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.
After dealing with the mess earlier this week, we decided to take it easy for a day and get everything organized again.
We ended up booking three nights in Tulum for later this week (November 20 to 23) and also set up a Jungle Speed Boat Tour for today.
The tour was a lot of fun. You drive your own small boat through the lagoon while following a guide through the mangroves and eventually out toward the reef for snorkeling. I only wish we had more time in the water because the snorkeling part felt way too short.
I think we might try to make it back out to the same reef before we leave Cancun. From what we saw, it actually looks like you might be able to swim out to it from the beach.
Here are a few snapshots from the day:
I have never really gone snorkeling before, but now I realize that I absolutely love it.
Definitely adding more snorkeling adventures to my travel list.
Since my last post was a little on the negative side, I figured I would rewind a bit and share some of the fun moments from when Erin was visiting.
We took a lot of pictures during those days, and looking back through them reminded me just how much we packed into that week. From beach days to island adventures and cenote exploring, there were plenty of great memories.
Here are a few snapshots from our time together in Cancun.
11/12
It all started when the tres amigos decided to spend the day sunbathing in November.
We were playing in the waves when I suddenly started to feel pretty awful. When we got out of the water I realized something was definitely wrong, so we headed back to the condo.
Apparently when you spend all day in the sun for several days in a row and forget to drink enough water, sun poisoning can become a real problem. Four hours later, after some rest, a lot of water, nausea, a headache, a fever, and a few ibuprofen, I finally started feeling better.
Once I felt human again we decided to head out for the evening.
Before leaving, Shane checked his bank account and noticed a big chunk of money was missing. After looking closer we discovered that someone had made three ATM withdrawals of $383.99, one each day for the past three days. That added up to $1,151.97. The strange part was that Shane still had his card the entire time.
We figured we could just cancel his card and move his remaining money into my account for the rest of the trip. When I logged into my account, I discovered that not only was money missing, but my account was actually in the negative.
We had both used an ATM near the downtown club area in the Hotel Zone earlier in the trip. Somehow someone managed to scan our cards and capture our PIN numbers. I had heard stories about this happening, but never thought it would actually happen to us.
There was not much we could do that night, so we went out and ate some ice cream and tried not to stress too much.
11/13
The next day we spent about $40 on calling cards so we could contact our banks, cancel our cards, and start filing fraud claims.
Shane's mom tried to send us some money through MoneyGram, but the process ended up being just as frustrating as everything else.
Since it was Erin’s last day visiting us, we decided to take a break from dealing with banks and go enjoy the day. We headed to a cenote near Puerto Morelos called Kin Ha.
Usually visitors rent ATVs to reach the cenote, which costs around $60 to $70 per person. Since I could not ride one, I talked with the staff and managed to arrange a Jeep ride for $25 per person, which turned out to be a much better deal.
We bounced down a dirt road through the jungle and eventually arrived at a small camp area with a little farm and even some monkeys. It looked a little questionable at first, but we decided to go for it anyway.
To reach the cenote we had to climb down several ladders. Once we reached the bottom, it was absolutely worth it.
The water was cool, refreshing, and incredibly peaceful. For the first time all day we forgot about the bank problems and just enjoyed the moment. We were also the only people there, which was a nice change from the more crowded tourist spots.
Erin and Shane even jumped from the top of the cenote, about 18 feet into the water.
There was another cenote nearby with jumps around 36 and 46 feet, which looked amazing but was definitely too intense for me.
After returning to the condo, we cleaned up and went out for a really nice dinner.
11/14
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at Mexican McDonald's and then took Erin to the airport so she could catch her flight back to Florida.
On the way back from the airport, a police officer pulled us over for “speeding.” The officer was not wearing a name tag and immediately started talking about a ticket.
If you have not heard about this before, sometimes the situation works like this. You are threatened with a ticket, but the officer suggests the problem could go away if you pay cash on the spot.
We knew the routine because earlier in the trip we had already been pulled over near the same area and paid 500 pesos to avoid the hassle.
This time we told the officer we had no money and that he would have to write us a ticket. As soon as he realized we truly had no cash, he waved us along and let us go.
I could go on for quite a while about that experience, but I will leave it at that.
Next we tried to pick up the money Shane's mom sent through MoneyGram at a bank called Bancomer. What should have been a quick errand turned into a five hour adventure.
Here is roughly how it went:
Bancomer: "We do not process MoneyGram. Try across the street or Walmart."
Bank across the street: "The code you have is not long enough."
Call Shane's mom for a new code.
Bank across the street: "We cannot help you. Go back to Bancomer."
Bancomer: "No, try Walmart."
Walmart: "No, you need a longer code from Bancomer."
Call Shane's mom again for another code.
Different Bancomer across town: "Yes, we can help you."
Five hours later we finally figured out what number we needed and how to request the transfer.
Shane’s mom deserves a medal for answering all of our frantic phone calls while she was at work that day. If the first bank had simply told us the transfer required an 11 digit code, the entire process would have taken about twenty minutes.
Eventually we walked out with the money and felt a lot better about our situation.
At this point it feels like life decided we were having too much fun in Mexico and needed a few challenges thrown our way.
We are thinking about leaving Cancun this weekend and heading to Tulum for a change of scenery and a little peace from this recently cursed city. Maybe when we come back, Cancun will treat us a little better than it has the past few days.
I did not feel like this was a picture heavy kind of post, but I will share some more photos later.
Hopefully the next update will be a little less dramatic.
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 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 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.
Much has happened in the last year and a half of our lives. Most importantly, we welcomed our daughter into the world. Life has changed...
