Final Days in Cancun: Relaxing, Xplor Adventures, and Saying Goodbye

11/25 – 11/27

Unfortunately my phone, which I used for about 95% of my photos, has officially died. At some point during the trip it must have gotten wet, and now it’s completely useless.

Since these days were more relaxed anyway, I didn’t miss too many photo opportunities. The only picture I managed to get was one poolside shot with my underwater camera.

Most of these days were spent just enjoying the slower side of the trip. We relaxed in the sun, wandered around the city for meals, and took things easy for a few days.

One highlight was Bingo by the pool. Shane ended up winning a bag, a headband, and a cup. Woot woot! Not exactly life-changing prizes, but still pretty exciting.

Other than that, it was just a few peaceful days soaking up the last bits of sunshine.

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11/28

Just south of Playa del Carmen there is an incredible natural adventure park called Xplor.

The park is built around a huge cave system, and all of the activities are designed to let people experience the caves while still preserving the natural environment. The whole place is really impressive.

There were several different activities to try throughout the park, including zip lines, amphibious jeep trails through the jungle and caves, underground river floating, and rafting through cave systems.

It was easily one of the most fun and adventurous days of the entire trip.

The zip lines were amazing. Some of them were incredibly high, and a few even sent you flying straight over the jungle canopy before dipping down toward caves and water.

We also drove through the jungle and cave system in these little amphibious vehicles. As usual, I let Shane do the driving while I focused on enjoying the scenery.

One of my favorite parts was floating through the underground rivers. Before getting in they guide you through a waterfall, which was absolutely freezing, but once you get used to the water it’s a really cool experience drifting through the caves.

The park photographers take pictures of you throughout the day at different activities. They turned out great, but they charge an arm and a leg. Since I’d prefer to keep all of my limbs attached, I might have to pass on buying them.

Thankfully we still managed to capture plenty of our own photos and videos during the day.

Little cavemen explaining our adventure

Walking up up up to our next zip line!

Long way down!!!!

Here we go! (I have so many great videos from this day, but will have to wait until I get home to do anything with them! The video camera on this works great)

On our way through a cave in a Jeep

I always let Shane drive. I prefer to enjoy the scenery.. 

Helmets on at all times!

Getting ready for some river floating. First they prep you with a waterfall.. colddd waterfall!!

11/29

Today is our last full day in Cancun.

It’s hard to believe how fast this month has flown by.

Today will mostly be spent packing up our things and enjoying one last night in this beautiful place.

I’m definitely going to miss it here, but I’m also really excited for the next part of our trip. Tomorrow we head to Florida to visit my family.

More adventures ahead. 

Off to Tulum

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we are heading out to Tulum for a few days.

We might have internet while we are there, but we will probably be pretty busy exploring. Because of that, my next update will likely be a longer post with plenty of photos from the trip.

Thanks for checking in, and I will share more soon.

Beach Days, Caves, and Island Adventures

Friday 11/9

Friday was mostly a beach day. We spent a lot of time walking along the shore, but it was actually too cold to get into the water. The forecast said there was a 0 percent chance of rain, but it ended up being cloudy with light rain most of the day. We still made the best of it.

Later we headed to Carlos and Charlie’s, where Shane somehow ended up with the dessert menu stamped on his arm. Seeing it definitely made me hungry for the rest of the day.

Erin and I also took some silly pictures at Coco Bongo.

We actually took a lot more photos that day, but most of them are on Erin’s other camera. Unfortunately we cannot connect it to my computer because she forgot the adapter and my SIM card slot is different. I will post those pictures later once she gets home.

Saturday 11/10

Saturday we visited Rio Secreto, and it was an incredible experience.

Everyone loaded into a van and we drove about 15 minutes down a bumpy dirt road through the jungle until we reached the entrance to the caves. Once we arrived, we were given wet suits and water shoes and started walking down a jungle path.

Before entering the cave, we stopped while a Mayan guide performed a blessing for us and our journey underground.

Walking into the cave was amazing. I had never been inside a living cave before, and many of the stalactites were still dripping with rainwater. The whole place felt surreal.

