Happy Birthday Week: "Made in Mexico"

After being married on June 2, 2007, Carl and I flew off to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico to enjoy a week of relaxation and celebration of our marriage.

We stayed at "The Royal" and I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone going to this part of the Playa Del Carmen. They had a terrific beach which is what set it apart from the other hotels in the area.

Of all the fun and fabulous things we did, I would have to admit that the majority of the time was spent laying on the beach. Our room was literally on the beach, two steps off the porch and you were in sand. It was amazing. We also played some water volleyball, took walks, worked out in the mornings (yep, that's right), tried to kayak (harder than it looks), ate at all of the restaurants (several times b/c it was all inclusive), went into town to shop and eat, and went on a little adventure to Cozumel - which turned out to be my most favorite day....

On Wednesday morning, Carl had a great idea to head off to the island of Cozumel and see what trouble we could find. We packed up his back pack with survival gear (if you know Carl, you know it is perfectly normal for him to have survival gear where ever we go), some snacks, water and a camera. We did not bring a license or credit cards - just a little cash and a Visa gift card.

We took the fairy over and when we go there we wanted to rent a scooter - but of course everyone said no b/c we did not have our license with us. However, as we were in Mexico, we knew that if we had the money there were ways around the rules. So, we found a little store in town that rented us a scooter but basically said if we were caught by the Mexican police that we would go to to jail and it would take several days to process us out. So we hopped on and... "VAMANOS!"

We drove around the island (avoiding the typical traffic stops that they warned us about) and found a strip of beach to stop and eat lunch. Then we found a little shack on the beach that would take us out snorkeling. We got on this rickety old boat and headed out. I had never done this before in open water, so I was a bit hesitant. They just stopped in what seemed like the middle of the ocean and told us to jump. I was FREAKING OUT. The minute I put my head under water a huge black fish was inches from my face. Sheer panic ran through me. I started crying so hard, and I could not catch my breath, I was swallowing gallons of salt water - I was pretty sure it was the end. After Carl talked me down, I relaxed and tried again, this time I loved it! I just needed some time to adjust. We had so much fun!

After we got back to shore, we jumped back on the scooter and drove around the back side of the island where there were no hotels. We stopped to eat at this little place right off the road overlooking a rocky shoreline. It was awesome scenery.

Finally the day was coming to a close, we winded our way back through all the narrow, one-way roads and eventually found the scooter store. We made our way back to the fairy and headed home.

After that long day - we collapsed in our room for the evening, ordered room service, and, well....went about the honeymoon....We had no idea this one adventurous day would be the beginning of the biggest adventure of our lives....John was literally "Made in Mexico". ;)