Jillapalooza — Page 11 — IM IN UR OCEAN. EATIN UR CARDZ.

Belize – Saturday 11/28

November 28, 2015

In the morning the skies were overcast and the seas looked rough. Kristen, Nick, and I decided to skip out on the dive while Curtis decided to brave the seas. As it turned out, Rudy ended up delaying the dive until 1 p.m. due to inclement weather conditions.

I hit the pool around 8:30 a.m. and Curtis joined me shortly thereafter. We were the only ones until another couple came down and took a bunch of chairs by us, leaving us with one extra. We ended up moving to the other side of the pool to get more chairs and getting an umbrella because it was hot and my forehead was toasty from the day before.

I ordered a few Island Coolers and pre lunch ceviche. The boys left at 1 p.m. to dive, and Kristen abandoned me to get a massage. Out of fear of burning, I headed back to the room until Kristen got back. We ended up walking down the beach and having lunch at Estel’s. I had a chicken quesadilla. Kristen had french toast which seemed really weird to me.

On our way back from lunch the sky looked ominious and a rainbow formed over the ocean. We made it back before the rain came.

We were all pretty tuckered out in the evening, so we ordered pizza and watched Ted 2.

The interwebs are actually working tonight! While everyone else is in bed at 9 p.m., I’m sitting here uploading photos to the blog.

Belize – Friday 11/27

November 27, 2015

Last night I slept like a baby. Traveling is exhausting, even when you’re just sitting on a plane or in the airport for hours. I woke up at 5 a.m. completely refreshed, and also ecstatic that there was still two hours before my alarm went off.

Kristen made us breakfast, as per usual. Egg sandwiches with (get this) cream cheese. What an amazing idea. Imma need to do this at home.

After our two dives we had lunch poolside. Ceviche and coconut shrimps, mmm. I stayed behind and took a dip while everyone else went inside. As I was toweling off I realized I sunscreened everywhere but my chest, so let’s hope I don’t regret that tomorrow.

Nick and Kristen took a trip into town for snacks and sunnies. They came back with a tote of soda. Nick’s gonna fall off the wagon hard again, and it’s going to be amazing.

The lack of a good WiFi connection makes me sad. I have to stand on the patio if I want to post a photo to Snapchat or Instagram, and any desire to post photos on the blog is a pipe dream. On the bright side, it’s saving me money because I can’t take advantage of all the Black Friday deals.

It rained a couple of times today, but it happened when we were either under the water or relaxing in the room, so I consider that a big win. Despite the on and off sprinkles, it’s still hot and humid. I’m not complaining, because I saw pictures of snow at home.

Nick abandoned us for dinner to work out (wtf?), so cklahr and I went to Caramba. I had a giant pina colada, which I blame 100% for my stomach splitting at the seams, and coconut curry shrimp once again. I’ve only recently discovered that I like curry, so I’m making up for lost time. So far this was the best coconut curry I’ve had.

Tuffy Canyon – Dive 81

November 27, 2015

Dive: 81
Belize Dive: 2
Date: 11/27/15
Site: Tuffy Canyon
Avg/Max Depth: 46/65
Temp: 82
TBT/CBT: 0:56/66:54
Weight: 16 lbs
Buddies: Nick, Curtis, Kristen

After a surface interval at the dive shop, we headed back out to dive with the same group plus a father/son duo. My mask leaked the entire time, and I couldn’t figure out why. It was frustrating to say the least. Nothing ruins a dive quite like constant salt water in the eye.

Nick and I saw a sea turtle. It was chilling on top of the reef. I could have watched it all day, but I couldn’t because my eyes were stingy from salt. Seriously though, turtles are the best. I always enjoy seeing them when they aren’t in a hurry and swimming away.

Tackle Box 2 – Dive 80

November 27, 2015

Dive: 80
Belize Dive: 1
Date: 11/27/15
Site: Tackle Box 2
Avg/Max Depth: 53/82
Temp: 82
TBT/CBT: 0:48/65:58
Weight: 16 lbs
Buddies: Nick, Curtis, Kristen

Rudy picked us up at 8:30 for our first day of diving. We were joined by three others: Texas (which we’ve dived with in past years [idk his name; he’s from Texas]), a foreign guy (who I also believe we’ve dived with), and Christina aka Dora (self-given nickname).

It was nice to make bubbles again. Because of the weather, the visibility wasn’t great. But it’s more fun when the nurse sharks sneak up on us, I always say. The swells were big and I was feeling a little seasick. Hopefully the wind dies down during the rest of our trip.

My brand new mask didn’t leak, which was good. My brand new flippers hurt my feet at first, but by the end of the dive they were fine.

Because I wanted to pack really light for this trip, I decided not to bring my camera. As nice is it is to take underwater photos, it’s kind of a pain. You’ve got to rinse the case and remember to charge the batteries, and then the batteries die and it’s stressful. And sometimes searching for the perfect shot is stressful. And without having a fancy light setup like Curtis, the photos aren’t amazing. And I spend so much time color correcting them. Anyway, I decided to relax and enjoy the dives for this trip, and look at all the awesome things with my eyes instead of through a camera lens.

Belize – Thursday 11/26 (Thanksgiving!)

November 26, 2015

At 3 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, cklahr picked us up for the airport. Checking in was a PITA. Fortunately now that we’re all TSA PreCheck we got to avoid the hour long security line.

The flights went smoothly and we arrived in San Pedro a half hour ahead of schedule. Our room wasn’t ready, so we killed some time at Red Ginger for lunch. I had delicious corn tortillas with shrimp. So did Kristen. She pronounced the Ls in tortillas when she ordered. We all laughed at her. She was embarrassed. It was epic. We also received the complimentary rum punch again, but no souvenir Belikin glasses this time.

After lunch we got settled into our room. The patio is huge. It might be bigger than the room. Kristen and I headed out to the pool to relax for an hour, then we went to Caye Mart for groceries. I napped hard, and then we went to dinner at Elvi’s.

I was dismayed to discover they didn’t have scallops, which forced me to try something new. I ordered the coconut curry shrimp. The curry was good, but not as good as garlic butter. Sigh.

I got an international data plan for my phone. Unfortunately I don’t have any available data, so I’m a slave to the WiFi once again. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except the WiFi at the hotel is worthless. I’m typing in Notepad++ right now so I can post later. Having 2007 flashbacks. Maybe I’ll be able to post pictures later, maybe I won’t. We shall see.

But I’m thankful to be here! The weather was beautiful despite a strong breeze and some sprinkles. We had a great day, and I’m looking forward to our dives tomorrow!