Cruise: Part 3

 

Day 6

We woke up in Cozumel! We had another excursion planned. We were pretty nervous about this one. It was a long one and we were being quite adventurous (at least for us) and we were wondering if we had made a large mistake. Kirk and his family were doing clear kayaking and snorkeling in Cozumel and we were wondering if maybe we should have chosen something tamer like that!

We left the ship at 7:30 am feeling excited and also slightly trepidatious. Cozumel was beautiful!

We had to find and board a speed boat ferry type thing to take us to another part of Mexico. They call it a "Fast Ferry" and I will call this the Barf Barge because that is what it was...it was horrifying. We were so glad that we decided to forgo breakfast that morning!!

We grabbed our seats and tried to look out of a window. Not possible. The windows are covered with an opaque film and we couldn't see out. The boat was super rocky as was the water. Not being able to see where we were going and just feeling all of that movement was not good!

I didn't understand what was happening when people all around us started raising their hands. It was for barf bags that were being handed out left and right. About 10 minutes into our 45 minute ferry ride over two-thirds of the passengers on the boat were puking. It was unreal. Thank goodness for our seasickness patches!! They did the trick! I would've been throwing up for sure! I get car sick. But I've never seen anything like that in my life and definitely not on that scale. There were people throwing up everywhere you looked. Thank goodness they were cranking the AC at maximum capacity so I just closed my eyes to what was happening around me. It was quite the experience!

When we docked we got into another van and drove another hour to an adventure park where we would be zip lining. This time we drove through several cities. Driving in Mexico isn't for the faint of heart nor is it to be a passenger in a 12 person van!! It was raining while we drove; and when we arrived at our destination it was also thundering and lightening. I wondered if our ziplining would be cancelled due to the thunder and lightening. Nope. We were immediately helped into our ziplining gear and told to climb up the nearest platform. Okay...

Thankfully when we got to the top of the first platform the rain stopped and the thunder and lightening moved away from us. I guess those fervent prayers worked!! LOL. For our ziplining adventure we did five different platforms. When the description says that you must be in good physical shape to do this; they aren't lying. The stairs on those platforms were NO JOKE to climb!! The views looking out over the jungle were so amazing though and the ziplining was SO FUN!!

Brynnie

Me

Tyler was always the first one to go and I was always the last so I don't have any pictures of him which is a bummer!! At a couple of the platforms you could zipline in tandem and he and Bryn went together. Needless to say we had a BLAST!!

For the last platform Bryn opted to do the hammock. She also had to remind them to actually strap her in. Gulp. Tyler and I declined the hammock option and just did a normal zipline run. She had fun and she didn't fall out so... yeah.

We loved ziplining!! It was fun and intense!! Most of the pictures that Tyler took of me are screaming and will NOT be posted here but I was screaming with joy! LOL. This was me and Tyler's second time ziplining but our first time was on a much smaller scale. This was Bryn's very first time and she loved it too. A woman in our group totally freaked out after the first platform and had to climb down and be driven back to the start. Yikes.

After ziplining we got back into our van and drove to a cenote. This was probably my favorite part of the whole day!! I love water in all of its forms and the cenote was incredible.

Bryn heading down into the cenote.

Bryn and I loved it and swam all over in the cenote exploring. In some parts the roof was very low and there wasn't a lot of space between the water and the *roof.* I guess that is what you would call it or top of the cave? There were so many stalactites and stalagmites. Also the water was very deep so you needed to be a great water treader if you didn't inflate your life vest. Bryn and I are but Tyler had a wee bit of a panic attack in the cenote. Claustrophobia really kicked in and he didn't inflate his life vest and had to tread water like a maniac. He did eventually inflate the vest and was fine just floating. I was busy keeping an eye on Bryn who was diving down and exploring all of the underwater tunnels. There were also a ton of bats on the ceiling/roof of the cenote. That was a bit unsettling. After our swim we had lunch there and then got in the van again and drove to Tulum where we snorkeled in a lagoon. Also very fun!!

This was our first time snorkeling in the ocean and seeing tropical fish!! It was absolutely stunning to see all of the beautifully colored fish swimming around us. We were all pretty awestruck! I do not enjoy fish normally but this had an other worldly quality about it.

