On this particular morning, we made a quick decision to join my sisters and their families and my mom on an excursion to Isla Mujeres, a small laid back island off the coast of Cancun. We took a bus down to a ferry terminal where Derek and Brenna (my sister Allison's youngest daughter) were able to get a snuggle with Grandma.
Once we got off the ferry, most people seemed to rent golf carts to drive around the island, but we were concerned about finding ones big enough to seat our family without having to worry about kids falling or jumping off. We were also concerned that in spite of being a major international tourist destination, most places (including gas stations) in Cancun would not accept credit cards and we didn't have enough cash on hand to spend on things. Fortunately, my mom was able to loan us some cash and we found two taxi drivers willing to take our family, my sister Kellie's family, and my mom around on a tour of the island stopping at all the "interesting" places. Honestly, I think the taxi tour worked out better than us driving a golf cart around an unfamiliar place anyway. Our first stop was a photo opportunity at this whale shark sculpture with a sign we are blocking saying "Isla Mujeres".
One thing we knew was on the island that would be interesting was a turtle sanctuary. Here, we were able to feed multiple varieties and sizes of sea turtles while we learned about them. I thought it was really interesting, and the kids got really excited when one of the turtles would come and eat one of the pellets that they had tossed into the water.
When we got to the outdoor holding tanks, the birds came and ate some of the food too, which was either irritating or funny depending on which child was offering their opinion.
Here's Karina in the large fenced off section of ocean where they had the largest sea turtles, a nurse shark, and other fish swimming around.
Lydia got super excited when she finally saw the shark in the water swimming.
And this turtle was particularly friendly to her (at least as friendly as turtles can be) when it came up out of the water right next to her.
Our girls with Dallin and Logan (my sister Kellie's twin sons).
After we left the turtle sanctuary, the next stop was a small restaurant with a nurse shark in a pen that you could go and pet. The shark's skin felt like very rough sandpaper. The handler even turned the shark upside down so we could rub its belly, and when we did, it squirted a stream of water at us. I am still not sure if it was an accident, or if the shark was trained to do that on command, but it was funny either way.
A short drive later and we came to the southern tip of the island which offered some beautiful scenery and a nice spot to sit down on a wall that ran along the walking path. Here I am with Karina, Derek, and Grandma.
Derek and I had fun playing here.
We saw so many iguanas hanging out on this stretch of the island (and elsewhere during our trip).
I really like this picture with the iguana and the waves breaking against the cliffs in the background.
Derek thought the iguanas were pretty cool.
Ethan (my sister Kellie's youngest) got really close to this big iguana and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Around this time, it started hissing and charging straight toward me where I was sitting on the sea wall taking this picture. It was kind of funny and kind of scary.
Once we got back to the resort that afternoon, Derek was exhausted and asleep. I wish he would have slept better and longer at night, though then we wouldn't have pictures like these to look back on. We found a patio couch to lay him down on and took turns going into the buffet to get our late lunch while he remained completely oblivious to his surroundings. Busy days on vacation can wear a little guy out. It was also our most relaxing lunch of the trip, since we didn't have to contain him.
No comments:
Post a Comment