22. Visit 50 of the locations in Northern and Central America in the books 'Frommers 500 places to see before the disappear' and 'Rough Guides: 1000 Ultimate Travel Experiences: Make to most of your time on Earth' (1&2/50) - Cozumel, Mexico

Now wasn't this just THE best trip ever for knocking off 101's?? Four 101's in a matter of days?? Awesome!

Number 661 of 1001 the most ultimate travel experiences (at least according to the Rough Guide) is 'Diving at Palancar Reef'... well we definitely did our fair share of this during our 5 days in Cozumel.. in fact, the only diving we did was on the Palancar reef.. and what an experience!! Imagine sitting on a boat... the variegated blues and greens of the Caribbean stretching towards the pearly luminous white sands of the Yucatan coast, hiding below its surface, a five kilometre stretch of some of the worlds riches coral beds, teeming with animal life and crystal clear visibility that stretches on forever and ever... paradise!!

673 of the most ultimate travel experiences (once again if asking the Rough Guide) is 'taking a dip in the Yucatan's cenotes' All I can seriously say here is WOW! What an amazing experience!! Diving into a freshwater cavern is nothing short of life changing, well at least for a scuba diver, and I think I now have one very hooked husband... teehehe... Gearing up, waddling down hand cut stairs to the cavern opening, and finding yourself in a cathedral like space full of turquoise water and dappled sunlight is simply breathtaking... and that's before you take the plunge and descend into the eerily haunting and ghostly caverns... a once in a lifetime opportunity... one that has opened my eyes to the opportunities within scuba!!

30. Visit 5 countries other than the US and Australia (3/5) - Mexico

Work was driving me crazy... incidents a plenty, stressed out of my mind, beginning to feel like I was sinking... and then along came a holiday... Praise the Lord!! Five glorious days in Mexico with nothing more to do than drink, eat, soak up the sun, spend copious amounts of time scuba diving and of course spend some quality, non stressed out time with my husband... Does life get any better?? Aaahhh Cozumel... your crystal clear waters, balmy evenings and friendly people stole my heart... I can't wait to return some day soon!

20. Scuba dive at 5 different locations around the world (2/5) - Mexico

We just spent five glorious days diving the Yucatan Peninsula at Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen!!

Managing to find decently priced flights in January for the Memorial Day long weekend at the end of May I had a chat to Paul about how desperate I would be for a holiday by that point and we decided to give my sanity a break and go for it! Of course the next hard part was finding a decent place to stay, however the Fiesta Americana Cozumel Dive Resort seemed like a no brainer as we'd been impressed by her sister resort in Cancun AND because I'd managed to find an awesome deal on a tropical casita for 4 nights for about $400... so that was that - we packed our dive gear into one big heavy bag, threw a swim suit and a couple of changes of clothes into a carry on and away we went to dive, soak up the sun, drink cocktails and just generally unwind and recharge.

Diving Cozumel was breathtaking... simply gorgeous - we completed four dives while on the island, all on the Planacar Reef system - with visibility extending beyond 100 feet below the surface and coral formations and critters aplenty it was one of the best experiences of my life and I got to dive Nitrox for the first time in my life.

What took the cake however, was the last day when we jumped on the ferry across to Playa Del Carmen to dive a couple of Cenotes.... what an experience!! Cenotes are underwater sinkholes, or surface connections to freshwater caverns or cave systems and can be recreationally dived in Mexico - literally you are cavern diving... what a rush!!

Paul and Fabio, our dive master, checking out the entrance to Chac Mool - our first foray into the amazing world of cavern diving and Mexican Cenotes. 

The entrance to Kukulcan Cenote - our second dive for the day

Kukulcan Cenote

Following a dive master through the pitch blackness whilst sucking down air from a tank on your back, using a crazy frog kick technique so you dont silt up the small passages, swimming through helioclines trying to see your way through the haze (a crazy layer of water where fresh and salt water come together but dont mix - a shimmery mix similar to oil and water), looking up through the darkness into the beautiful but eery green light that filters through the cavern - it was one of the most unique and amazing and completely indescribable experiences of my life!! All I can say is thank goodness I'm not claustrophobic! 

Packing up the gear after an amazing experience 

For anyone interested, I highly recommend Bahia Divers in Playa - small groups, intimate service, knowledgeable, professional and passionate staff.