Drifting in Tulum

The Yucatan Peninsula is host to the world's second largest coral reef - the Mesoamerican barrier reef aka the Great Mayan Reef, competing in richness and diversity with Australia's barrier reef. Of course we had to dive in it.

We woke up very early and headed to our dive centre, eager to be in the water. The sea was warm, a blazing sun above our heads.

Diving is absolutely addictive. It is arguably one of the most life-changing experiences one could have. Floating, drifting, weightless in an expanse of blue exposes you to a completely different universe.

We didn't need telling twice when the boat moored onto our spot; we rolled over to discover a garden of thriving corals, brightly coloured fish, small tunnels and arches with light filtering through them.

We met a stingray and several giant lobsters, and by the time we had to leave, were mesmerised by the beauty of the underwater world.

Our adventures in the water weren't over, though. Somehow, we manage to get sidetracked easily. Our intention to find lunch morphed into a siesta and a trip to the Sian Kaan biosphere, a biodiversity conservation area that sustained community development. We'd heard that you could take a boat for about 600 pesos and explore the ecosystem which included water channels built by the clever ol' Mayans.

We hopped on, feeling like proper adventurers as we cut through the 'savannah'.

Our boat cut across a couple of open-air cenotes.

And grasslands.

The best part was when the boat moored by the ruin of a small Mayan temple. We transformed our life-jackets into ... diapers... and hopped into the canal. The water was warm and barely a couple of metres deep, but had a current which tugged you, letting you sit back, float and observe the ecosystem around you.

Can you see the 'diaper'?

I had a scary moment where I dropped my mask, but Kris, ever the prince charming, battled the current to retrieve it.

As we went there at around 3-4pm, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. It was utterly relaxing.

By the time we got out of the water, though, we were properly hungry and feeling it.

We went to Casa Malca; a high-end restaurant in a hotel by the same name, situated in property that used to be owned by Pablo Escobar.

We had a spot right by the sea and a bonfire, lit by candles and a bonfire.

He went for lobster paella, I went for vegetarian pizza (veggie options were severely limited), washed down with horchata mocktails.

Followed by passion fruit arctic roll, which was stunning.

It was romantic, and beautiful - the waves crashing metres away from us, their sound still etched in our minds from the dive in the morning.

The moment we reached home, we flopped onto the bed, sinking into profound, peaceful sleep.