We have been gone 204 days!!! We cannot believe how fast the time is flying and I am sure it will only go faster. There has been no blog action for a month, and lots has happened in that time!! Time to give a quick summary of our return to the continent and all the fun...

As Steve said, we had a great couple days in Venice Beach, driving across the desert in a convertible, shopping and gambling in Vegas before heading to Mexico for Kel and Brent's wedding. The flight to Mexico was good, was worried about being overweight considering I shopped and had to bring quite a bit of stuff with us (including 3 Coach purses for my mom and sister!!). Somehow I managed to fit it all in. It was a long travel day to Tulum but I was rewarded with seeing Nicole at the bus station. Too bad I ran off to hug her and left Steve trying to bring 5 bags!! The 3 of us stayed in a hostel for 3 days before checking into the Barcelo resort. That time was spent eating GREAT, cheap Mexican food, catching up, shopping and getting ready for Kel's stagette. The day we checked into the resort we looked a tad out of place! We walked in from the gate with a big backpack each, 4 small backpacks and shopping bags... looking sweaty and worse for wear by the time we got to the lobby, but we were rewarded with a dip in the pool and a buffet breakfast!! Let the 2 weeks of eating and drinking begin!!

The Barcello was so much fun. It was wonderful seeing friends and family for the first time in 6 months. The mood was celebratory and drinking, dancing and general mayhem ensued. The guys headed out fishing for the stag while us ladies headed into Playa for a night of dancing... in the rain until 3am!! The wedding day was sunny and bright in the morning and, though it did rain in the afternoon, nothing dampened the smiles on all of our faces. Our Kelsey is now Mrs. Fricke!!! Champagne started the fun (the bridesmaids were definately tipsy when arriving for the ceremony thanks to 3 bottles of champagne and only 1 hour to drink it in!!) and tequila finished off the reception with the servers pouring it down many throats. The remainder of our 2 weeks were full of lounging in the sun (when it wasn't raining), drinking, eating, mini-golf, beach volleyball and shopping. Steve, Nic and I managed to snag 3 bracelets and we have still gone in to Barcello to eat and use the pool... 12 days after we checked out!!

Our check-out was not too sad considering we were heading to a lovely condo just a km down the road... Stacey's parents said we could use their place as long as we wanted for FREE!! We have been enjoying t.v. (Steve catches hockey games), a kitchen (where we have been whipping up such culinary delights as mac and cheese, hot dogs and broccoli salad) and a pool. Our fridge was stocked from tons of beer from the resort (it is not stealing when you paid a ton to go there) and small boxes of cereal.

Steve, Nic and I have been having fun snorkelling at Akumel, checking out a Mexican fair and rodeo and catching up on phone calls and emailing. We had to relax after Doug and Stacey were here... fishing, Coco-Bongo, and touring were in their busy schedule! We are heading to Belize tomorrow for about 10 days before going into Guatamala.

Overall it has been a fun and easy month in our travels. We had air-con, nice bathrooms with hot water, the company of friends and family. We are rested up and ready to get on the dusty, hot road where we let our true characters shine (I dont think anyone is pleasant after hours on a hot bus and no food!) and the adventures begin. Time to learn some Spanish, surf and try out diving, Latin America here we come!!!