On our hour and a half drive back to our speedboat puke ferry we had our first Mexican Sprites. Delicious! People make a big deal about Mexican Coke but their Sprite is fantastic and I don't even normally like Sprite!! Bryn also had a memorable time using a Mexican public restroom...no toilet seats. LOL. That was a first for her! We got back on the vomit express and luckily didn't have any issues. Not so the people around us but not *quite* as bad as that morning. 45 LONG minutes later and we were back in Cozumel. Kirk and Meki and their group had fun on their clear kayaking adventure. They had a memorable time too! So many stories to tell. 

It was a LONG but fun adventure filled day!! 

We got back to the ship and then had to shower and get dressed for another formal night. This time our group all had dinner together at another one of the specialty restaurants on the ship called Chops. It was a steak house. It was good but I liked Izumi better. It was fun to hear about everyone's adventures and misadventures!! After dinner it was the ship's 70s party. We slugged down some redbulls and headed to the party!

It was another fun and late night!!

Day 7

We were so tired from our adventures from the day before that we all slept in until 10 am! We hung out with Kirk and Meki that morning and then had lunch at the Windjammer Café. Tyler and I headed to the photography studio to pick out and purchase some of our cruise pictures. All the shops onboard were having clearance sales so Bryn and I bought souvenirs for everyone. I bought a cute purse and got one for Ailey too.

When we headed out to the pool the Sexiest Man Contest was going on. Imagine my shock (and horror) when I saw that KIRK was one of the contestants!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I kept saying "That's my brother!!!" "OMG that's Kirk up there!!" My nephew, Tarren, entered him into the contest as a joke. Kirk had been lounging pool side when they called his name. At first he was annoyed but then he was a good sport. When I saw him he had already made several cuts and was in the top 4. Then he made the top 3 and then the top 2!! He was dancing and being charming (as he is!). We were screaming and cheering for him and voting for him! He came in 2nd!! The guy that won did a back flip and that sealed the deal. That guy was also a good 20 years younger than Kirk! LOL. Kirk was a low key celebrity for the rest of the cruise!! Ha ha!!

Second Sexiest Man...LOL!!

After the contest was over, Kirk and I were sitting next to each other on the edge of the pool, and this guy said to Kirk gesturing to me..."She is REALLY into you dude!! She was cheering for you like crazy!" We both nearly vomited. I said horrified, "I'm his SISTER!!" Ew. Then the guy started flirting with me since I was clearly available. Thank goodness the true sexiest man on board came back to the pool with pina coladas in hand and sent my little *friend* on his way!! 

Definitely the sexiest man onboard...no contest necessary!!

We spent all of our last day poolside. I wish we would've had an extra relaxing day in between our two excursions. I love going on excursions but I also lounging by the pool!

That evening our big group all went to the ice skating show. That was really fun! Then we had our last big dinner together on the cruise. We were all pretty sad that this vacation was coming to an end.

We really enjoyed having Bryn on the cruise with us and getting to experience this with her!!

I loved being out on our balcony and seeing the sun rise and set. I loved watching the stars and the water. Nearly every time that I was out on our balcony so was Kirk and he would do his "Oh Yoohoo!"

It was really fun to experience the cruise with Kirk and his family and also our friend Julie. We were all so sad to see it ending. That night Tyler and I saw six shooting stars. We also saw a drunk idiot throw a chair off of one of the decks. Unbelievable.

Day 8

The next morning we were all up early and feeling melancholy. Tyler, Kirk, Meki, and I all stood on our balconies watching the sunrise as we approached Galveston. 

Dolphins were swimming in the bay. It was beautiful!

We finished packing and then all went to breakfast together. There were mopey faces all around. This cruise turned out to be so much fun for all of us. We made some amazing memories together. Then, sadly, it was time to disembark. We said goodbye to our Utah contingent.  The tears were flowing. They were headed back to Houston and then to the airport. I was really glad that the 3rd leg of our trip was just beginning. It helped with the post cruise depression!

The disembarking flowed pretty quickly. It was a little stressful for us since we didn't know what we were doing but it went surprisingly fast. In no time we found ourselves through the port of entry and out on the curb in the blazing Texas heat! Tyler called us a Lyft and it was there in literally one minute. Our driver drove us to the car rental at Hobby airport and in no time at all we were in our rental car and on our way to Waco! More Texas adventures to come!