Packing is not fun. Our time at Cozumel is at an end and I will miss our apartment and it’s blessed air con.

Anyway after leaving with all of 5mins to spare to checkout deadline we made our way with our backpacks to Burrito Gordita for brunch. Chicken and bacon burritos are seriously good.

We timed it just right and the ferry was leaving in 5mins so didn’t have long to wait. This time we had a band playing for the hour long crossing which made it entertaining.

Once we arrived in Playa del Carmen it was right in the midday heat and we just wanted to put the bags down so we went straight for the collectivo to Tulum. I’m sure Playa is very nice but we barely saw any of it in our rush to and from ferries.

We chose the collectivo to Tulum because it’s cheaper than the ADO bus and it’s what the locals take so we could feel slightly less like tourists. It’s a minibus that goes down the straight road from Playa to Tulum and stops off at any of the towns or resorts passengers request. We met some interesting characters including the guy who brought over 10 large bags of cat litter and the driver who was a diehard Shakira fan.

Once we arrived at Tulum we were two hours early before we could check in so we had ice cream.

I could get used to this loafing lifestyle; again another day of doing nothing but sitting by the sea with a good book.

Cozumel is a small island and we felt like we had done everything we wanted to do. There are some upscale beach resorts and ecoparks you can pay to enter which have inflatable slides in the sea but honestly I didn’t feel it was worth the money. Before you call me stingy the scuba diving was expensive!

We first went to a bakery for breakfast. I really need to work out some of this Spanish because Dave hoped to have a savoury sausage roll and it ended up a pastry roll with a sweet nut mix inside.

We then walked down the coast and ended up at Jennie’s Bar which had sun loungers looking out at the sea. I swam a bit and tried to get up on a floating platform out at sea but it was a lot more difficult than it looked.

We tried some more traditional Mexican food for dinner – Mole Poblan Chicken, still not sure what to make of it, a lot of different spices going on there. Will have to try it again elsewhere to see if we like it or see what other variants taste like.

I love a boat trip!

Like with the refresher scuba course we started with a good breakfast and then getting the scuba kit at the shop. We had Javi looking after us for the two dives we were taking and he was a very relaxed, safe pair of hands.

The boat was larger than most dive boats I had seen at Cozumel and had at least 30 tanks. It was nice to have the wind in our hair and to be racing down the coast. There were so many hotels that you don’t see much of from the road but have extensive beach areas.

Once we had arrived at the reef we quickly kitted up and then we were below and looking at all the fish. We saw so many and I particularly liked diving through the coral caves. It was a bit tricky in places though to make sure you didn’t hit anything!

To top of an excellent day we then had burrito at the Crazy King Burrito again after all that diving.

Check out more about the scuba diving with Barefoot Divers here.

We hired a scooter for the day with HTL after an early breakfast at our favourite place. We reassured the guy renting them out that Dave was used to driving much larger motorcycles and we wouldn’t crash or do anything to the scooter.

Just one minute into our journey and suddenly there were sirens behind us. We were pulled over by the police because Dave didn’t pay attention to the one way signs which are everywhere in the town. Already our day was going well. One quick bribe later and a basic turtorial in how to read road signs and we were on our way again.

Cozumel is a very flat island and the roads are long and straight. In a scooter that rattled and shaked if taken over 50kmph that’s a long time watching the same scenery of road, trees and sky. Eventually we ended up at San Gervasio, the Mayan ruins, which were as small as I expected. However we met many interesting lizards and iguanas. More info on the ruins is here.

After we left the ruins we went to the sea on the other side of the island. As soon as we hit the east coast we were met by blustery winds which made it terribly amusing to try and take GoPro video while riding as a passenger. I suffer for my art. Eventually we ended up at El Mirador which was promised to be an impressive bridge over the water but my whelm was under. Occasionally a blowhole would spout out water but meh.

However the Rasta Bar was very nice with a good view and music. However the tacos were overpriced. But hey, there weren’t many other places to eat on this side of the island.

After the scuba diving the previous day we needed a chill day to recover. After a late start we started with brunch at an authentic Mexican restaurant – La Choza. Of course then we proceeded to have not so authentic kebab and fajitas but the thought was there! I have to say the fish kebab was very well grilled and just about falling off the kebab stick.

