Kourtney is officially a part of the scuba squad! The men and women of Eco Divers in Cozumel, Mexico were absolutely wonderful instructors — thorough, hands-on, laid back, and adventurous! We can’t recommend them enough if you are looking to dive here. After two beach dives packed with skill sessions on Day One, Kourtney was deemed ready for the big leagues. On Day Two, Captain Felipe took us out to the reefs for some spectacular diving. Special shout out to our guide & instructor Aris who took us down 70 feet on her second day through the gigantic Villa Blanca reefs!

It’s hard to put the beauty of these reefs into words (even these pictures don’t do it justice), but it certainly brought her to tears. Aris was impressed with our ability to stay underwater for 70 minutes on one tank and thanked us for some “good bottom time!” We spent the first dive drifting in and out of the reefs many caves and channels – some openings were a little tight for Coons.

Day Three brought more adventures and Kourtney’s second favorite dive. We got super lucky and saw multiple nurse sharks, turtles, barracudas, an eagle ray, and one enormous lobster strolling along the bottom! Our guide for the day, Jim, took us even further under the ocean, capping out at 90 feet!

One of the many things that makes Cozumel such a good dive spot (besides the weather, warm water, and amazing reefs) is the current. All of our dives from the boat were drift dives where we just let the current take us along the reef and met the boat downstream. It’s so strong in some places that it makes one feel like an astronaut in space. Aris said that Cozumel has some of the best scuba diving in the world and that Coons was giving Kourtney the “cherry before the rest of the cake” as we work our way down Central America. We tend to agree.

We’re now headed inland to Valladolid for some jungles, cenotes, and Mayan ruins.

After months of planning, packing, repacking, and 13 hours of travel, we made it to our first destination – Cozumel, Mexico.

September was a whirlwind. We were lucky enough to find a lovely couple to move into our home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which meant that we had two weeks to move out and into Mama Coons’ casa. In between trips to our storage unit, we were busy planning our  Farewell Party. It was the most beautiful day — even if it wasn’t a surprise wedding — sorry fam! We had Las Olas bring a taco bar (how fitting!) and tons of cervezas; we played music and games; we laughed and cried. It was incredibly special and meaningful to have most of our family meeting for the first time! After the going away party we attended two weddings for life-long friends of ours — one in Telluride, Colorado and the other near home in Exeter, New Hampshire. On Sunday, September 30th, we repacked our bags for the fourth, or maybe the fifth, time and dropped off Kourtney’s car to be sold (thanks, Matt Gates!). We had a delicious family dinner, a Coons family favorite, and then off to bed.

3am came early. Mama Coons drove us to the airport; our first flight at 6am gave us a quick layover before our second flight arrived in Cancun, Mexico around noon. From there, a bus took us to Playa del Carmen and a ferry to Cozumel. Good thing neither of us easily get seasick, we thought that thing might tip right over! A taxi brought us to our gorgeous residence, The Westin Cozumel, where we are soaking in the sun and swimming in the warm, bright blue ocean. Tomorrow Kourtney learns how to scuba dive!

Lastly, a huge shoutout to all of our friends and family that helped get us to this point; we couldn’t have done it without all of you!