At first I was a little disappointed because we were mostly walking through shallow water. I had thought the entire experience involved floating. Eventually we reached the deeper sections where we were able to float through the cave, and it was absolutely worth the walk to get there.

We slowly drifted through the water while taking in the incredible cave formations around us.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our own cameras inside, so all the photos were taken by their photographer.

The water was cold but really refreshing. At one point everyone turned off their lights and we sat quietly in the cave in complete darkness. It was a really cool moment.

I loved the whole experience and would absolutely do it again.

Later that evening we took the bus into town, grabbed some food and drinks, and enjoyed a little nightlife.

Sunday 11/11

Sunday morning we headed out early to Isla Mujeres. We were a little hungover from the night before, but still excited for the day.

First we boarded a boat for about a 45 minute ride to the island.

Once we arrived, we rented a golf cart and spent the day driving around and exploring different parts of the island. It was such a fun way to see everything.

We also visited a small aquarium where we saw turtles and other sea life.

I love turtles.

After exploring for the day, we took the boat back to Cancun.

I have a ton of photos from the last three days, but this is all I have had time to sort through for now. Maybe I will put together a slideshow later.

 

Coastal Exploring: Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos

Monday 11/5

We woke up early to watch the sunrise and plan out our day. For the first time since arriving, we had American coffee instead of Mexican coffee. We had to search a bit to find Folgers, and wow, it definitely tastes different.

After getting ready, we decided to take a drive south and headed to Playa del Carmen. We spent a little time relaxing on the beach before walking over to 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida) to explore the shops. The streets are lined with vendors, restaurants, and all kinds of touristy stores.

Eventually we realized we were getting hungry. Playa del Carmen felt a little expensive, so we decided to head north to Puerto Morelos instead.

Lunch in Puerto Morelos

While walking around, we stumbled across a cute little beachfront restaurant called La Panza Es Primero. It ended up being one of the best meals we have had so far.

Our meal was about $24 total, including drinks. It came with:

• 2 pieces of chicken
• 2 pieces of steak
• Chorizo
• Beans and onions

Everything arrived in a sizzling hot bowl and it was way more food than we could finish in one sitting. The price and the quality were both fantastic.

The restaurant also had really cool old Mexican wrestling banners displayed all around the walls, which made the place even more fun. Of course I had to take a picture.

After lunch we spent a little time at the beach in Puerto Morelos before heading back to Cancun in time for sunset. It ended up being one of those perfect days where we saw both the sunrise and sunset.

Evening at La Isla

Later that evening we headed over to La Isla Shopping Village. The shopping center is really unique because there are canals running throughout the area. It also has lots of high end shops, an aquarium, a movie theater, and plenty of restaurants.

We grabbed dinner at a taco grill and had some of the best chicken and shrimp tacos. It was the perfect way to end a long day of exploring.

Beach Day in Cancun

11/06/12

After exploring a few nearby towns, one thing became very clear. From what we have seen so far, Cancun has the most beautiful beaches compared to Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen.

We spent the entire day relaxing on the beach and swimming in the water while collecting shells. I will share pictures of our shell collection soon.

We ended the day with something cold and refreshing while watching the waves.

Another perfect day in paradise.

Pictures Tomorrow

We had an amazing day visiting Chichen Itza and Ik Kil Cenote.

I had no idea there would be so many ruins to explore. It took us about four hours to walk around and see everything, and there was something interesting around every corner.

After exploring the ruins, we also stopped at Ik Kil Cenote, which was absolutely beautiful.

I took a lot of photos today, but I am way too exhausted to upload them tonight. I will share all of them tomorrow once I have a little more energy.

Adventure Day Two

What a long day! I am completely exhausted from everything we did today.

Apparently Shane is too because he is already fast asleep next to me.

Here are a few pictures from our adventures today, including one of Shane squeezed into our tiny rental car. It is pretty hilarious seeing him in such a small car, but it gets us where we need to go.

Tomorrow we are heading out to Chichen Itza, and I am really excited to finally see it in person.

More updates coming soon.