for 45 mins - the sound of the engine is very soothing, as is being rocked side to side. I kind of left the group a little earlier than I could have because the ferry usually loads at 10.40 (leaves at 11) and I figured I could squeeze in an extra 20 mins sleeping. The journey was as good as usual -a fantastic 1hr 15min cozy sleep.
It was a very nice evening with good friends. Felt just like being in New Jersey for the night. HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY SOPHIA!!!!!!!

Third Nipple...

2008-11-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

Today I saw my first, third nipple. I was standing minding my own business, passing the time of day with Jose in the dive shop, when in walked a guy asking to rent snorkel equipment. I glanced over - normal looking guy - BUT HOLD UP - what was this. I was confronted with, not 2 BUT 3 nipples. Here is what I saw:Luckily I was not involved in the whole snorkel renting transaction because I was in deep thought - was it a real nipple just like the other two? As you can see from the diagram it did not have its own boob. What do you think of this? Does anyone else have any third nipple experiences?

Feet... Be Responsible

2008-11-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Those who know me will know that I have a bit of a thing for feet. I've been known to go off great guys after a day at the beach when a fungal toe nail has come to light. I once spent two hours watching a guy I liked snoozing with no socks on trying to reconcile myself to his knarled feet. I can't stand nasty feet touching mine. You get the picture.
So you can imagine my horror when during a yoga class I glanced down at my big toe - there it was A TOE WART (Veruga in Spanish). It was pretty small and toe colored but all the same - there it was.
Denial came first, then blame (I remembered setting up a pose with my head lent back staring at the bottom of a co-classmate's foot soles - big black verruca - I MUST HAVE CAUGHT IT OFF NASTY FOOT GIRL - you know who you are), then shame. Uuurrrgghh how could this happen to me. I'm so careful - it is for this reason that I bought my own yoga mat and I always wear protection (flip flops) in public showers.
OK so no use crying over spilled milk, I reasoned. I had to go to the pharmacy and explain my nasty situation. I was given a bottle of liquid and told to apply it once a day. I figured once every two hours might be more prudent in the circumstances.
You will all be relieved to know that the said affliction has been removed. I have a little scar which is well on the way to healing. The world has almost returned to balance. In a few weeks I will have forgotten this unpleasant little episode.
This has been a pretty traumatic experience for me and I would like to ask everyone to take a little look at the soles of their feet. Anything worty down there? If so its contageous and very easily treatable so please act responsibly and deal with the situation.

Exercise

2008-11-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Well these past three months have been a bit of a bust exercise wise for me. The last month in New York was too hectic and since I got here I've just been a bit apathetic (its too hot, too humid, I have too much to organize, its my first week of work, there are no good gyms - bla, bla, bla). Well the time has come to kick all of those excuses to the curb. I do not need a gym to work out. I have running shoes and free weights and I know exactly what to do with them.
So today I finished work early came home and changed right into my running gear. OK lets see what I can do. It all started well. But after 15 mins things started to get tough (bear in mind that only three months ago in NYC I was running 40-50mins each day before work). OK I decided, its the first day. Tomorrow I'm going to aim for 20 mins, then 25, 30 and so on. Its always difficult to move from tread mill to street and after a 2 month break what did I expect.
Refusing to become disheartened I walked briskly home and pulled out my free weights. I have all of the old work out schedules that I did with my personal trainer Anna in NJ and did a thirty min upper body routine. In less than 1 1/2 hours every day I can run and do a weights routine - also I have yoga.
I love my yoga class and rely on it for upkeep of my general feeling of well being but it is not pushing me physically. I think my arms may be sore tomorrow but Its nice to have made the first step back int0 a regular exercise routine.

Out with friends

2008-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

Friday night I headed over to Playa for a girls night out. Sophia was back from NJ (with a new book for me!); Allie met me from the ferry and we walked up to Sophia's new gym to meet her. Sophia walked us round her gym and I must admit I was filled with the desire to get back into my crazy exercise routine. Just look at the locker rooms:

