Mexico Trip Oct. 2012 (Rob and I)

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Mexico Trip October 2012 (First trip with Rob)

Day 1

We headed to Atlanta at 0900 and had a nice drive down.

Since we had our dive gear with us, upgrading to first class was not too much more, so we decided to do that and it was quite fun. We arrived to a crowded (as usual) airport in Cancun. The line for customs and immigration was really long. We had another long wait outside the airport for the shuttle to car rental place. There was yet another long delay there as they put $5000 hold on my credit card, prompting me to have to call Bank of America to let them know that it was indeed me in Mexico getting a car. I will never use EZ Rental again. I was very stressed about the whole ordeal and very worried about getting any damage to the car and losing that $5000.

It was after 2030 when we finally got to Grand Sirenis. We had no trouble checking in and our room was nice. We had a bottle of champagne waiting for us in the room. Because it was so late when we got settled in and the buffet was closed, we ended up having to do room service for dinner and it was just so-so.

We noticed that it was a full moon that night, so we decided to go for a walk along the beach. It was amazingly beautiful with the moon shining on the water and the Mayan ruins on site lit up in blue. The water lapped gently at the beach and the sand was sugar soft. It was so romantic. I'm sure part of the romance of it was that I was with Rob. Such a great end to an otherwise stressful day. 😊

Day 2

We got up early, got our snorkeling gear out and went snorkeling. There was a lovely reef with lots of fish and clear water right there off the resort. Loved it. People were bringing bananas and feeding the fish, bringing them in to us. It was really cool.

We decided to do the pool stuff after that. We had a few drinks at the party pool...got a little drunk and decided to join in on the activities. We both tried our luck at tug-of-war. We both lost, but it was very fun. Then we hit the lazy river and tried it out, at least 4 times around. 😊 It was a blast.

We had lunch at the beach bar, then tried out the quiet pool. We went back to the room for a nap and to sober up. We woke up just in time for the dinner we booked at El Rancho Steakhouse on the resort. Then went back to the room and tried out the jacuzzi tub. 😊

Day 3

We got up and had breakfast. We then drove to Akumal Dive Center and went on the 11am reef dive. Very nice. It was Rob's first ocean dive and he did great. He had no trouble at all. I had trouble clearing ears. Still had a great dive. We then returned to the resort and showered and headed off to Tulum. We enjoyed the ruins and were leaving just in time to buy souvenirs at the Tulum shops. I was so glad we did, because while we were there, we talked to a guy in one of the shops about the Mayan Calendar which was supposed to be "coming to an end" on December 21, 2012 in just a few months. His father was into the Mayan religion. I asked him if the coming "end of the calendar was something that was important to Mayans today, since he said he was Mayan. He told us that it was "very important", something that only happens once every 3000+ years. I asked him if it meant the "end of the world" as so many speculated. He just laughed. "It's not the end of the World," he said, "It's the end of the old, and the beginning of something new...and better!" It was such an awesome viewpoint that I think really sums up the mindset of the Mexican Mayans that I have met in the Yucatan, always positive. Such a wonderful people to be around.

We came back to the resort for dinner at the buffet. We had a great view of the full moon on the water from our seats outside. After dinner we went back to our room and relaxed and Moira, one of Rob's clients that bought a place near Akumal, called us to make plans.

Day 4

We woke up in time to see the sun just after it rose. We walked the deserted road that ran along the ocean behind our building. We got some amazing pictures, it was really lovely. Such a romantic place for a new couple. We then ate breakfast at the buffet. Afterward, we went to see Moira's house in Chan-Cemuyal. Nice house and very nice lady.

We had plans to go to the spa (we got a credit from the resort), so we went back to the resort and went for a hydrotherapy session. It was so great. We really loved it. We had lunch at the beach and watched the bikini contest. Then we got our snorkeling gear and went snorkeling. Very nice.

After that, we headed to the party pool, grabbed a poolside bed and took a very lovely nap. It was overcast and a little cool, so we were chilled when we woke up, so we went back to the room.

We again had dinner at the buffet. It was Mexican night, so it was very festive. The resort had crafters selling their wares in the courtyard, so we went to take a look. Rob bought an awesome, hand painted picture. We then went and watched the show for that night, "Mexico". We walked in the moonlight by the beach afterwards. It was so beautiful, such a great day.

Day 5

We got up early to eat at the buffet before heading into Akumal to go on our deep dive. We were joined by Moira for the dive, which was nice. Rob did a great job for his first deep dive and I had no ear trouble this time. Great dive.

After the dive, we went down to La Buena Vida for lunch. It was just as I remembered, just gorgeous. We then took a short tour of town, then walked around the shops in Akumal. We took showers back at the hotel and then just hung out by the quiet pool.

We had dinner at the resort's Japanese restaurant. It was pretty good. The table was evenly split between Americans and Canadians, which made it fun. 😊 We walked up to the lobby to hang out until the evening show started. It was Halloween, so we got to check out people's costumes and take pics with the cutouts. We decided to skip the show, because we were just too tired to stay up.

Day 6

We got up early, ate breakfast and then went back into Akumal. Ixchel was our dive master again and she took us to the Nets reef to ensure we would see sea turtles. We saw 5! And I saw my first Lion Fish. After the dive, we went back to the resort for lunch at the buffet and then got ready and headed back over to Moira's place. We met some of her friends, then after it got dark, we went to the town of Tulum to visit their graveyard for Día de los Muertos (the day of the dead). I drove, and the drive through town was crazy as the Mexican drivers don't follow any rules, especially in a round about. I feared for the car, and our lives 😊, but we made it to the cemetery unscathed. It was all worth it for the experience we had. Mexican people decorate the above ground tombs on the Day of the Dead in honor of the deceased (they cannot bury people underground in the Yucatan). Most of the graves had flowers and candles with pictures of their loved ones who had passed. There was even a family there to stay up with their departed as a sort of party late into the night. It was around 2200 when we were there. I was surprised to see fire flies in an adjacent field. I didn't realize, I guess, that there were fire flies in Mexico. The whole experience was awesome.

When we got back to Moira's, she had called her Mexican massage therapist to come over and give us each a massage. He wasn't as good as Rob, but it was nice anyway, even if a bit awkward. We got back to the resort fairly late. Nice day.

Day 7

We got up, ate at the buffet, then headed once again for Akumal dive center for our last dive. Our dive master was Alesandro, and he took us on a cenote dive at Taj-ma Ha Cenote. It was so spectacular!! Even though I had awful ear trouble half way through the dive and had to finish the dive in pain, it was so worth it. The cenote was crystal clear and the sun shining down through the jungle above made the opening look ethereal. It was amazing. So glad I did the dive.

Back at the resort, we changed and headed to the beach bar for lunch. We went back over to the party pool for drinks and laid out in the sun awhile. Then we went back to the drunken...uh, I mean lazy river, and went around it a few times. 😊

We changed again for dinner at the buffet and then went to the theater for their finale show, "The Lion King". It was really pretty good and they used some of the kids from the resort's kid club in the show. So cute. We then took one more romantic walk on the beach in the moonlight and retired to the room.

Day 8

We had breakfast, packed and headed home. EZ Car return was smooth, thankfully, and the flight was fine, even though we had to fly business class going home. haha.

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