Cruising to Mexico -- Day 3!! (in Costa Maya)

We docked early this AM in Costa Maya. The weather was gorgeous -- around 80 degrees, breezy, sunny, WONDERFUL!!! I may never go back to Maryland...... :) Here are pictures of our day......


We awoke to find another Royal Caribbean ship had docked next to ours -- this is the "Independence of the Seas".

After leaving the ship, we walked down the pier and through the tourist trap area -- which actually was very pretty and kind of interesting!!  They even had a pool, complete with sand, lounge chairs, and an in-pool bar, in case you didn't want to leave the tourist area and go out into the "real" world!

This next group of pictures of the tourist area are Morgan's -- you can definitely see her creative streak and eye for the unusual in them!!

We more adventurous types decided to head off to a real beach, so we hopped a ride on a bus and headed off to one of many private beaches in the area.  We ended up at the Tequila Beach Club.

 

Here's a view down the beach showing our cruise ship (Grandeur of the Seas, Royal Caribbean).

 

Looking down the beach the other direction......

 

The girls say that I absolutely MUST share this video -- as ridiculous as it is!! Story here -- I was starting to do a video with the girls when this guy named Mike walked up. Says he wants to do "a funny joke" with me! Uh-oh..... He was trying to get me to give him my camera and for me to take his cheap looking Ipod. I thought he might be trying to steal my camera!! You'll have to watch the video to see what actually happened!!

The girls hopped into the water almost immediately -- it was so warm and great for swimming! 

 

Mackenzie decided to try her hand at kayaking.......

 

....and then Morgan joined in!

 

While swimming, the girls found all kinds of interesting "treasures" to study:  various kinds of seaweed......

 

.......a piece of sponge (still soft and squishy!).......

.....a beautiful shell with a live crab in it......

We saw this beautiful bird flying overhead; we haven't had time to try to identify it yet, but it was really cool!!  Mackenzie said it looked like a pteradactyl!!

UPDATE: I did some searching, and I'm reasonably certain that what I'm showing is a male Magnificent Frigatebird. Anybody else think so?

When Kenzie got a bit tired and cold (from the breeze on wet skin, not from the temperature!!), she decided to take a break and bury herself in the sand for a while.

 

Our trip back to the ship was an adventure in itself!  We ended up in a taxi (van) with five other ladies who were drunk as skunks!!  Wild, screeching singing all the way back to the ship!!  And the music blaring on the radio sounded like Mexican polka music, complete with accordians!!  Who knew???

The girls posed for a picture before getting back on ship -- tired, suntanned and happy!

 

And our bedtime towel creation...... We THINK maybe it's a bulldog??  It's cute, whatever it is!!

 

More posts tomorrow after our trip to Cozumel and Tulum!!

Vacation!!

Today we will be visiting the sunny (hopefully!) port of Costa Maya, Mexico and tomorrow we will be in Cozumel, Mexico! We'll post pictures and more when we return from the trip!!

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Cruising to Mexico -- Day 2 !!

Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico -- seen from our cabin window


Mackenzie getting lessons on rockwall climbing from the wonderful sports center director from Zimbabwe!


Encouragement from the climbing instructor from Croatia!


Photo showing how high the wall is....


She reached the top!!


One happy sailor!!


Meanwhile, Morgan and Nelson are busy goofing off......


....and enjoying the beautiful multi-story lobby area! This sculpture hangs over the center of the lobby!


Later, Mackenzie had a great time in the pool.....




....while the rest of us sat on deck, enjoyed the sun, and listened to the Jamaican band!


Then another go at the rock climbing wall for Mackenzie:




Later on...... Nelson, Mackenzie & Morgan all dressed up. This was the formal dinner evening...


....as well as the Captain's Reception. Here, the Captain is introducing some of the members of his staff and various departments on the ship.


After dinner, we celebrated Nelson's birthday.....


....and saw a show in the theater!


Upon returning to the room for the night, we found this cute towel creation, made by Vincent, our wonderful room attendant from Jamaica! Then off to sleep for all of us!

Cruising to Mexico -- Day 1 !!

Fruit carving display and the main foyer area -- Mackenzie found this to be fascinating!


Beautiful "flower" arrangement, all made of vegetables


The girls settling into their cabin


Mackenzie and Morgan enjoying the sisterhood......


....and enjoying the view from deck 9 as we sailed out of Tampa!


Sunset from the upper decks over Tampa Bay


View of our room.......


Another view of our room......


Morgan at first dinner in the Great Gatsby dining hall


Mackenzie and Nelson together at the dinner table

Around 7:30 pm, our ship sailed under the bridge at the outlet to Tampa Bay. Nelson tried to get photos; unfortunately, it was completely dark and the photos did not turn out. I wish they had; the clearance for the ship going under there at high tide is only between 12" - 30" -- very scary looking as the ship is going under!

We spent the rest of the evening exploring the ship, unpacking, and enjoying a show in the theater. Then off to bed for some sleep!!! More adventure tomorrow......

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A bouncing baby boy!

I really don't have the time (or energy!) to blog much right now. I had NO -- ZERO -- ZIP -- NADA -- ZILCH -- sleep last night due to a marathon birth. But I'm happy to report that at 9:41 AM, my client gave birth to a gorgeous 10 lbs., 8 oz. baby boy!! Wow!!! What a gal!!

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A GREAT nickname for a New Year's Day Baby!

I attended the birth of a beautiful baby girl today, born at 9:21 AM. As the midwife and I were filling out the paperwork afterwards, she commented on the great birth date -- January 1, 2010 or 01-01-10. Dad thought about it for a second and said, "We can call her the 'Binary Baby'"!!

Welcome to the world, little Lily Marie!!

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