Hola from Mexico

 

‘Hola from Mexico!’ I wrote on a postcard whilst lying on one of the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen, ‘Wish you were here!’. This last comment was perhaps not as sincere as I would have normally intended, but my two friends and I were having far too good a time on our Central American adventure to think of home – and an adventure it most certainly was!

Mexico boasts some of the best beaches and marine life in the world and we wasted no time diving in. Travelling down the pristine Yucatan coast, we swam, snorkelled and sunbathed with everything from the smallest electric-coloured fish to the most magnificent yet surprisingly gentle whale sharks who were in town for the feeding season (plankton only – thankfully!).

But our adventure did not stop there. The purpose of our trip was to learn to scuba dive, and we could not have hoped for a better location, a colourful and laid back little island just off the coast of Belize and only a few short hours south of Mexico, to finally go for it. It was by far the highlight of the trip and the sense of achievement we all got from coming away having learnt something new was more worthwhile than any other holiday souvenir could ever be.

Now, as PADI certified divers, we can dive anywhere in the world and so many new doors have opened for more adventures in the future. On our course we met a whole range of people, all at different levels of diving, and their stories of where they had dived and what they had seen and experienced were so interesting to listen to.

We found learning to dive was a great way to meet new and like-minded people and the perfect addition to slot into a longer trip to add that little something extra to tell all your friends about when you eventually have to drag yourself (kicking and screaming) home.

Having returned home, I find myself interning at GoLearnTo.com where I get to spend my day working with a whole plethora of exciting holiday courses, wishing I had known about them all before my trip! As well as cooking delicious local Mexican cuisine on a cooking course in Merida, to kitesurfing and salsa in Playa del Carmen, one of many things that I am kicking myself over is not having known about all the fantastic language courses that were right there under my nose!

We were lucky to have one good Spanish speaker (not me…) amongst us on our trip so we managed to get ourselves around relatively easily, but without her we would have been pretty stuck in some places. If, I mean when, I return to Mexico I will definitely slot a Spanish course into my trip to brush up on the local lingo so I can get really stuck into the Mexican way of life.

Looking back on my trip, I cannot emphasise enough how much fun we had learning to dive and how rewarding it feels to be able to return home having accomplished something new and exciting to talk about when the inevitable question is asked, ‘So then, what did you do?’.

I still smile every time I open my wallet and see my colourful little PADI card slotted in amongst all my other clutter – a constant reminder of what a great holiday we had and what a great feeling it is to have learnt something totally new.