And the new state of the art equipment would put even the best NY gyms to shame. Unfortunately Cozumel has no such luxury gyms. In fact I have yet to find a gym with a working treadmill! There is a gym being built just behind Chedraui though. Apparently this gym will be around $80 per month. When I start earning some money this will be well worth it. Once I'd recovered from the envy I felt over Sofia's gym we went off to meet Katie for dinner at Babe's, a Thai restaurant on 5th Ave:
Left to right: Katie, Sophia and Allie
Katie, Allie and I split a bottle of wine. Sophia brought news of friends in New Jersey. Katie is a, very nice, friend of Allie's. She Russian/ Georgian and is the only girl/ person I know who thinks Bull Sharks are 'cute' and is scared to death of butterflies. I would not have believed this if I had not seen her screaming and fleeing in terror from some beautiful red admiral butterflies the last time we all went cave diving together. We then decided to take a stroll down 5th Ave to a bar on the beach for a drink before my ferry. Sophia had problems getting out of her chair after a killer work out with her personal trainer (yup jealousy is a terrible thing), and swaggered down 5th like a cowboy:)
We sat at a bar I'd been two a number of times with Allie. Normally we are either the only table or one of two or three groups sitting on the beach. Tonight we had to wait for a table. It seems the high season is hitting Playa Del Carmen before Cozumel.Allie looking beautiful on the beach
I took the 11pm ferry which was fine. I slept most of the way and was in my bed proper by 12. On Saturday morning I dragged myself into work but it was Javier's day and so I was out of there by 10. I jumped into bed for an hours more sleep (loving these mid day snoozes) and then headed off to see Monica. I was very happy when Monica suggested that we head to the beach and a bar called the 'Money Bar' for lunch.
Beach at money bar
We ate too much, and then retired to sun loungers to digest the food and discuss our weeks and plans for the weeks to come. We definitely decided to try to go diving together next weekend. Its been a while for Monica and she needs a refresher but I think she'll be a nice dive buddy:Monica in the sun
We also went swimming a few times. The Ocean was flat calm and you could see pipe fish and others schooling below. Monica is truly one of the most content people I've ever met and a pleasure to spend time with. We pretty much share the same views on many topics and have no problem filling hours musing over exercise, relationships, ways to make money while not working too hard, spiritual stuff. Its nice.

Relaxing weekend

2008-11-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

I was able to take Sunday of work; Hans is back in NJ for the week so Allie decided to come over for the weekend. We had a really great time. First a glass of wine on my balcony and then dinner at Especias. Especias is on 5th Street on the corner with 10th Avenue. I recommend this restaurant highly. I had a shrimp curry and Allie a tuna steak. Very tasty. There was also a guitarist who sang 'Piano Man' in Spanish. Probably some of the best food on Cozumel. By popular demand I brought my camera along:
After dinner we retired back to the balcony for another glass of wine and a debrief on the 7 days since we'd last seen each other. It had been a busy week. I'd started working, Allie had started German classes. We also like to trade yoga stories. Allie is studying to be a yoga teacher and I like to hear what's she's learned and there are were some interesting anecdotes from my week of classes with Selene.
On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Jeanie's Waffle House (great freshly squeezed orange juice) and then drove to the East side of the Island via its Southern point. Driving South we stopped to look at (and feel) blow holes on the craggy shore line. The rocks on the water's edge cover underwater caves and holes in the roofs of these caves blast out air and spray every time a wave floods the cave. When the wave ebbs back to the ocean a vaccum is created in the cave and air is sucked back in. The air sucks in and blows out with quite some force. Allie had previously described this on her blog as sounding like the ocean was breathing - pretty cool - like a sleeping dragon. Its a reminder of how powerful, as well as peaceful, the ocean is.Then we went to my favorite beach spot - Punta Morena. As you can see the beach is pretty crowded: I love to watch the surfers off to the left and then swim off to the right of the point. We didn't swim today because, although the air temperature was around 82 degrees, there was a cool breeze and we decided drying off might be a little chilly (we did not want to risk goose bumps - I know my friends freezing in NY will appreciate this).

How I'm feeling about my move to Mexico

2008-11-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

I feel very at home in my new apartment. I keep things very clean so there have been no roach sightings for weeks.

I sleep very well. In New York I would fall asleep staring at my ceiling fan and in that moment before I'd drop off I'd feel very lonely. New York is a very anonymous city and you feel pretty insignificant there. Here I tend to go to bed not long after finishing yoga or Meditation, or hanging out with friends. I fall asleep feeling well with a cool wind breezing over me.

Which brings me onto yoga and Meditation. I'm pretty much going to class ever day during the week. Its affecting me quite profoundly. On the physical level I can almost feel all of the bones and muscles in my body pulling back into place after years of being hunched over a computer in an office. On a spiritual level things are definitely moving. I have always found patience and acceptance of things 'just as they are' to be very difficult. I'm a fixer and standing still is not always comfortable. Through the chakra work we've been doing I've been able to vent a lot of my frustrations and this has brought about subtle changes in my ability to trust that all will turn out, as it should, in time.

