Rum is best Used for Gargling

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Ahhh, the joy of sleeping in. We have only plans for the evening so we spent the morning laying in bed reading, writing, and getting mortgage loan stuff in order. For breakfast, we book a short break to skip on over to the grocery store and grab some breads and donuts. Then back to the apartment to munch on them and continue being bums. We did make plans for our afternoon. Alex needed printed off pages signed for the loan so we hit up the Internet cafe to start our adventures. They had no idea what a fax was so we ended up scanning the documents. Amazing how outdated an advanced country like the US can be with those types of requests.

Business out of the way we grabbed a cab right outside the store (luckily since it was raining) to take us to the hotel zone where the Interactive Aquarium was located. We walked around the mall the aquarium was in to find a restaurant for late lunch. We found a fun waterfront place where I ordered a enormous baked potatoe with everything you could imagine on it and smothered with cheese. It was amazing, of course. Along with the view of the water we also got to watch som e people try their best to glie across the water with jet packs strapped to their feet - higly entertaining. The only challenge we had was the credit card machine not working so having to use the last of our cash on dinner.

Bellies full we made our way to the Interactive Aquarium. A few dollars later we walked around a nice bit small and disappointing aquarium. Maybe if we had been able to make one of the dolphin shows it would have been better. I did get to hold a starfish. Even learned it has no brain or eyes, but eats and poops out a small hole on the top of it. The big draw to the aquarium appears to be the ability pay to swim with the dolphins or go scuba mask 'diving' in the big fish tank. We figured that wasn't worth it since we were going scuba diving the next day. Bummed out we went to check out the Plaza la Fiesta store. A giant souvenir shop with tons of junk. It was fun to explore and the AC cooled us down but nothing caught our eye to purchase. Done at the mall we got in a cab over to the Tower Xcaret which our Xel Ha wristbands got us in for free!

When we arrived at the ticket booth, we got our passes and then had to wait 10 minutes for the next ride. The Tower Xcaret had a circular observation platform that turned 360 degrees on its way up. It offered a great aerial view of the city, but I was glad it was free. As we turned into the Sun Alex realized he no longer had his UNT hat. Thinking he left it in the cab, we tried retracing our steps first without success, so headed over to see if the cab just happened to still be in the parking lot. It was!! I don't know how he gets so lucky. He got his hat back no problem, the cab driver had even been looking for him.

Unfortunately we had misgaged the time it would take us to do all that and we still had an hour and a half until our check in time for our evening early.. Unlike we expected there was really nothing else nearby the Tower. So we grabbed a Fanta and Ice Cream from the little convenient shop. Then Alex guided me around the corner to the next for resort thinking to wander around.. Which I promptly freaked out about since they monitor for outsiders. So instead we went around to the front to check with reception if they had a fax machine. They gave us the same blank stare as the Internet Cafe. I finally mentioned the fact that the Resorts use wristbands to know who are their guests to Alex which he didn't realize.

Still an hour to go, we found a bar nearby and with an ocean view. We had a couple drinks to PSS the time. We also used their free Wi-Fi to check emails - including one from the loan company saying the scanned copies worked and no need to find a fax machine (good thing not sure we would find one down here). An hour later we checked in to our Pirate Cruise! I am so excited to see pirates and drink Pina Coladas. The price includes a ship rides Pirate show, dinner, and open bar. Great deal... minus my poor timing of going scuba diving the next morning early. Oh well, time for the Jolly Roger Pirate Show!

We got our wristbands and snapped some pictures with pirates before trying to figure out where to go. We just happened to be having the conversation around the 'drunken' Pirate, later to be named Smee, who said the line started behind him. Thinking he was joking we laughed but stayed close. A few minutes later they truly did start the line behind him! He took the lot of us in a big loop which gave the pirates a stage in the middle to start the show and give us a boat briefing. They handed out some refreshing lemonade in which we got Smee to hand over a little rum for. We stood in line with a couple who signed up on a whim and seemed to be there to have a good time. Made for a great start to the trip. On board they split us up, but Alex and I ended up in the front row.

Once everyone was on board the show truly began and they kept the drinks on coming. They bad some fun Pirate dialogues and story lines, dances with and without crowd participation, and games. Sara, from the couple behind us in line was called up on stage once on her own and then again with two other ladies for activities. They eventually brought the husbands of the women up for a slightly inappropriate balloon game (while the kids were sent of for treasure aka chocolate coins). They even had us out of our seats doing Zumba one time! They did a game that required 4 manly volunteers... when only 3 stepped forward our Pirate waitor got Alex up with the others. First he had to dance around like a goofball then they had them each gargle the song La Cucaracha. While we all thought they had glasses of water, turns out it was rum! The first guy,an Englishman, ended up gargling it up all over himself. The second, a man from LA, pretty much just drank his and got no song out. Alex went next and gave it a pretty good go, but still didn't sound like much. Lastly, a very drunk Ukrainian dumped all of it in his mouth at once which overflowed all over himself. He didn't even attempt to gargle. The audience got to cheer the loudest for the winner. Alex was chosen! His prize was a pirate bandanna - looked good on him too. Shortly after it was dinner time. We were near the end so we spent some time taking pictures for people in the jail and dancing around the deck. Brought below they had plenty of food and I got the cutest little water bottle. Back up on deck we munched on desset cupcakes while watching the end of theshow. It ended with mutiny, sword fights, cannons, walking the plank, and fireworks. The last half hour was dancing in deck back to the dock. Fun but hot, phew! We were ready for a shower after cabbing it back to the apartment.

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