Day 3 began with a drive to Playa Del Carmen, where we left on a ferry for Cozumel.
She was a lovely little ferry.
Well, actually, it began with these divine plates of fruit for breakfast. The pineapple was especially tasty.
We were headed to Papa Hogs for a three hour snorkel adventure.
My first time in Cozumel. My first time in Mexico!
Four guests were the minimum for the boat to go out (not counting the two crew pictured here). But nobody else signed up. So Gretchen and I just paid extra and had a private excursion. It was awesome!
It was a perfect day and the water was so blue. And thankfully, no seasickness.
The definite highlight was stingrays eating right out of our hands. I'm not sure our snorkel guide was supposed to be doing what he did---- but I'm glad he did. He gave us little bits of fish and they would come right up and suck it right out of our hands.
Wait...? Didn't Steve Irwin die from a stingray barb to the heart? Yes, he did. And don't think I didn't think about that. Did it give me pause? Not really, because... you know... Island Betsy lacks judgment and concern for personal safety. But she's a lot of fun and relaxed and up for anything.
At a restaurant called Machetes, we enjoyed the best tacos of my entire existence.
This meal pretty much ruined all other tacos for me.
If it wasn't obvious from the previous pictures of me with a giant platter of tacos and margarita (virgin of course-- Island Betsy didn't go that far:), I did not adhere strictly to my regular food standards. I ate ice cream for the first time in three years and I have ZERO regrets. And I ate a lot of it. The ice cream place is called Aldos. It was HEAVENLY and
if when I go back to Mexico, I will partake again!
We drove by our church building on the way home and it was open so we got a little tour and we talked with the bishop (he spoke English). It was quite a new building, and it was so simple but so beautiful.
Every day of our trip was so different, but so much fun. I can't pick a favorite day, but on DAY FOUR we traveled for a couple of hours to see the ancient Mayan ruins of Ek Balom.
Mind blown. I LOVED this day.
Yes, we did wear our matching Xplore t-shirts, lest anyone should mistake us for locals.
The surroundings were so beautiful.
I understand that Cinchi Itza is the more well-known and visited site of Mayan ruins, but you can't climb it anymore. Access is quite restricted. Whereas, here, we could climb up and all over these.
Now, to be honest, I haven't studied much lately (ever) about the Mayan civilization in Central America. I know that when I was in about 4th or 5th grade I read a book about the Aztecs and human sacrifice and I was SO HORRIFIED, I've kind of avoided learning more ever since. It was traumatizing. Visiting these ruins almost tempts me to learn more.
It was definitely a "stair day"
The view from the top--- UNBELIEVABLE! I've never seen anything like it. Mexican jungle as far as the eye could see. It took my breath away. Not that I had much breath left after climbing all those stairs!
The whole day was so cool. Actually, it was incredibly HOT, but so impressive. And thank you to Gretchen for being my own personal photographer all week and filling in for Abe, since that's usually his job:)
That night, back at the condo, there was quite the storm-- rain, lightning, thunder-- the works. And SO MUCH rain. When it finally stopped we had dinner on the roof.
It was a delightful meal with great food and great conversation, but we failed to take into account the bugs after the storm. But aside from the bugs during dinner-- I loved everything about this day.
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