Cancun Getaway

The week before Christmas we flew off to Mexico for a little getaway.. but before I get into the details a little backstory - that particular week M and I celebrated our 8th anniversary.. we planned it so that he and I could go away, just the two of us for a few days.. get some alone time.. it was something we were planning since H turned one. Weeks before our trip M's grandfather passed away and his parents our would have been babysitters left the country and so by default the boys were added to the trip.. and while we had a wonderful time we often caught ourselves imagining what it would have been like if it had been just the two of us.. oh well.. we shall plan again for another time.

Now as if all this wasn't enough I manged to trip on the steps and sprain my ankle days before the trip.. and while thank god it was a minor sprain I did not get a lot of time to rest it which is why weeks later I still sit with my leg propped up on pillows trying to squeeze in a little rest while the little munchkin naps.. and with an appointment to an orthopedic doctor scheduled :(. 

Enough back story.. now lets get to Cancun. We stayed along the hotel strip in the CasaMagna Marriott. we are reward members so got an upgrade to ocean view and their usually paid wifi was free. The view from our room

Day one was spent gorging ourselves on the delicious snack bar offerings and than a delicious Thai dinner also on the hotel premises.. and when we weren't eating we were on the beach.. H's first!

My ankle and I lounged on a chair while M and the boys played in the water.. a few things to note. The water in Cancun was very rough.. M had to be very attentive.. more than once the waves pulled the boys down.. the water was also very sandy.. with every wave the boys ended up more sandy than they would have if they were playing with the sand.. which in the end we preferred they do with the water being so rough and M tiring of playing lifeguard. Another thing about the water.. tons of seaweed.. and while the hotel cleaned the beach every morning.. more just kept washing up.. very unlike our trip to Aruba with it's serene waters.

Day 2 we got to an early start and binged on the hotels breakfast buffet included in our package. Then with a rent a car we headed down to Xcaret about an hour away in Playa del Carmen. While with little kids and now my ankle we were less able to swim in cenotes and be more adventurous so we thought that with an eco park we may be able to do it in a more safe environment. It was a nice park.. tons to do but H was too young to do most activities..And I had to sit out the underground river because it frightened the little guy. D on the other hand had a brilliant time. 

If you look close you may spot a few iguana's.. we encountered more than a few just chilling.. while the boys stared at them in awe a local stopped and informed us of what a delicious soup that iguana would make..!!

We caught a few cultural shows.. the night show especially spectacular though we left during the first intermission.. both boys had fallen asleep, my ankle was throbbing and we had a long drive back to the hotel.

D even stepped out of his comfort zone and held a parrot. Note: A lot of the activities didn't allow you to take your own pictures and if you wanted memories like the one below you had no choice but to buy a print.

Day 3 was another early start.. not that we had a choice with early riser H.. another quick buffet breakfast.. yum. No better way to start it than a clay pot of hot coco :) and the view of the beautiful pool and ocean while we ate

The itinerary for the day was a trip to Isla Mujeres and a dolphin swim courtesy of M's company. It began with a 40 minute ferry ride on a very windy rainy day.. by the time we finally got to the Dolphin Discovery Center we all felt a bit queasy.. and the cold rain was putting a damper on our day. Soon we were headed into the cold water with the boys clinging to us to meet Valariya and Sinbad.

AMAZING!

Next we grabbed a quick bite to eat and grabbed a taxi to downtown Isla Mujeres to rent ourselves a golf cart.. the preferred mode of travel.. the best mode of travel. The weather had started to get a bit better.. the sun came out. 

The island is very small.. and quick to drive through.. we made a stop here and there but out main destination was Punta Sur, the southern most point of the island. 

This was the highlight of our trip.. it was otherworldly.. the wind was too strong and we had to really work hard to keep firm on our feet.. and that was part of the fun I suppose. It was making us giddy.. is there such a thing? getting high on nature.. lol.. I sound insane. There was a small sculpture park, a temple, a restaurant and an amazing staircase that winds down the cliff.. with the winds and my ankle and the boys we didn't venture donwn the cliff.. but the sculptures and the views and the park itself was intoxicating..

We headed back to downtown to return our golf cart.. drank some coconuts and made our way back to Dolphin Discovery to catch out ferry.. the last leaves at 5:30 pm

Our last day was spent in the pool.. before we headed out to catch our flight back home.. 

 This may not have been the way we had envisioned this trip but it still turned out pretty great.. 

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