Thursday, February 19, 2009

Chillin' at sea

Today was another sea day. Ho hum, life is rough. :)

Relaxing in the sun.



Time for another formal night

Handsome hubs. We totally forgot our camera this night so this is all we have. :(

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

¡Los saludos de México!

We love Mexico, like really love Mexico. Every time I go here, I meet the nicest people, see the prettiest places and have the most amazing food and this trip was no different. Today was probably the busiest day we had on our cruise. We woke up nice and early in Cozumel and immediately boarded a nasuea inducing ferry over to Playa del Carmen. From there we got on a lovely bus where our nice tour guide gave us snacks and told us all about the history of the area while we headed towards the ruins in Tulum. Along they way we passed so many beautiful resorts and we decided that this just might be the destination of our next trip. The ruins were incredible and we had a blast walking around. Those Mayans did not mess around!

After, we headed back to Playa Del Carmen and sat down to an authentic Mexican feast. Oh how I love Mexican food. This was the best day of our cruise by far. ¡Adoramos México!


¡Hola!

¡Mi esposo es muy guapo!



I tend to get sea sick pretty easily and it took all the focus I had to survive this ferry ride.
¡Aye Carumba!



Munching on Mexican cheese puffs on the bus. ¡Adoro mi cheetos mexicano!

¿Qué pasa?

¡Ah!



Hey, the side of that building looks like a face...hmm.


Señor y Señora Coyer

Getting really excited about Mexican food

Ok, this is my only shot at good Mexican food, must choose wisely

Downtown Playa del Carmen

On the ferry back to Cozumel we noticed a Carnival ship pulled up next to our ship.

Our ship is bigger than your ship! This is the view from our balcony.


The port in Cozumel. We wish we could have spent more time there.

Back out to sea. ¡Adiós México! :(

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Greetings from the Grand Caymans!

We are in the Grand Caymans! Yay! Today we learned that there is much more to this place than just where dodgy rich people hide their money...today we did a helmet dive and it was awesome! The helmet dive is where they stick an 80lb helmet on your head, filter in oxygen and let you walk around the ocean floor with very little effort. Todd immediately wanted to sign up as soon as he saw that it was an offered excursion but I had my doubts. First of all, is it really necessary to walk 50 feet underwater, far from the surface, when I can just snorkel around and pop my head up when I feel the need for some air? Second, why in heaven's name would I want to put a claustrophobia inducing 80lb plastic helmet on my head? While all valid questions Todd finally convinced me that it would be well worth it and of course he was right. In the water the helmet only felt like it weighed 15lbs or so and I got to explore a beautiful reef while comfortably breathing and holding hands with my hubs. It was so much fun. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures but here is the site for the company. We would totally recommend doing this!

Good Morning!

Out at breakfast








As our trip goes on you can see I am slowly adding on more clothes. Shame for my pale skin.



Cute hubs on the tender

Doing a little shopping

ARRRGH!

We figured we earned ourselves a beer

Then it was time for 'Caribbean night'
Party party

Hello!




Awww :)

Monday, February 16, 2009

We are in Jamaica Mon!

Jamaica was hands down the reason why we selected this cruise. It is just a place that we had always wanted to visit and it definitely did not disappoint. Originally we were scheduled to rent ATVs and ride around the island until a few good friends of mine said that we absolutely had to climb the Dunn's river falls. Blindly trusting them, we booked a party catamaran to the falls and hoped for the best. We had absolutely no idea what we got ourselves into.

After our ship docked and Todd had lathered me up with sunscreen, we made our way down to our waiting party catamaran and sailed off for the falls. Though dance music was playing and a few of our fellow passengers found their groove, the vast majority were curious as to why they were just serving us water. Usually when the word 'party' is tacked on to the word 'cruise' it means there is most likely a cocktail or two involved and this confused many of us. It wasn't until we saw the falls that we all collectively realized that all our mental and motor functions needed to be sharp and intact. Those Jamaicans know what they are doing.

The Dunns River falls are staggered, about 600 feet deep and are climbed by forming a human chain of trust. It is seriously unnerving as you can't see where your feet are most of the time and there are areas were you are right in the rushing current. Fortunately I found myself in an excellent position in the chain of trust. Ahead of me was a lovely older gentleman in a pink bathing suit who I affectionately nicknamed 'Pink Pants' and behind me holding my other hand was my very strong husband. I could not fail. Pink Pants and his wife had inexplicably climbed the falls 3 times but he still looked a bit weary when he saw me line up behind him, as if he could instinctively tell I naturally had poor balance. Luckily over the hour or so of climbing he seemed to take a more protective fatherly role over me. Whenever we would reach a lagoon, he and his wife would wander off but I was always pleasantly relieved when he would come back for my hand when it was time to form the chain again. Todd, happy for the help, took responsibility for a woman (also with balance issues) and her husband behind him. These were busy men. Finally when we reached the end of the falls, we were all bonded, pretty darn impressed with ourselves and ready for a drink. Luckily the people on the catamaran felt the same and had rum punch waiting for us. I love Jamaica!

Well hello there!

Hanging out on our balcony


Our ship from the pier

Yo!


On the bus

I love catamarans

Our ship in the distance


Oh my


I don't know why it says we survived the falls, when this picture was taken we had not 'survived' anything yet.



Almost done!


Hooray we did it! Time for rum punch!

The couple behind Todd: Our new best friends.

Fueled with rum punch, all danger forgotten


Climbing those falls was seriously one of the coolest things we have ever done. We enjoyed every minute of. It's definitely one for the list of things to do before before you die, it truly was amazing.