I've made some really nice friends. Of course I have Allie and Hans in Playa and some potentially close friendships developing here. Hoping to spend some time with Allie this weekend.

Being in the Ocean every day is an amazing meditation in itself - I love letting my body float to and fro in the surge off sunset beach. Diving is a time when I am right there in the moment (Zen and the art of scuba diving!). Teaching people to dive tends to bring about excitement and happiness in them which leaves me feeling pretty warm.

What do I miss. Well this is a tough one. I miss my gym and wish there was an air conditioned gym with a treadmill close by. I miss the food in the US - but am loosing weight as a consequence which is no bad thing. I miss friends: Jose, Fernando, Michele, Jeff, Stuart MacD, Carey, Gina V, Christine N & A, the guys at work. I definitely miss my little family at SCB. I also miss my friend Catherine who's working in Germany now. I miss our long talks over glasses of wine, good music and cheese or Sushi. Cat you need to get your flight booked to visit!!

Work

2008-11-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well I've been working this past week. I really enjoy it. We stand around the pool in the mornings attracting people to take advantage of their free scuba lesson and then dive with them off the beach. I worked almost every day this week. I've had two very nice customers who I really enjoyed teaching - I think they got a lot out of the classes. My co-workers do not get along well but so far it has not caused me too much angst. I'm lovong the peaceful feeling I get from diving every day and its nice to be in a situation where a good mood really affects the money you make. It really does pay to be in a good mood in this job.
My hair has been very dry but I've come to realize that if I rinse it in fresh water immediately after I get out of the ocean it is not too bad. I also have a routine now of putting my sarong on after diving so that I don't mess up all of my clothes. One of the girls from yoga, Sarah, is a massage therapist at Sunset Beach, and its nice to be able to chat to her after my dives.

Majahual

2008-10-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Because I'm starting work on November 1st I decided it would be a good time to have a mini vacation (when I start work I will only get 1 day off a week). I recruited a few friends. Initially Allie, Hans, Josie, Miguel, and Miguel's friend Petros were to come, but Miguel developed an ear infection and, as Allie and Hans had been without electricity for the week, Hans decided that he could not justify taking the time off work. So it turned out that only Josie, Allie could make the trip to Mahajal. I was quite happy that it was to be a girls weekend as I thought the three of us would probably gel better as a group and be more inclined to sit around doing nothing when not diving (I really wanted to relax). So on Saturday morning I took my car over to Playa. Had a nice lunch with Hans, Katie and Patrick, met Allie from yoga and collected Josie from the passenger ferry. We were on the road by 3 and in Majahual by 7. Of course it was very dark by the time we reached our hotel. The manager lead us to our room by flash light and although we could tell that we were on the beach we had no idea what that beach was like. We ate at the hotel - just snacks as we were not that hungry. Hurricane Dean hit Majahual last year and devastated the town . This was very visible on the way through town and we wondered how the hotel grounds had fared. In the morning we all woke up early and were excited to open the door onto a beautiful sunrise over a peaceful bay:The ocean was calm and we all went for a swim as the sun came up. Josie turned out to be the bravest and swam confidently into a bed of seaweed which threw her into the type of girly panic that would befall any self respecting female surrounded by slimy clingy seaweed:) The sun came up over a beautiful (though pretty unkempt) beach. Flowering vines grew on debris left from the hurricane. Crabs scuttled across the sand - burying themselves in little holes - we pondered whether these all connected under the sand into a little crab kingdom. Allie discovered that if you wobbled your belly on the deck chairs you could hear the coffee and orange we'd drank at breakfast sloshing around - yes the air was charged by the level intellect generated by the morning discussions on the deck of our beach bungalow. Abel had procured a fishing boat and some tanks and picked us up at out hotel. As we waited for him Josie realized that the clocks had changed the night before. This placed Abel in the unusual position of arriving early. We had two boat captains and a guy named Rick, who'd just joined us for the ride. Abel seemed well - a little older and shorter hair (also less blond). He was pleased to be spending two days diving as he'd been spear fishing to earn money all year (no money to be made from tourism following Dean). Spear fishing sounds tough - you have to swim out to the barrier reef - an hours swim and then spend hours fishing - often dangerous, he reported getting attacked by a moray eel, interested in his catch and being trapped in a cave he'd gone into after a speared fish. Apparently 3 men had died spear fishing this year. Abel's wife Catherine and daughter, Luna are well and the family is expecting another addition in December. A boy - name to be decided.
If you are interested in the diving in Majahual take a look at my diving blog. It was wonderful reef and great to dive with friends so I could relax and have fun.
After the dive we showered and headed into town for lunch. This is us on the beach in front of the cafe we chose:After lunch we took a walk along the boardwalk and found some beach chairs and cocktails:We were a little tipsy at this point as the cocktails were PRETTY strong. It was a nice time - we talked about life, gossiped about men and people we knew, bit of celebrity gossip, Allie did some handstands on the beach. As the sun started to set we all got to looking at this tree which was pretty cool. The tree was right at the water's edge and clearly dead. It made a majestic siloette against the sky and ocean.
We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in town then bought candles and retired, with them lit, to the roof of our bungalow to watch the stars. Because there is little light created by the tinsy town of Mahajal the stars were clearly visible. The heavens twinkled and the Milkyway snaked clearly through the center of the sky. Josie showed us that when you fix a star in your peripheral vision it shines brightly but when you move it into your direct gaze you can barely see it. This would be just the place to come to for a romantic get away. I would like to stay for a week with a hot man and plenty of good books.
The cruise ship terminal opens up this week. It is a shame for Majahual that it is not more accessible as it is a wonderful place to come and relax and dive. Not sure that the cruise terminal will necessarily have a positive impact on the town, but more dive tourism might be a good thing. Abel sent his best wishes to all at Scuba Shack. Check out Allie's blog on the trip too.

