Back from Mexico

Our trip to Mexico was absolutely wonderful despite it being short-lived. We took a red-eye flight and arrived on Thursday, just a few hours prior to George & Jenn's wedding (George is Matt's cousin). After making our way through the very confusing departure terminal full of people who want to grab you to sit through an hours-long lecture for a timeshare, we found our shuttle and headed over to the Azul Beach Resort where the wedding was. Unlike the last time I came to this part of Mexico, this resort was a small, intimate one with no more than 60 rooms and only 1 suite (the honeymoon one!). It played a perfect host to the small destination wedding we were attending. We arrived to instant hospitality with a complimentary glass of chilled champagne...

After finding our way to the room, we immediately changed, found everyone on the beach and jumped into a game of beach volleyball...

The beach at this resort was made for relaxation. There were hammocks and these wonderful bed cabanas spread throughout the beach...

This was also an all-inclusive resort so EVERYTHING was included: food, service, drinks, non-motorized beach sports...it made the whole trip very relaxing and convenient. Even the 24-hour room service and the daily stocked-up mini bar in the room was included! It was the first time I've ever stayed at an all-inclusive and I must say, I'm hooked! We ended up staying at the resort for our entire stay as a result. The wedding itself was very beautiful and everyone enjoyed themselves. Aside from attending the wedding, we spent our time just relaxing and enjoying the time with family (my soon-to-be family anyway!)

One major highlight for us was a last minute decision to check out the scuba diving. We just signed up with the local divemaster from the hotel and went out early Saturday morning for what ended up being a private dive with just the 2 of us with the divemaster. We have two dives and the first one was the most miraculous as we did things we've never ever done: a) dived the deepest we've ever dived -- 95 feet! b) we went wreck diving. Yup, our divemaster took us to an old military ship wreck not too far off the coast from the hotel. The current right above the shipwreck was extremely strong--fortunately, there was a rope tied to the wreck from the surface and we literally had to pull ourselves down against the current. Once we were down at the wreck, the current was gone and it was like floating in air. This was our first time actually doing warm water diving and it was spectacular. Not only was it really warm (we just wore some thin wetsuits) but it was amazingly clear (from 95 feet below, we could still see quite clearly all the way up). Once reaching the ship wreck, we saw the most amazing creatures. Instantly, we looked up and saw a huge eagle ray...and then swam up to what looked like a WALL of silver fish. There must've been hundreds of them. Off to our right, we looked up and saw a barracuda! Then the divemaster led us into the shipwreck and through the cabins and hallways of the ship. It was a really amazing experience.

Our second dive was to a much more shallow depth--about 30-35 feet--but at the location of a huge coral garden where we saw spectacular fish, coral and other things like a moray eel and lobster. Since the only camera I had was a cheap, underwater one that I bought at the hotel shop which could only withstand up to 50 feet in depth, I only took photos on this 2nd dive. Check out these photos!...