After 2 days of diving, having a great time. Drift diving is really cool, I think I enjoy it more than the other kind. What do you call the other kind, by the way? Water is 84 degrees, very nice! Food bars at the hotel are very good. There was some sort of Mr. Cozumel contest last night, which Aaron won in his speedo. So he gets to go on the Chick Dive as an honorary guest. Unfortunately, he has to go in his speedo. So he's not too thrilled about it. But I told him he has to go so that the rest of us guys can live vicariously through him. Lots and lots of different species of fish here, much more varied than Grand Cayman (which is nice enough, by the way). Saw 2 sharks today, a 4-foot lobster (I didn't know they made them that big, about the size of a medium-sized dog), and even a sea horse! Lots of swim-throughs here, they're my favorite thing. The optional cenotes excursion is Friday. Sounds really cool, but the water temp is 75 degrees and that's a bit chilly for yours truly. Really fabulous meeting all the people. Talked with Pete (NetDoc) about the mechanics of running Scuba Board. Dennis (Cardzard) is a really neat guy, really has his head screwed on straight, the perfect anchor for this huge group of people. And their bosses (Elena and Roxanne). I now have 27 dives so can get out of the newby 0-24 category, that feels good! Starting to get really comfortable diving, which is a nice feeling. Though still a newby really, learning lots from the other divers and the DM's. Such as how to minimize air consumption, use economical movements, adjust trim, etc. One thing that's great about Mexico (all of Latin America really) is that they're all so courteous. It's part of the culture (unlike the U.S. or, for example, France). I've never been so happy to be able to speak Spanish. I mean, everybody I speak with when I speak Spanish to them, no matter how bad my Spanish it, speaks to me entirely in Spanish. Sometimes I actually understand what they're saying! The first day of the trip I had to get used to the way some of the participants are kind of demonstrative--especially Team 8. And kind of peculiar, like these guys who go everywhere dressed as Batman and Robin. I know all these people back in the real world are probably bankers or priests or something conservative, and this is their opportunity to let loose; but it's kind of strange. Nothing's going to stop these crazy people from having a good time I guess. I met one guy (Dan) who actually seems to understand the world economic crisis, and the insights he gave me were worth the price of the trip all by themselves. So at least there are some serious discussions going on in between all the screaming and hollering. You have the same DM for the entire trip, and our DM (Martin, pronounced mar-TEEN) is fabulous. He took me aside after our first dive and said, "You listen to me, you learn something." I said, "Okay", and he proceeded to tell me all kinds of stuff I was doing wrong, and it was all really good suggestions. Such as don't bend your knees when you fin, put your wet suit over the top of your boots, take long deep breaths, don't use your hands so much, etc. And he handles crises really well. I mean, I could help somebody underwater who needed a strap tightened or something, but what do you do when somebody is panicking at 60 feet? Amazing. And he takes control of the whole boat, takes responsibility for making sure everybody is prepared for anything. It just shows the difference between a DM and an instructor (he's an instructor, I'm sure). I really like the way each group has its own DM for the whole trip. It's interesting that the people here in Cozumel don't seem to be financially oriented. I bought a whole bunch of presents from a vendor at the hotel (necklaces, bracelets, etc) and she told me what each costed, then knocked off about 20% from the total, and even threw in a free necklace at the end. And I wasn't asking for a discount. I've had 2 scooter rental agents tell me that, if I'm not skilled at riding a motorcycle or a scooter already, I shouldn't rent one. No salesman in the U.S. would do this. I know it's part of the Latin culture to not place emphasis on money, but this is the real thing. And that's good as a tourist, to feel that people aren't out to fleece you. Say how's this for a rambling post? Tennessee Williams would be proud of me.