If you’re visiting Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and other nearby resort cities, you have to check out the MUSA Underwater Museum for a unique diving experience! There are over 500 underwater sculptures placed in various areas near Isla Mujeres/Cancun and the exhibit helps promote ocean and marine life conservation. The permanent sculptures serve as an attraction for divers to lessen the number of tourists to visit the main reefs. They also allow for the coral reef to grow on the sculptures and serve as permanent homes for various aquatic animals.
Diving around these sculptures was really cool and interesting, but at times it felt a little creepy looking at these statues up close. The best way I can describe the dive is like seeing objects being trapped in time, sort of like the underwater version of Pompeii, and slowly nature takes over these objects. At least the aquatic animals don’t mind, as they appear to be thriving around the museum.
Near the museum is also boat wreckage and several coral reef systems where there were huge congregations of fish and various other species!
You can also view this museum by snorkeling and also take boats with glass floors but, in my honest opinion, the best way to see it is to scuba dive so you can get up close and personal with these timeless sculptures! You can take a PADI two-dive course to learn the basics of diving, then get a chance to explore the museum.
Check out the video of my dive at the MUSA Underwater Museum:
During our cruise, we stopped by Roatan Island of Honduras for a scuba diving expedition. Roatan is a tiny island located 40 miles off mainland Honduras. It’s so small that you can drive around the whole island in about 45 minutes. The population has grown fairly rapidly and has become a tourist destination for water activities but some parts are still uninhabited and covered in forests. The island is set on the southern part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest reef system after the Great Barrier Reef.
Port of Roatan Island, Honduras
I’m always excited for a scuba dive trip! Scuba diving is always thrilling because I feel like I am exploring an unknown world. I always have that sense of excitement and exhilaration before a dive, but once I’m underwater I feel such a calm and peacefulness exploring a strange new place. I was definitely pumped for this dive, especially since I would see part of the Mesoamerican Reef system!
The PADI team at Anthony’s Key Resort arranged a two-dive trip for us. We were picked up from the port with a group of divers and taken to the resort for dive prep. The team did a normal pre-dive class for safety and reef conservation. The first dive was a practice dive for Mat to get comfortable with diving and obtain her PADI certification. Then second dive was dedicated to exploring the reef. Check out the video of our dive:
Diving in Roatan was amazing as I imagined. The reef was teeming with various species of coral and marine life. We came across many species of fish of vibrant colors and size and we also found a family of spiny lobsters hiding in the coral. They probably didn’t want us getting to close to them! There was also a sea turtle swimming near us, but it kept swimming further away and we could not get close enough. Luckily, our dive guides got the turtle on camera as it was cruising away. There was also colorful squid and cuttlefish in other areas.
One dive in the reef was not enough to explore this vast reef system! We just didn’t have enough time but we’re hoping to go back and explore the reef system further. Check out the rest of the photos and let us know what your favorite dive sites are!
The main reason we wanted to visit Cambodia was to see the renowned Angkor Wat and many of its other temples. We definitely saw Angkor Wat, so check that off the bucket list, but there are literally thousands of temples to check out in Angkor, Siem Reap. Thankfully, many temples are in close proximity to each other and we had a wonderful and knowledgeable guide that took us around. So even when we were there for only a weekend, we still saw several other amazing structures. Here are the temples and sites we explored during our visit.
Angkor Wat
There’s no doubt that Angkor Wat is the biggest attraction, literally and figuratively, out of all the temples in Cambodia. It’s actually the largest religious monument in the world! The temple is enclosed by a wall measuring 2.2 miles long and surrounded by a moat.
Inside the wall is a long path that goes straight to the temple. Off the path, on each side are lily ponds for the famous picturesque reflection of Angkor Wat. We went early at 5 am to catch the sunrise and it was absolutely breathtaking! There were also loads of tourists also trying to take the same shot (something to expect during your visit), but after an hour the crowds mostly emptied and left us to explore the temple mostly to ourselves.
Bayon Temple
Known simply as “The Bayon,” this temple is well-recognized for having massive carved, smiling faces on top of its towers. There are stairs within the temple that will take you to the top level and let you come face-to-face with these giant stone faces. You can also climb one of the outer towers to really get a great semi-aerial view of the temple and its surroundings.
East Mebon
This temple used to be entirely surrounded by water and could only be accessible by boat. It stands on top of an island in what was once a baray (artificial body of water) that was used for irrigation. You can find many well-preserved, fine-detailed sculptures of elephants, lions, and mythical creatures and figures. The top also provides a great vantage point to see the temple layout and a perfect view to watch the sunset.
Ta Nei
Off the beaten path, Ta Nai is a semi-ruined temple hidden in the tall trees of the jungles. Because of its isolated nature, very few tourists are seen venturing here, so it’s very peaceful and you can explore without being interrupted. The inner part of the temple has largely collapsed with some parts being supported by wood planks. Still, there are still plenty of carvings with intricate details to see and is worth the visit, especially if you want to get away from the crowds.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is distinctly recognized for its large trees and roots growing within the temple. You can see the long thick roots slowly morphing and engulfing parts of the temple over hundreds of years of growth. The temple is also famous for being the location for the film “Lana Croft: Tomb Raider,” but despite its Hollywood exposure, it still feels very hidden and secluded with the trees covering the ruins.
Angkor Thom South Gate
There are five gates that gave access to Angkor Thom (which means “The Great City”). The south gate is distinguishable from the others for having stone statues on both sides of the road leading up to the gate.
Angkor Thom East (Death) Gate
You can climb up from the side to get a closer look at the gate and walk along the wall that surrounds the city.
There are also other smaller or lesser known temples and structures all over Angkor. Many of them are in ruins but can still be explored at your own leisure.
If you need some tips for getting around, you can read our article for different methods to see the temples and check out our video below. Let us know what your favorite temples were and where else you would recommend.
