Mexico: Late Honeymoon

Sean and I took a mini-moon after our wedding last March.  We spent a couple of days in Galena which were very nice and perfect for the timing/money we had at the time.  In December, we booked what would be our "official" honeymoon in the Riviera Maya.  We left bright and early Monday morning on June 9th.  My dad was kind enough to drive us to (and from) the airport.  The line to check in was very long but once we got through it we breezed through to our gate.  Luckily we got there 2 hours early because we boarded the plane about 10 minutes after getting to our gate and were in the air 15 minutes early!  ((*** I am sorry for the poor quality of the photos- I did not bring my camera with me so we only had our phones!)

On the plane!

We stayed at Iberostar Paraiso Maya Lindo.  The resort was all-inclusive.  It had 24 hours room service, multiple bars (all drinks free!), ice cream bar, a dance club, shopping center, sports and gym, ocean 50 feet away, snack bars, and multiple restaurants.

When we arrived we went through customs, got our baggage, and were taken to our pre-booked transportation.  We were so excited! The ride to the resort was only about 30 minutes long.  We arrived at the resort, our baggage was taken, and we went to check-in.  They had drinks waiting for us that we were able to sip on while checking in.  We were amazed at our resort! We had never been to anything like it! It was breathtaking! Our room wasn't ready so we headed to the buffet for some lunch! The first thing I noticed was the bread and dessert table! YUMMY!!!  The resort was beyond beautiful. The walk-ways were all outdoors and surrounded by beautiful water features! After lunch, we were taken by golf cart to our room and our baggage was brought to us.  Our room was very nice, and right by the main pool! We unpacked and then went to walk around and see the whole place.  Afterwards, we got out suits on and spent some time by the pool! We then showered and got ready for dinner at the buffet.  The resort provided shows every night so we decided to check one out.  Monday night was "Musical Night" where they performed numbers from Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia, Lion King, Chicago, and a few others.  After the show we walked down to the beach.  It was so peaceful and gorgeous at night.  We then headed back to our room, ordered room service, ate, and went to sleep!

Tuesday,  I went to the shopping center to get some souvenirs while Sean went to the gym.  We designated Tuesday as our pool day!  We spent all day by the pool, soaking up the sun while layering on 70 SPF. We went in the wave pool, took a free scuba diving lesson around the pool, took pictures (that we did not buy because they were $20 per picture!) with an adorable monkey, and had many delicious fruity drinks!  When we were all pooled out, we headed to the tennis courts! It was extremely hot, but very fun! We saw two animals fighting and falling out of the tree, a giant crab, a few lizards, peacocks, flamingos, and a lot of deer! Sometimes you forget you are in the jungle but we were quickly reminded of that! We had dinner reservations at the Mexican restaurant, dressed up, and headed out.  Sean tried wine for the first time and actually liked it!  Later, we had a second dinner at the buffet (fatties, I know!).  We then went to the sports bar to watch the end of the NBA Finals. 

 
Wednesday was the day of our Coba Maya Adventure.  We were picked up at 7:20 by our driver and tour guide, Captain Snake.  He was hilarious.   He had the best accent, told the stupidest jokes, and played music from club, to reggae, to Marilyn Manson. We picked up a few others from different resorts (One very strange lady came with diaper cream covering her entire face) and headed to Coba.  We walked through the jungle quite a bit (This was huge for me as I was terrified of seeing snakes!).  We did 2 separate zip lines which were not at all scary as I expected! It was actually very relaxing and gave a welcome break and breeze!  After some more trekking through the jungle, we came upon the cenote .  We repelled into the cenote (about 65 feet down).  It was dark, creepy, and beautiful.  The water was an amazing temperature.  Sean did the Indian Jones ladder climb back up while I opted for the lazy route and was pulled back up (no effort on my part whatsoever).  After leaving the cenote, a Shaman did a Mayan purification ceremony and then we headed to the canoes. We canoed across a lake and then enjoyed a traditional Mayan meal (which was delicious!).  After the meal we headed to the Coba Mayan Ruins!   Unfortunately, we have no pictures from the first part of our adventure.  Camera and phones weren't allowed.  They did have a photographer but it was going to be a lot of money for not a lot of pictures so we opted out!

The ruins were beautiful! Most we were able to just look at but we walked about 2 miles to the tallest Mayan pyramid (134 feet) which we were able to climb! The 134 foot climb in 95+ degree weather was difficult but so worth it! The view of the jungle was breathtaking! The breeze was wonderful up there as well! Heading down was easier, scary, and exciting as an iguana crawled right past me!  We made the long and hot walk back and treated ourselves to some icecream!

After getting back to the resort we showered.  Since our reservations we not until 8:30 we had first dinner at the buffet.  Later, we enjoyed a delicious meal at the Steakhouse.  We ended the night at the Galaxy Dance Club.  Drinks were still included in our all-inclusive stay, the music was loud and awesome, and the club was oddly Star Wars themed! It was a blast though!

Thursday was our last full day in Mexico.  We ate breakfast and headed right for the ocean.  Playa del Carmen was about 50 feet away, had an abundance of seating, a bar, and snack bar as well!.  The sun was shining and hot! The water felt incredible! The waves were about 7 feet high and so fun! I was tossed around like a rag doll which gave Sean a lot of laughs! I left with a scraped leg after a wave tossed me into a rock! The majority of the beach was sandy but occasionally you'd hit a rocky patch in the water.  We took a lunch break and spent some time in the pool to get a break from the salt water and waves.  Sean played some beach volleyball with a bunch of people while I sipped my Miami Vice.  We layed on chairs on the beach and both took lovely naps.  The waves and overall atmosphere of the beach were so relaxing!  We headed into the ocean one last time and then went back to our room to shower.  We relaxed and enjoyed Mexico for a bit and then headed to our reservation at the Gourmet restaurant.  The restaurant was very fancy, you were required to dress up, and it was a new experience! Sean and I had to keep reminding each other to keep our elbows off the table. Naturally, we had our 2nd dinner at the buffet a little later.  We went to the show they were playing which was fun.  We headed back to pack and then went to sleep.

 

Thursday we finished packing, ate breakfast, and checked out.  Our car service had us at the airport 3 hours early so we had a lot of time to kill! We ate at Johnny Rockets, talked, read, and enjoyed the cheers of the whole airport everytime Mexico made a goal in the world cup!  We finally boarded the plane and headed home.  Our trip was amazing and better then I even imagined.  Being disconnected from technology was so nice.  It was so wonderful to just be with each other and enjoy the trip! I wish I had more pictures but do not really regret not bringing my camera.  I wanted to just be there and not worry about capturing everything!  I think we were there for the perfect length of time, we got semi-tan (tan for us!) and just had a blast!!! 

I know most of you probably did not read all of this and it was a very long post but I wrote it mostly for myself.  I wanted it here so I could look back on it and remember all the details of our trip!  If you did read it all- Kudos to you!!! 

We are on to our next adventure soon as we head to VA to enjoy time with the McNamaras!