Day Six - Cozumel

Thursday morning, the Epic tied up at the port of Cozumel, Mexico. Russ and I stopped here on our honeymoon cruise. It was our favorite place then, and I think it was our favorite place this time. We needed more time.

Me and Russ....Look at that crystal clear blue water!

The children singing Christmas carols near the port...if you look closely, you'll see Dustin and Daddy in the background. Some more "Where's Waldo?" play

Mama ready to go!

Our excursion for the day was an ATV ride through the jungle. Now, if you know me at all, you know I was first concerned about SNAKES! Then, they asked us to bring old shoes, bug spray and bandannas for our faces. I was quite nervous. I tried to act excited about it, but I was honestly a nervous wreck....which made me on edge the closer we got to the ATVs. We got our instructions, which I didn't listen to, and loaded onto our rides.

We put our helmets and bandannas on before cranking our ATV and taking off. Let me try to describe what it was we actually rode through. At least we had a trail....so it wasn't actually through the jungle greens! Ha! We had a dusty, boulder-filled, root-filled, muddy, muddy puddly, and FAST ride through this trail in the jungle. Now, I understand the bandanna and the old shoes!

Party of Two Bandits

We made our first stop not long after we started just to make sure everyone was okay and for our guide to ask us if we were ready for the real ride. Uh oh! Ha! Dustin, Daddy, and Russ were driving at one point. This is when the race started. They began passing each other or trying to pass, which made us all speed up over these boulders and huge roots sticking up out of the ground and the big holes. At one point, Russ and I went airborne! Tears were shed. Apologies said. Then, Russ and I sped up to catch back up with the group. Obviously, Russ tried to stay out of the racing for fear of his life...or was it wife? Ha! Then, we stopped to view one of the underground caves.

Dustin and Mary

You could see the water line from the last hurricane that swept through the area. I can't exactly remember the specifics, but this cave used to be several feet under the water and used as a water source. It is now completely dry and used for shelter during hurricanes. I hope I got that right. I'm not very good at listening to guides with such a thick Spanish accent.

Me and Russ in the cave

Right outside the cave, we saw this huge iguana. Once iguanas find a place, they stay there. This iguana, according to our guide, has been at this place for four years! Crazy, isn't it!?

We jumped back on our ATV and took out on a journey back to our starting place. We were only half as dirty, dusty, and muddy as we would be in the end! Ha! At this point, we all just wanted to see how muddy we could get. Who cares now that it's caked three layers deep! Let's make it five! Ha!

The whole dirty crew

Russ and me...with Lee and Kristin behind us

After we parked our ATV, we walked toward the little building where we could sit and wait on our taxis to take us to the beach. On our walk, we saw these amazing parrots. There were three of them, so we snapped several pictures.

Once back at the final destination, we were able to assess everyone's filth. I just hate I didn't get one of Mary. She had mud caked all the way up to her bottom! Ha!

Dustin's uni-brow

Mine and Russ's legs...somehow the passengers ended up worse off than the drivers!

Our taxis arrived and took us to a private beach for lunch, to clean off in the ocean, and to relax on the sand. We went straight for the food after we dunked our shoes in the ocean to attempt to clean them off. You don't even want to know what happened when we blew our noses! Imagine what it would have been like without the bandannas!

Russ's dusty forehead

Russ and Lee immediately went for snorkeling equipment and headed out to the ocean. They saw neat fish and a huge stingray. Kristin and I, of course, found a chair to lay in on the sandy beach. Mama and Daddy visited with Mary and Dustin at the table and enjoyed the breeze and the view. It was a nice ending to a rough ride!

Lee and Russ snorkeling

Me and Russ looking a bit cleaner

The taxi ride back to the port was nice as we looked at the scenery of Cozumel. We saw a man riding a donkey to get where he was going and a few dune buggies riding through the area. Cozumel had SO much to see and do near the port. We walked around the shopping area until it was time to load the ship. Russ found some Cuban cigars, and he decided to enjoy the rest of his shopping with one. Ha!

Russ looking Cuban! Ha!

We also found some Christmas decor...Cozumel style! Merry Christmas from Cozumel!

Santa Russ

Megan the Snowwoman

I think we all ended up with a handmade bracelet, and we even got a few for Christmas gifts. We enjoyed the local smells, sights, and atmosphere. Russ and Lee enjoyed bartering for goods. I got ripped off because I don't enjoy bartering! Oh well! Ha! It was a beautifully fun day in Cozumel all the same!

Russ with the city behind him

Russ, me, Kristin, and Lee getting ready to board the ship

Just as we were getting ready to board the ship, the sun was setting. I couldn't help but watch this beautiful sunset God created in Cozumel.

Whew! What a fun and exhausting day! We all went straight to our rooms to strip and shower after such a dirty day! Ha! Kristin, Lee, me, and Russ had quite the party in our room. You just shoulda been there. There's no way to explain what all took place there! Ha! Unforgettable! We finally got dressed for supper at an Italian restaurant, La Cucina. I ordered pizza, of course, and it was yummy!

Russ and me

Several of us agree that Cozumel's activities were the most fun. It's a toss up between Cozumel's ATV ride with beach time and the first day on board! Ha! Either way, Cozumel was a great way for the trip to start coming to an end. We only had one more day at sea before our final port of Miami.