We rented most of the condo-rooms in a small villa and felt like we were in our own home! The villa is conveniently located a few blocks from the ocean front and supermarkets, and an easy walk to the Dive Paradise dive shop and boats. The units had kitchens, so we cooked in our rooms or on the grill and met by the pool to eat ‘en famille’ or just went out to enjoy some of the local restaurants.
The diving conditions were beautiful, and the marine life was plentiful and photogenic.
School of Margates under a coral head
Patrick, Beth and Jude clowning around
Anne, JF and Patrick on the patio
Jude cruising the reef
Patrick's new rain gear
Patrick and Ted's 'spilled spaghetti sauce clean up' song and dance show
Cozumel 2009 video - Press Play!
Ted caught a cold on the second day, which gave him some trouble equalizing his ear pressure while descending during his dives. Sudafed saved his vacation and he didn’t miss a dive or any excursions into town. He was feeling better by the time we left Cozumel. At the end of our stay most of the rest of us were catching Ted’s cold. There were no problems for us leaving Mexico just days before the Swine Flu reached its peak in Mexico City. But the others who remained in Cozumel for an extra week left at the height of the epidemic and had to fill out health questionnaires and minimize descriptions of their cold symptoms lest they be quarantined.
May 09
We were very fortunate to get VIP tickets to watch to launch of the shuttle Atlantis on its mission to repair the Hubble telescope. We were on the causeway at Kennedy Space Center, seated amid a group of very excited Hubble Telescope engineers. We had an unobstructed view of the launch pad. The take- off was flawless. With the naked eye, we could see the shuttle perched on the booster rising off the pad; and the distorted crackle, rumble and roar of the engines was almost immediate and very loud! A fantastic experience!
Anne sheltering from the sun
Atlantis blasts off at 2:01 PM, May 11
Spectators behind us waiting for blastoff
Atlantis heading to Hubble
We were so pleased to see the long drought in our part of Florida end with a week of rain. The canal behind our house was nearly empty and now it is at a healthy level, the fish and ducks are happy again!
Rain-laden clouds rolling in
The canal at its historic low
The canal back to normal and the grass turning green again
