Hooray for Vacations!

As you mostly know, Josh and I were able to go down to Cancun last Friday through Monday on a trip that Josh won through work. It seems like a short trip, but it was just right.
We stayed at an all inclusive, adults only resort about 90 minutes South of Cancun called Aventura Spa. Almost every room had an ocean view, and a balcony with a hammock. This particular resort didn't have a beach, but it did beach coves that opened up to the ocean.

There were pool bars at each end of the resort. Many of the restaurants had the grass type roofs, they were cool!

We arrived on Friday afternoon, and basically settled in and took advantage of some of the restaurants. On Saturday we'd signed up to go snorkeling. We left the hotel at 7:40am on an hour and a half bus ride ride to Cancun. From there, we hopped on a boat to take us the the Isla Mujeres, the island that we would be snorkeling off of. I was very nervous, because the waters were choppy and I'd forgotten to take my Dramamine. But pretty much immediately we discovered that we were on a party boat, and all of the guys that worked on board immediately took our attention away rocking boat. They started with one of the guys dressed up in Titanic costume, looking all over for "Rose." Admittedly, I was pretty confused, until one of the other guys popped out in drag dressed as Rose from Titanic. They did a quick reenactment of the movie, here's a snapshot:

The boat ride had to have been over an hour long but it flew by, and before we knew it we were at the island!So, we get to the island and promptly jump on another boat. This one was much smaller, but not nearly as fun! We traveled to the world's second largest coral reaf system, where we jumped out and got a quick guide to snorkeling from our instructor. It was very easy and relaxing. There were tons of really neat fish, some looked like 20 pound goldfish, only a rainbow of colors instead.

After snorkeling, we stopped by a place that was offering "Swimming with the Sharks." It was free, the guy just worked for tips. The tour guys on our boat called him Tarzan, and it was easy to see why. When someone came up to swim with the sharks, he would stand on the edge of the large cage and peer into the water then he would dive into the water and disappear until he came up holding a shark. Here is Josh with the shark, this one was named Monica Lewinski ("Don't worry, she won't bite!" we were told).

And here I am. It was very cool, the shark didn't feel at all like I thought it would, it was rough like sandpaper.
Once we showered off and grabbed a bite to eat at the restaurant on the island we headed over to a group of palm trees and grabbed a short nap in the hammocks. Here is a view up from the hammocks:
This is the beach on the island. The resort we stayed at is one of seven resorts owned by Palace Resorts. They also had a resort on the island, so we were able to take advantage of all of the amenities because it was part of our all inclusive package.

Then, we hopped back on the boat and they took us to the other end of the island to go shopping. I really enjoyed this because it was a chance to see a bit of real Mexico, away from the resort. There were children everywhere, guys gambling on the sidewalks with bottle caps, street vendors, and some really great shops. I'm not very good at haggling, but it wasn't all that difficult. Josh and I were looking at some hammocks similar to the ones on the beach but we weren't sure if we actually wanted one. The sales guy followed us around the store constantly dropping the price as we looked at other goods. So, we bought one for $20, down from $30. I'm sure more haggling could have been done, but we were happy enough.
This is the beach by the town on the island.

After shopping, we got back on the boat. I think that the boat rides were probably my favorite part of the entire trip, they were so entertaining! The guides always had music cranked up that they'd sing or dance to. Here, they all donned mariachi outfits and did some synchronized dancing. They put on YMCA, and did a few different styles of the dance. First, they did the regular style, then the Macho Mexican style, and then the Sexy Ricky Martin style.


Drinks were provided!

On Sunday, we decided to take it easy. The weather wasn't all that sunny, but it was nice enough.
The water was very clear, and had tons of fish. We decided to get our snorkels and head out into the cove. I didn't enjoy it as much, I really don't like fish, they totally ick me out. On the reef, we were in deeper water so the fish weren't as close. Here in the cove it was pretty shallow and the fish were all around us. I finally headed in after I heard a weird crunching sound and looked over to see a huge fish with big teeth eat up three other fish in one mouthful.
Our last night was spent at a banquet for Josh's work. They gave out tons of cool prizes, and had really good food. Of course, Josh and I didn't win anything but we still had a great time.Phew! That's it! Overall, we had a wonderful time! I loved Mexico. All of the people were so wonderful, and I've never seen a more helpful, friendly staff.
And of course, the kids were well taken care of! Gavin stayed at Josh's parents house, and Jayden stayed there the first night, and the rest at my mom's house. And Jasper stayed at my sisters house. I think we pretty much wore our entire extended family out. As nice as it was for Josh and I to have some time together (and sleep!), we were very happy to get back home to our boys.

4 Response to "Hooray for Vacations!"

  1. Shelene Says:

    What a beautiful place! I would love to have a weekend like that away - and Lord knows we could use one with an almost three year old wearing us out every day! lol A couple from my hometown own and run little hotelistas on Isla Mujeres and are running deals through December this year... I may have to look into it!

    You guys look great - I'm so glad you got to enjoy some time away together! :)

  2. Cernin4 Says:

    I'm so happy you guys were able to get away!! You both deserved it!! What a beautiful place to go to!!

  3. Jordan@Me and My 8 Says:

    Picture perfect! Aww what a nice get away. With the economy being the way it is, we didn't do well in this sweepstakes time period. Maybe we can get it the next time!

  4. Anonymous Says:

    Sounds like you had a great time. I'm so happy you were able to go! I still can't believe how beautiful the resort was - or that you swam with sharks! Sleeping in hammocks under palm trees: not at all a shabby way to spend your time. Sigh....