We then walked up the seafront the opposite direction from Friday and saw a bar named Hemingway. I was immediately intrigued to find out why the bar was named after the American writer but sadly no one there knew why. So instead we thought about Hemingway as we sat in the bar where we read our books with some drinks and the sea lapping in front of us.

Sitting down there was a curious call from a black bird that flew and sat near us. It was a Great-tailed Grackle and in Mexico there is a legend that it stole its seven distinct songs from the wise and knowing sea turtle. It certainly has a distinctive piecing cry.

There is something about this life of loafing and reading a book to the sound of the ocean and bird life. I could get used to this!

It has been four years since I have scuba dived, so I needed a refresher on what goes where with the gear and how to do everything. But first things first we needed a good breakfast to set ourselves up for the day. We went to La Cozumelena which was full to bursting with people at 9am yesterday and at 7am was instead empty. Not even an empty restaurant was going to stop me from enjoying my eggs rancheros though!

We went with Barefoot Divers for our scuba diving course and I would definitely recommend them. We had a good 30mins talking about the gear and then 20mins going through basic skills in the water. Once our instructor was confident in our skills we then had an hour diving at the reef near the beach. More info about the scuba diving is here.

I was absolutely exhausted at the end of it since we had to swim against the current on the way back. I had just about enough energy for an amazing burrito at the Crazy King Burrito – their shrimp and beef burrito is definitely a hit.

Our plan for breakfast was scupered by being full of people and not a free chair to be seen. Instead we grabbed pastries from the next door bakery and walked down the seafront looking for somewhere to relax for the day.

Cozumel has a lot of hotels built along the seafront, so many in fact that you barely see the sea. There also isn’t a beach so much as rocks abruptly ending in the ocean so you can’t really park yourselves on the free access areas unless you like an uncomfortable perch for the day. We ended up spending quite a bit of time trying to find somewhere where we could sit and go in the sea that had deckchairs and no additional cover charge than the odd drink. We ended up at the Blue Angel which was a dive hotel and it was fun watching the people coming back from their dives knowing we would be doing the same tomorrow.

Lunch was burritos and chimichangas and I absolutely loved the salsa. I just can’t get enough of fresh salsa and it tastes so much better here than back in the UK.

Dave turned a wonderfully salmon pink from the sun because he didn’t put on sunscreen (despite it being packed in our day bags – he refused any photo evidence of his plight). I was of course terribly sympathetic and didn’t laugh at all. He also had the bad luck to cut up his feet on the sharp rocks on the beach and got stung by a sea urchin when he went for a swim. I luckily managed to avoid this fate by entering the water from the jetty. To soothe these hurts we had to have a mojito in the sunset.

It felt like a terribly early start to be getting up at 5am for our flight from Gatwick to Cozumel. Tube, train then train again across south London before we arrived and then the queuing commenced. I don’t know what it is about airports but they are never the right temperature, alternatively too hot and then too cold and invariably a long distance to walk until you get to your gate. But we managed to survive despite a last minute dash for our gate with the tannoys warning the gate was closing soon. At least we weren’t the last there!

On the plane we ended up sitting separate, mainly because I refuse to pay extra. Dave managed to swap for a window seat but was surrounded by a wedding party intent on enjoying themselves for all 10 hours on the plane. They were already wearing Mexican sombreros and they hadn’t even arrived! I had a free seat next to me to spread out and relax with no noisy neighbours.

Landing was an experience in itself with the crosswind whipping up around the plane and causing us to roll and shake like a rollercoaster. I have a lot of respect for the pilot who managed to land the plane through all that and we applauded at the end. Sadly we then had the joy of roasting in a tin can in 30’C heat without good aircon waiting for the skybridge to attach, cheers ensued when it was finally achieved after a few failed attempts.

Getting the ADO bus from Cancún to Playa del Carmen felt like we spent a fortune – $416! It’s going to take me a while to get used to the exchange rate because that was only £17 for two tickets. After an hours journey through green jungle we then had an hour ferry ride on a catamaran to reach Cozumel.

While the food on the plane had been better than some I was still famished by this point. We had tacos near our Airbnb accommodation, apparently you order them individually, so we had a few false starts on quantities but got it right in the end before heading for sleep as we had been awake over 20 hours at this point.