Crashing Vicki Paradise's Vacation!

2008-10-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Last week Vicki Paradise (a friend and co-worker from New York) e-mailed me to let me know that she, her boyfriend Eddie and friend Derek would be spending a week's vacation in Playa Del Carmen at an all inclusive resort next week. After a few failed attempts we managed to get in touch with each other and planned that I would visit on Thursday. The plan was that they would sneak me into their resort. I was dubious about our chances of success but I knew that Eddie is a very friendly guy and had made friends with all of the staff so I thought - lets give it a go.
The Resort was in Playa Car - my Dad and I had got lost in Playa Car the night we missed the ferry to Cozumel. Its a big ex-pat community which is more like Miami than anywhere resembling Mexico. I asked the cab driver to drop me off a little ways off the entrance and breezed past security. Vicki was there to meet me with Eddie and Derek and we just walked right in.
I have to say the idea of an all inclusive resort has never appealed to me in the past but this place was nice. There is something very relaxing about not having to think about money and being waited on (especially when you have not paid a penny - the frustrated criminal in me got a kick out of this). Here is me on the beach enjoying a cocktail:The resort was beautiful- after the beach we hung out in the pool;
took in a wedding and jumped in the hot tub at the spa to warm up. The weather was perfect.
At around 6 a tropical rainstorm blew in. This was our signal to go and shower for dinner. We went to a nice steak house restaurant which had amazing fish, then we met some of the people we'd hung out at the beach with for after dinner drinks:I made the 11 O'Clock ferry which is a little late for me but I was in bed by 12.
It was really nice to see Vicki and Eddie - just like old times, very natural. Vicki, Eddie - next time try Cozumel so we can hang out more, thank you for a lovely day:)

New Job

2008-10-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well on my first day of job hunting I got a job at El Cozumeleno Beach Resort
I start work on November 1st. I think it will be pretty hard work physically. Basically the routine is that we hang around the pool in the morning, encouraging people to take scuba lessons. The pool session is free as part of their all inclusive package and then we try to sell them a discover scuba dive. If they agree we head off to Sunset Beach Club to do an intro to scuba dive:

The downsides of the job are that I will have to move 5 tanks to the pool every morning then back to the dive shop and then up and down the stairs at Sunset Beach; also I'll be in the pool every day which will be no good for my hair. The upside is that I think I'll enjoy teaching discover scuba. Its quite a high class resort so the guests seem pretty nice. Also the diving is all in one spot so I can really get a good routine going. Before I start I want to dive the spot a few times. I also intend to work out a really nice discover scuba routine. Its also possible to sell 'Scuba diver' and 'Open Water' courses if we can get people interested. There are two other instructors Fernando and Hernan. I spent a day working with Fernando and he seemed really nice.

What I've been up to...

2008-10-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

HAIR
Well I managed to find a hairdresser in Playa who is very good. The salon is called Blue Coiffure. I had my hair highlighted by the owner, Lionel. He is French and definitely an 'artist'. He's very tall and slim and has curly brown hair to his shoulders. He looks like one of the three musketeers and I could easily imagine him smoking a cigarette from a long black cigarette holder. You feel too intimidated by his coolness to question the fact that he charged almost double what was quoted. What he did do, which is very good, is highlight only my roots. My hair is so dry and damaged that I don't want someone to pull highlights all of the way through. here are the results:It looks pretty natural and just as good a job as Marianne in Hoboken. The trouble is he is also very expensive. Actually just as expensive as Marianne and she adds another process - a conditioning toner. I guess what I can afford in future will very much depend on how much money I will be earning when I start working. I am going to investigate other alternatives next time.

