Ah a week spent in sunny, beautiful, warm Mexico and now back to being knee-deep in snow. Oh Ohio, your weather just bites.
But we did have a FANTASTIC TIME! Since we got married in July, one of the few warm months here in Cleveland, we decided to postpone our honeymoon until the snowstorms hit. Thought we'd appreciate the trip a bit more. Boy, did we ever.
So we jetted off for eight fabulous days in the sand'n'sun in Riviera Maya, Mexico, which is about 30 miles south of Cancun and directly west of Cozumel. Our all-inclusive resort was the Riu Palace Riviera Maya, which was stunning. Between the food, drinks, immaculately clean grounds and friendly staff, we were thrilled. I would definitely go back there again without a second thought.
Our room was huge (king size bed! With no dog to share it with!) and the cleaning crew left us adorable little towels animals every day. Our first day there the towel animal was a puppy...how did they know?? We were also visited by a dinosaur, elephant and a peacock! Our room came with a living room area and our own bar. They restocked it daily with beer and liquor...got to love all-inclusive resorts!
I don't really have much to tell in terms of what we did. Other than laying on beach, playing in the clear, blue ocean and thinking of how lucky we were to not be in Cleveland, we didn't do much. Except eat and drink to our heart stomach's content. The food was amazing, especially the breakfast and dinner options. Lunch was a typically buffet - I could take it or leave it. But the view from our lunch table was to die for.
We tried several of the resort's restaurants and spent a good amount of time in the lobby bar people-watching. Since we went in the off-season, our resort was only half-filled which resulted in spectacular service from every staff member.
The grounds were immaculate. Seriously, I walked out one morning to see them scrubbing the SIDEWALK. And then felt bad walking on it later...I'm sure my flip flops left footprints!
Most of our time was spent swimming in the ocean, the water was almost 80 degrees and clear! You had to be careful though - the bottom was a bit rocky in some parts. But once you got out to the sandbars, it was smooth and easy on your feet. The waves weren't that big, so floating around became my favorite activity.
[this picture cracks me up. it's of a wave hitting us]
The rest of the time - we just laid in the sun...right here to be exact.
Oh, and partook in some fruity cocktails. Because what's a beach without fruity drinks?
[drinking the most amazing mango-orange-rum drink]
We actually brought those large cups. Good tip from TripAdvisor. All-inclusive resorts will fill whatever cup you give them, but they serve drinks in tiny cups. So to save a few trips to the bar, we just brought our own large plastic cups!
Adam managed to convince me to take a scuba diving class with him. Thankfully, it was just in our hotel pool. I wasn't a fan. Once the instructer placed the googles on me, I felt very claustophobic and couldn't get a hang of the breathing regiment. It's much harder than it looks! Adam had a ball though...he was really good at keeping calm with his breathing and even managed to do a few laps around the pool completely underwater.
[all suited up]
[adam exploring the pool]
We had such fantastic time...and as much as I'm not thrilled to be back in the snow, I guess it's not too bad. Especially since Christmas is just days away now. I'm definitely trying to convince Adam to make this a yearly trip, even if we don't go back to this resort. A week of sunshine in the middle of winter does wonders!
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