Monday, we arrived at our first port of call - Costa Maya, Mexico! We ate our usual breakfast early at the front of the ship surrounded by a wall of windows overlooking the Costa Maya port. Once the ship was clear for disembarking, we headed down to the fourth level to exit. Kristin and I were together. After my room key was scanned to exit, Kristin realized that she had Lee's card. This meant she could not get off...and neither could Lee. But, where was Lee? We walked up and down from the 4th level to where our rooms were. No one was to be found. Eventually, we saw Lee coming from another direction. There were two exits: one at the aft and one at forward of the ship! When we were finally reunited, we exited the ship trying to be at our excursion meeting place in time. Beautiful water and blue skies met us as we walked down the pier to the port markets.

Me and Russ in front of some of the Costa Mayan people

Lee and Kristin

We had an "Off-road Jeep Adventure" scheduled for the day, so we immediately found our guide. There was plenty to look at while we waited on the rest of our group.

Dustin, Mary, Mama, and Daddy waiting on our excursion

While we waited, Russ headed into the marketplace area looking for a "cool cap." Lee joined him, and the two of them came back with an interesting combination: a normal Costa Maya baseball cap and a hilarious pumpkin mask!

Russ and Lee

Our guide took our names and looked at the driver's licenses of those driving the Jeeps. Then, he explained who he was and led us to another spot inside the marketplace area surrounded by jungle foliage. He gave us instructions on operating the Jeeps, which were stick shifts. Eventually, after all the jokes and instructions, we were able to load up into our Jeeps and hit the road. Or the "off-roads." Ha!

Our guide

Kristin and Lee

Me and Russ

Russ and I rode with Kristin and Lee. Or should I say, Kristin and I rode with Russ and Lee. The girls enjoyed the ride from the back seat, and we loved every minute of it once we found a good radio station to keep us going and our energy high.

Line of Jeeps at one of our stops

Sistas

Russ and Lee
We only drank the bottled water!

We drove through the city and into the outskirts where we saw, what we would consider, poverty areas. It was extremely dry, and everything we had was covered in layers of dust. It was beautiful and interesting to see how others live. The population of the area on a normal day is about 500. When the cruise ships are in port, people come from all over. Our tour guide came in from Mexico City. Not a single red light. Just bumpy and rough, dusty roads.

One of the local places along the way

Restaurant, bar, and hotel

Which way?

We stopped at one point to see the last living spider monkey in the area. When the last hurricane came through, the first spider monkey did not survive. However, when someone found this one, they nursed him back to health. He is now chained to this palm tree where they feed him and care for him.

We all had a great time driving uninhibited through the "off-roads" of the jungle. The people all waved to us as we passed by. At one point, we saw a uniformed armed man guarding the streets as well. I was told it has to do with some kind of gang in that area. Very different from our life, but we had a blast! Take a look to see.... (mute the playlist)

On our way back, we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant across from a beach. The food was delicious, and the beach was beautiful. We had about an hour and twenty minutes to relax, enjoy the beach, and look at some of the goods the locals were selling.

The whole group minus Russ

Kristin and Lee

Wrapped up like a cocoon in the hammock...lovely!

Dustin living the good life!

Once our rest time was up, we loaded back into our Jeeps to head back to the marketplace. Of course our Jeep had to be traded out because our gas and oil was low. Typical. Ha! From what I hear, Daddy was pretty rough on his vehicle as well. At least that's the story from his passengers!

Mary and Mama

Mary, Dustin, and Daddy

Lee and Kristin

Me and Russ

By the time we turned our Jeeps in and took a bathroom break, there was still plenty of time before we needed to be aboard the ship. Mama and Daddy went their way and the kids went ours. We headed toward town to Señor Frog's for a bite to eat and a good time.

Mary and Dustin with Señor Frog

A fine time we had! We danced, sang, laughed, and even screamed Mississippi State's fight song at one point. Take a peek at our experience...

A Costa Mayan clown walked around making balloon hats. Dustin's was quite the spectacle. I will not share with you on this blog the finished product. Just know we were all speechless! Ha!

Dustin

We walked back toward the marketplace for a few minutes of browsing before loading the ship for the evening. A wonderful first port of call complete!

