Honeymoon at Last!!!
AHHHH...MEXICO!!!
It would be so nice to go back! The sun, the sand, the relaxation...it really was great! I'm really sorry it's taken so long to get pictures posted. But it's been crazy busy since we landed back in Omaha ;-) Okay...I'll try to give you a brief, but detailed overview of our lovely honeymoon!
When we arrived in Cancun, we were instructed to look for the guys in turquoise shirts/vests. We found the guys and surprisingly they were with the right travel agency "Lomas Travel." They led us to the van that would take us from Cancun to Playa del Carmen. We were a bit nervous though when we got on the van when the first thing we see is the box of empty Corona bottles...We quickly learned that the bottles were actually for sale - 2 for $5USD.
After an hour long drive...a bit of a scary one at that...the Mexicans are crazy drivers...we finally arrive at our hotel! The Royal in Playa del Carmen! Oh it was beautiful. Really pictures and verbal descriptions don't do it justice at all! Below are just a few of our pictures from the resort.
Photos L-R: This is the sign at the main entrance; The metal mariachi band in the courtyard; Our room!!!
Photos L-R: The view from our room to the Caribbean; Here we are with the hotel and main pool behind us; Panoramic view of the hotel (looking in...beach is behind me).
Photos L-R: Here is the "fixer-upper" we purchased; Sunrise; Cassie on the beach; Lou on the beach.
Photos L-R: Cassie & Lou with a runaway Iguana; Cassie on the lazy river; Lou on the lazy river; Cassie hanging out in a Mexican Hammock; Cassie & Lou with the Caribbean Sea behind us; This is our new pet! (not really...and no...that's not real, it's stone)
It was here in Xel-Ha that Lou & I found our new passion for snorkeling. After we made it through the initial shock of breathing with your face under water, it was great! We saw so many wonderful fish and water-life. It's just too bad that we realized this new passion so close to the end of our trip, we only had about 2 hours to snorkel...we wished we would have started when we got there as there were many other better places to see the fish and aquatic life.
Photos L-R: This fish was probably 1/2 the size of Cassie; Cassie underwater; Lou got a great shot of the ray!!!
It would be so nice to go back! The sun, the sand, the relaxation...it really was great! I'm really sorry it's taken so long to get pictures posted. But it's been crazy busy since we landed back in Omaha ;-) Okay...I'll try to give you a brief, but detailed overview of our lovely honeymoon!
When we arrived in Cancun, we were instructed to look for the guys in turquoise shirts/vests. We found the guys and surprisingly they were with the right travel agency "Lomas Travel." They led us to the van that would take us from Cancun to Playa del Carmen. We were a bit nervous though when we got on the van when the first thing we see is the box of empty Corona bottles...We quickly learned that the bottles were actually for sale - 2 for $5USD.
After an hour long drive...a bit of a scary one at that...the Mexicans are crazy drivers...we finally arrive at our hotel! The Royal in Playa del Carmen! Oh it was beautiful. Really pictures and verbal descriptions don't do it justice at all! Below are just a few of our pictures from the resort.
Photos L-R: This is the sign at the main entrance; The metal mariachi band in the courtyard; Our room!!!
Photos L-R: The view from our room to the Caribbean; Here we are with the hotel and main pool behind us; Panoramic view of the hotel (looking in...beach is behind me).
Photos L-R: Here is the "fixer-upper" we purchased; Sunrise; Cassie on the beach; Lou on the beach.
I missed the photo when we checked in, but they welcome you and bid you farewell when you checkout by name on this screen...that's Lou checking us out!
5th Ave
Just about 2 blocks from our resort was a pedestrian street...they say it's Playa's equivalent of New York's 5th Avenue...and guess what...it's called "5th Avenue" We guessed the entire strip is about 2-3 miles in length and we'd walk the strip at least once a day. Didn't really purchase much off this strip since most everything was either the same price as at home or more. They do say you can barter...but there really wasn't anything worth it and the prices weren't even very enticing.
Just about 2 blocks from our resort was a pedestrian street...they say it's Playa's equivalent of New York's 5th Avenue...and guess what...it's called "5th Avenue" We guessed the entire strip is about 2-3 miles in length and we'd walk the strip at least once a day. Didn't really purchase much off this strip since most everything was either the same price as at home or more. They do say you can barter...but there really wasn't anything worth it and the prices weren't even very enticing.
Xel-Ha
Our first trip outside of the resort was on Sunday, we went to Xel-Ha (shell-ha). Xel-Há is an ecological park, considered a natural wonder, and is made up by a hydrologic system (the largest in the world) that flows into inlets such as Xel-Há. It is also made up by inlets, lagoons, cenotes and caves, all together with the most beautiful flora and fauna of the Mexican Caribbean. Xel-Há Park includes 84 hectares of which 14 hectares are water bodies, 10 hectares are services and 60 hectares of protected vegetation. The park is conformed by a group of natural systems such as land vegetation, beach and a hydro geologic system called inlet, where salty waters of the Caribbean Sea mix with fresh waters of the springs and underground rivers characteristic of the Yucatan Peninsula. The forest of Xel-Há is the habitat of more than 100 hundred species of birds and 220 species of plants, flowers and trees. Its inlet is home to more than 90 marine species.
Photos L-R: Cassie & Lou with a runaway Iguana; Cassie on the lazy river; Lou on the lazy river; Cassie hanging out in a Mexican Hammock; Cassie & Lou with the Caribbean Sea behind us; This is our new pet! (not really...and no...that's not real, it's stone)
It was here in Xel-Ha that Lou & I found our new passion for snorkeling. After we made it through the initial shock of breathing with your face under water, it was great! We saw so many wonderful fish and water-life. It's just too bad that we realized this new passion so close to the end of our trip, we only had about 2 hours to snorkel...we wished we would have started when we got there as there were many other better places to see the fish and aquatic life.
Photos L-R: This fish was probably 1/2 the size of Cassie; Cassie underwater; Lou got a great shot of the ray!!!
Tulum X-treme
Our second trip outside of the resort was to go on a "Tulum X-treme Adventure." A little history on Tulum: It is the most important archaeological site on Mexico's Caribbean coast. At the end of the Classic period, 900 AD, the Mayan civilization began to decline. In this Post Classic period, small rival city states developed, such as Tulum. Tulum is protected on one side by ocean cliffs, and on the others by a stone wall. It was founded around 1200 as a commercial trading port, and reached its height of importance in the 1400s. The city was occupied at the time of the Spanish conquest, and survived for 70 years after the Spanish arrived. Although the city is not considered as impressive as Chichen Itza or Uxmal, its seat on a Caribbean coast makes it a beautiful and unique place to visit.
After walking for 2 hours in the hot sun, we made way for probably one of the most memorable parts of our honeymoon...we made way to go RAPPELLING, taking a daring leap of faith on the ZIP LINE and then swam one of the many CAVES/CENOTES!!!
Photos L-R: Lou making his way down the rappel! Way to go babe, I'm so proud of you!!!; It's my turn...HOLY COW that's a really long drop!!! This was way too fun, can we go again?
Photos L-R: The route of the zip lines; Cassie making her way on the first run; Now it's Lou's turn
Photos L-R: We did it!!!; Check out how high up we are...you can see the tree tops!!!!; swimming in the cave!
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