I guess towel animals must be a cruise thing, because I remember the cute towels from the cruise with my sisters years ago. Our room attendant, Beverly, left us adorable pets every day, including a monkey hanging from the curtains.
Thursday was a gorgeous 80 degree day in Cozumel, Mexico! Ryan and I have been to Cozumel before, but haven't taken the kids along. I've been reading blogs and travel logs from other families that were on our same cruise, and many of them were hesitant to get off the ship this day because of Mexico's reputation. Oh, please. No drug cartels or gang leaders are going to take advantage of the travelers from the cruise ships. Mexico is a large country, and their economy is so dependent on the resort areas that security personnel were everywhere. I love the Latin culture, so I was thrilled to be back!
Chloe looks super thrilled about having sunscreen applied! We had to lather the kids up because many of us were starting to burn.
Once on land, our group split up. Me, Lindsey and Logan went along with the Napier family to swim with stingrays, while Ryan took Brevan and Brynlie on a "snuba" excursion. Snuba is similar to scuba, but everyone in the group is attached to the same tank of air. We thought it would be a fun adventure for the older kids. I would love to scuba someday, but a couple years ago I learned a hard lesson in Cancun when my head felt like it was going to explode if I went more than 10 feet under the water. I've always had small ear tubes, and the pressure was excruciating, causing me to get a terrible ear infection while on vacation. Ryan and Brevan loved the snuba activity, but Brynlie wasn't able to figure out her breathing apparatus and spent most of the time on the surface. She burst into tears after getting out of the water, so disappointed that she wasn't able to join the adventure. Ryan felt so badly for her so he bought a ton of food and paid a local lady $50 to put braids in Bryn's hair. Brevan was disappointed there weren't more sea creatures to see, but was proud that he had participated.
The rest of us met up with a group of travelers heading over to our same excursion. We were taken to a nice restaurant with a private beach, where we were able to swim, touch and hold about 10 large sting rays.
The people running the business didn't allow photos to be taken, but were kind enough (geez) to charge me $15 for this one photo. Lindsey was pretty impressed with the sting rays, but Logan made me hold him the whole time in the water. It was crazy to feel the sting rays swim around my legs while I stood in the water. The workers had taken the stingers off them when they were young, so it was harmless to pet them. We had fun watching them swallow water, then having the workers lift them out of the water so their huge mouths (which are hidden in this picture) could spit the water all over us.
After the stingrays, it was time for the best snorkeling I've ever done. The ocean had school of fish everywhere! I didn't realize so many fish were by me until I put my mask on and looked under the water. It was almost scary to see how many creatures I was sharing the ocean with! Lindsey enjoyed snorkeling again, but Logan spent most of his time swimming.
We then spent another couple hours on the beautiful shore of the restaurant, where we ordered food (and Fanta! The fact that Latins drink Fanta makes me love them even more!), played in the hammock and dug in the sand.
The kids participated in a game where they each chose a crab, gave it a name, then placed it in a small circle inside a bigger circle at the same time. We watched the crabs race to see which one could get outside the larger circle fastest. Parker won a prize when his crab, Bob, won 3rd place!
Holy guacamole. The fresh, REAL Mexican pico, chips and guac were to die for!
Most of the workers in town drove small mopeds to work everyday.
A view of the edge of town, taken from the vantage point of a mall next to the pier where our ship docked.
We met up with the rest of our group later in the afternoon. Logan got a kick out of these "statues" that would come to life when someone walked close by!
Brynlie sporting her new braids! We suddenly had a few jealous girls who began asking for their own braids.
It looked like a storm was blowing in when we were preparing to board the ship, but the clouds soon went away.
Saying goodbye to Mexico from our private balcony.
I took this picture from the balcony of our room, while the girl's stood on their own balcony and Christine (pictured on the far left) stood on the balcony of the third room, where the rest of the Napier family stayed.
Brevan was pretty worn out after many long, fun-filled days! He's not a napper, but was able to fall asleep several times on the vacation because all the activity was wearing him out.
Off to dinner again! Most of the kids continued to order "the best mac 'n' cheese EVER," along with a wide assortment of desserts. Alan, one of our servers, performed amazing magic tricks for us every night. The kids couldn't figure out his secrets most of the time! Lindsey tried her own trick . . .making a spoon stick to her nose.
The beautiful sunset! I'm so glad we chose to reserve rooms with large balconys, because I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the sounds of the ocean while taking in the views.
After much begging, I took Lindsey to get her hair braided just like Brynlie's. This would be the reason why I tend to keep Lindsey's hair short . . .she has the most sensitive head of all time, so she screams anytime I touch it! She looked so adorable when it was finished, and it only cost $18 to have it done on the ship! The lady doing the braids was telling me about her life in Jamaica. She is married and has twin 6-year-old boys. She travels on the Disney cruise ships for 7 1/2 months straight, during which she isn't able to see her family at all. Then she gets 2 full months at home with them before returning to the ship. I was surprised and told her how difficult that must be, but she reassured me that she feels lucky to work for Disney, because they pay well and keep her happy. After getting to know her a bit, I asked if Jamaicans actually like Bob Marley, or if we just assume they like reggae music. She told me they LOVE Bob Marley, and that she would usually rather listen to Bob than God!
Chloe and Madelyn were up next, so they both got a few braids on top of their head. All the kids kept their braids in for the next week or so, even after they returned to school.
The theatrical production this evening was Disney Dreams, which has won awards many times for being the best show on ANY cruise line. It was by far my favorite! The acting, scenery, music and costumes were incredible. Peter Pan visits a little girl in her bedroom at night and takes her on magical adventures. Some of the boys, including Ryan and Logan, chose to see The Avengers on the big screen of the on-board movie theater. Brevan didn't return back from his club until almost 2:00 in the morning, and the older girls returned to their room sometime after midnight. They were very much enjoying their freedom! We told them to enjoy themselves, because the complete freedom was not going to continue at home!
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