Lee and Russ walking back from Señor Frog's

Of course, I found my REAL coke!

Me and Russ in front of our ship...the Epic

The boys weren't tired yet! They were ready for another round of sliding. This time, they talked Daddy into joining them. We stayed atop the ship around the pool area for as long as we could until it was time to get ready for dinner.

Russ at the end of the yellow slide....we referred to it as the "toilet bowl" because there is one part where you go round and round until you finally slide down the rest. Very fun!

Lee

Daddy made it too!

We had dinner at one of the nicer restaurants, The Manhatten Room, where "Legends Unplugged" performed for us. The focus of the music was Motown, which is always fun!

the menu

Kristin and Lee

Mama and Daddy

Me and Russ
I had a nice "farmer's burn" on my arms and had to wear long sleeves!

Russ decided since we were in a nice restaurant to go ahead and give me my birthday gift a day early. Yay! I absolutely loved it...the "He Loves Me" charm to add to my new Pandora bracelet.

Great job, Russ!

The rest of the evening was low-key as we walked around the ship and stopped wherever we wanted before heading back to our staterooms to find our cute little towel animals.

Stateroom 8191 was exhausted from such a fun and full day! Plus we had another stop back to back the following day. We all needed our rest!

Stop #2...ROATAN!

Day Two - At Sea

Our second day was a "Day at Sea" on the second largest cruise ship in the world, the Epic! We all slept very well as we floated through the sea. I would recommend a balcony room simply because it is so nice to leave the balcony door open as you sleep and listen to the waves crash all. night. long. Ahhhh.....

We all woke up the next morning refreshed. We ate breakfast at the front of the ship at the Garden Cafe next to a wall of windows as we watched our ship make it's way toward our first stop. After lounging and enjoying simple relaxation, we met for lunch for a murder mystery theater.

It was a delightful and funny murder mystery dinner-theater. Russ and I were even called up to take part. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures during the show but let's just say...your mind goes blank when under pressure like that! Ha!

Russ and I before lunch

After lunch, we made our way up to the 15th floor where the pool area and upper level are located to enjoy the sunshine. There is a VIP level...18th floor I think. Paying each day to lay out isolated from the band or DJ and the rest of the fun just didn't sound good to us. So we decided to stay with all the "common people". Ha!

Sisters

Me and Russ

We literally stayed outside all day long until the sun set beautifully along the horizon of never-ending ocean. I'm starting to sound like a romantic literature author! Ha!

Once the sun set, we left the band and fun by the poolside to get showered and ready for a yummy supper at Teppanyaki, a Japanese hibachi grill on board the Epic.

If you know us at all, you know that the Smith family LOVES some hibachi! It's one of the few restaurants we all agree on. Our chef was very entertaining and the waitresses were very attentive. Three of the captains (or captain-like people) sat at the table next to us and spoke to everyone on their way out. I got a little embarrassed to ask for a picture, so you'll just have to trust me.

Our menus doubled as origami paper. The directions were on the menu. Russ worked and worked and worked on his. He refused to accept help. It must be something about intelligent people...the challenge! FINALLY he came out with a finished product that looked perfect! The hostess came by and told him that she had never seen a passenger create seahorse without help. Yep! That's my man!

So proud! Good job, Babe!

The rest of us, on the other hand, needed remediation! Our nice waitress came around to each person to help us create something different. She made it look so easy!

Our waitress

Daddy giving a flower to Mama

The staff also came around and sang "Happy Birthday" to me and to Mary since we both had birthdays coming up. We each got a birthday cake, so we ate one and saved the other. No need, though, because I had one in my room AND we got one everywhere we went! Ha!

the whole group

Nothing major planned this night, so we were free to roam and do our thing. We posed for pictures by the pretty light fixture art and scattered.

Kristin and Lee

Mary and Dustin

Me and Russ

Russ and I joined Mama and Daddy in the Bliss Lounge to hear 70's and 80's music. It was very entertaining and quite the spectacle. We sang along...Mama more than me and Russ. Ha! When I felt my eyelids getting heavy, we headed to our staterooms for some rest before our first port of call.

Mama and Daddy

Next stop...COSTA MAYA!