BOOKCASE
I bought this bookcase from the local supermarket today. This was very exciting for me. I love to read and I like to be able to select what I'm in the mood for. My books have been stacked in bags in the corner of my bedroom since I got here and I spent a good two hours today organizing the shelves by subject matter and author. I was very pleased with the results. These units were on sale and I'm tempted to get one more of the tall ones, just so I have room to expand. We'll see though as I want to start tightening my belt and getting used to being on a more limited budget.

YOGA
I started taking yoga at a studio called the Shakti Yoga Center. The Owner and main teacher is a lady named Selen. She is very warm and charismatic. After my first class I was so inspired that I signed up for a month. She practices Kundalini yoga (I have also bought a book on this which I am currently reading). This branch of yoga is designed to work through your spine to activate secretions of the pineal gland (this is nothing to do with the man part it sounds like but a gland in the top of the skull). The belief is that raising the activity of the pineal gland can cause major changes in consciousness. The practice is also aimed at disease resistance - balancing the digestive and lymphatic systems. The practice is very spiritual and also involves much meditation.
Three days a week there is regular Kundalini yoga in the mornings and evenings - I will probably only be able to make the evenings when I start work; then Tuesday and Thursday evenings there are more like meditation sessions focused on chakra balancing. This type of yoga was based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan. Here are some quote from him:
"Whether you call it serpent power, kundalini, the power of Soul Consciousness, or Divine Consciousness, the gift of this divine energy gives a person equilibrium. You must remember that whenever your mind is in a state of equilibrium, you will be radiant. Your spirit will rise like the tide rises. When the moon is near the earth there is a high tide. The same thing happens to the spirit in a person"
"You are spiritual beings here for a human experience"
And I really liked this one:
"Prayer is when the mind is one-pointed and man talks to Infinity. Meditation is when the mind becomes totally clean and receptive and Infinity talks to man"

SPANISH
I guess my progression here is very subtle. I know a lot of words and so can understand quite a bit if I have time to think. The problem I'm having is making the jump to being confident talking. Tomorrow morning at 9am I'm meeting a Mexican lady who is learning English so that we can practice on each other. This could work out very well. I will also study two nights a week with a tutor (Tuesdays and Thursdays). I also am going to have to commit to spending 1 hour a day either watching Mexican television or using this interactive web site I signed up for called Lomas TV. Lomas is really good because it is full of short video clips with subtitles in English and Spanish. You can slow the speech down, rewind and highlight any word you are unsure of for the dictionary definition.

BODY CLOCK
Those of you who know me, know that I am pretty driven by schedules and my body clock is particularly rigid. In New York I would wake up at 5.30 and go to bed at 9. Here I've decided to wake up at 7.30 and go to bed at 11 (crazy late!). Anyway this is working out well so far and will mean I can work during the day and still do things like yoga and hang out with friends in the evening.

WORK
Well tomorrow is the day I start looking for work. The address on my FM3 has been officially changed to Cozumel and my official receipts are being printed. I've made a list of the shops/ resorts I'm going to target so hopefully I'll be lucky. Tomorrow will be busy. Spanish meeting at 9, job hunting all day and yoga in the evening!

CAT
I have decided not to get a cat.

Gato

2008-10-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have be thinking about getting one or two cats. There is a cat I really like in the humane society called Celo (which is the word for blond in Mayan).
He is very cute. He's about 1 1/2 years old and plays gently with his claws in. There are pro's and cons:
I would love the company and a cuddle from time to time, he will rid my apartment of roaches; this cat seems very easy going and I bet I could put a harness on him to take him outside. The downsides are that I would have to arrange boarding for him if I go on vacation. He would have to have a litter tray in the house which would take some cleaning; my landlord is OK with me having a cat but the lady who looks after the grounds here, Nellie, has some bad experiences of cats pooing in her garden - so I'd have to make sure that did not happen. He'd get lonely which begs the question would two be better? Philipe, my landlord, thinks one at first so as not to upset Nellie.
Its funny, I think getting cats or a dog is almost like having a baby in a 'scaled down' way. When I got Bigsy and Betts I was with Geoff and so we shared the responsibility. This would be me all on my own. Is getting a pet more of a couple thing to do?? I may leave it a little while. Perhaps see how much time I have when I get a job.