Mexico!

at 11:30 pm, Saturday, Dec. 28, Brian and I left for the Mayan Riviera. We stayed at the Iberostar Parieso Beach. We thought flying through the night was a great idea. We could sleep on the plane and have our whole day there! Wrong. We barely slept at all. We must have forgotten how uncomfortable airplanes can be! We arrived at 6am, got our shuttle van and luggage and made it to the hotel at 7am. It was quiet as everyone was asleep!!! Our room was not ready, so we put our bags in a storage room and went to the pool to find a lounge chair! It was an uncomfortable sleep, but we managed to catch a nap for a while. Then explored, ate, walked on the beach until we got our room at 2 and then had another nap! So Sunday pretty much felt like a write off because we were so tired! Monday was a lounging day. We walked the beach, the resort, and read by the pool. For the afternoon, we took the hotel taxi to Playa del Carmen to 5th Avenue (kind of like a white ave touristy spot.) We got super cheap massages there and had dinner at Senor Frogs. It was a busy place and it was fun seeing Mexico. 

I loved seeing the ship come in! I've never seen one in real life before! I so badly wanted to go on it, I've never been on a ferry.

 the clowns at Senor Frogs made us balloon hats. There were some pretty impressive balloons. 

Tuesday we went on a snorkel excursion. We went to two different reefs right in the ocean, not a little cove like I was expecting. It was fun, we saw some cute Dori fish and a sting ray. I wasn't overly impressed with what we got to see, but it was enjoyable. It was an extra long ride back to our hotel because we forgot brian's wallet in the locker. So we had to take everyone else back, then the driver took us back to the park to get our wallet! We were so happy it was still there! The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging at the pool and eating yummy tacos at the taco bar. Tuesday was also New Years Eve. So we rested up a bit :)

at the snorkel adventure

 

All of the A la carte's were closed for New years and the buffet was by reservation only. They really went all out! It was gorgeous. 

We decided to stay on our resort for New Years and not pay $300 for the big party in Playa. That didn't even include transportation, food or drinks! We expected the disco to have a pretty good party, but as it turned out, it didn't!! The golf course had a party too with fireworks, but it really wasn't that good either. There were so many kids out and drunk adults- it was weird. We danced for a bit, watched the fireworks and went back to our room.  For the record, we went back to the disco every night after this and it was crazy fun! We love to dance!!

New year's day was GREAT! It was the hottest, sunniest day and we had no plans! We spent the day doing whatever we wanted!! We ate lots of icecream, read books at the pool, played in the ocean, walked around and relaxed. It was fabulous!

Thursday was our next excursion at the Jungle Maya! It began with 3 zip lines, then a walk through the jungle where we saw a chewing gum tree and a crazy poisonous tree! Then we went inside a cenote for a swim. That was cool! A cenote is an underground river. Its all fresh water and SO CLEAR! The mayans use this water to drink and live so they tell you not to pee in it! lol. The stalagtites have bats and its just so old down there with so much history. So neat. Then we came back up and went to a different cenote. This one, we got to repel into it!! Awesome! Then we went to a third cenote and snorkeled through it! One of the guides scuba dove around us with a light, so we could see into the perfectly clear water all the fish and stalagmites. Then, there was a little walk to another cenote (there are over 800 in the Mayan Riviera) and this one we got to zip line into the cenote!! Coolest thing ever!! I made a video while I was zip lining into the water, I hope it lets me upload it. 

you can see the zip line in this one below.

Friday was another pool day, then we went to Playa to try to find someone that would take Brian scuba diving in Cozumel. Turns out, they are not allowed to take anyone who is uncertified to Cozumel. Its one of the best reefs in the world and they just won't allow newbies. He could've gone to a different reef, but he wanted the best. Next time we go somewhere he'll be certified. I was going to get certified with him, but I think I'll be too freaked out. Snorkeling is about all I can handle. I think I would hyperventilate deep down in the ocean. For the rest of the afternoon, it rained off and on. 

Saturday was RAIN ALL DAY. Not a moment of stopping. It was sad, but we had had a good week. We facetimed with the girls, took a nap and read our books. 

Here's more pictures of our resort. 

There were animals everywhere!!! We had swans, flamingos, peacocks, cotes (they are below and they look like monkeys),  lizards, iguanas, turtles and a parrot in a cage. 

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waterfall at the pool. 

it had a whirlpool under the waterfall.

                         

the peacocks were not afraid of people. We even fed them from our hands!

All in all.....a fabulous vacation!!! But how could it not be?? Relaxing and adventure in the gorgeous sunshine, just Brian and me!! I can't wait for our next trip!