We stayed at the Bahia Principe Resort in Montego Bay for 5 nights and we booked an excursion to the Dunn's River Falls. That was really really fun! Our driver was hilarious and the hike up the river was pretty cool (and a little dangerous if I'd say so myself), nonetheless we did it and we have no regrets. 

The details/breakdown:

The resort grounds was beautiful. We ended upgrading to an ocean view room which was awesome. The pool was pretty big and the beach was separated by sections but available to all resort guests. Every day we picked a different section to hang out in and we would normally start the day by going to the beach after breakfast and ending the day in the pool area. The beach water was so clear and warm, it was definitely the Caribbean :) The entertainment team was not like in previous resorts we've stayed at. I don't remember them doing any day activities, yet again the pool was so big and sort of wrapped around the resort that we were probably in the "quiet side of it". The nightly entertainment was pretty cool. I personally found that some of the male staff were inappropriate. One guy in particular kept us waiting forever for drinks, he took shots himself and had his own drink that he was sipping on while he made other drinks, and he would smack other girls booty (female staff) as they walked by him. My hubby and I just looked at each other, grabbed our drinks and moved to another section. Whoever he thought he was, I found his actions and behavior to be inappropriate. Friendlyness of the staff in Jamaica was definitely not the same as in Mexico. Jamaica reminded me a lot of the Dominican Republic in many ways.

The food was good. Very similar to what we are used to eating but with different spices. I have no complains about the food but also nothing that sticks out as being amazingly good. We did have Jamaican pattys and that was good, at least the one from the resort was. Oh and the curry chicken was pretty good. We ate it almost every day for lunch. The drinks were pretty good too. I'm not a big drinker so I was fine with the first good drink I had. 

On our third day in Jamaica we traveled to Ocho Rios with this hilarious driver to climb up the Dunns River Falls. After arriving to our departure location we got on a boat that took us out to sea to snorkel. What an amazing experience. Now that water was super cold and although I as a little afraid of jumping in I ended up just joining the hubby. I've done snorkeling in Costa Rica which was my first time and a terrifying experience, as well as in DR on our Isla Saona excursion which we stopped in a natural pool to snorkel and the water there was waist deep and super clear. That was awesome.

Anyways, snorkeling in Jamaica was cool and I'm glad I decided to do it. YOLO. We then got back on the boat and ended up at the Falls. Ok, so this water was beyond cold, it was freezing. I don't think I'd make it all the way up by water but eventually my body got used to the water temperature. I loved all the pictures we were able to snap on our way up. On the way down we used the walk way. The stafff here also take pictures of you going up the Fall and try selling you a DVD at the end. We're suckers so we bought it lol.

On or ay back to the resort the boat had a party going on with Jamaican punch and pattys. The music was good. This was when reality hit. At least for me. There were a lot of young people in the boat, young like in their early/mid 20s and they were having the time of heir lives but I just kept on thinking "I can't dance like that, I can't behave like that. I'm a married woman and mother of two. This behavior is inappropriate for a woman my age", or is it? That thought really lingered in my head for quite awhile. Hubby and I did enjoy the boat ride back but in our own way. 

Two more days in the resort before ending this getaway which consisted of more beach, pool, and eating. Every day we ended up sitting next o this other couple from Boston, unintentionally, and on our second to last day there we had lunch with them and hung out on the biggest part of the beach section. They were pretty cool, I wish we would had exchanged info to keep in touch. They were really funny.

At last, Jamaican was quite the experience . I liked it but I didn't love it like I thought I would. Will we ever go back? yea sure, maybe sometime in the future but is not like I'm already planning our next trip there. My favorite part of this trip was spending time with the hubs and making great memories. 

It was a birthday for the record for sure. Just like we planned it :)

Hello 30s.

 

We got picked up bright and early and we made our way to Tulum. First on the list was a tour of the Tulum Mayan Ruins. Is funny because while in school History was never an interest for me. Although it was indeed interesting, to me it was beyond boring. Now that I'm an adult though I love learning about early civilizations and historical sites so this was pretty neat to experience. At first I didn't care much for checking out the ruins, I was interested in seeing Xichen Itza instead but that was out of the list this time around, however once there things got interesting. Our tour guide was super funny and he explained everything so well. He walked us around and told us about the ruins and then we had an hour to walk around, take pictures, and enjoy the area. I loved that we got there super early so we were part of the early crowd. On our way out that placed was jammed packed. There were so many tourists. Apparently it is the third most visited archeological site in Mexico (I read that in a google search).  It rained a little but the sun was still out so it was somewhat refreshing.

We had to leave everything in our bus and just bring walking/water shoes and our bathing suits. They provided everything else from towels, to water, and even the pictures. I was a little annoyed by that but it was honestly a great investment. 

We started rappelling into the cave. Let me just note that I'm the biggest scary cat ever yet somehow I manage to put myself in situations that I would have never even dreamed of. They set you all up with "rappelling gear" and give you a few minutes talk on how it's done and then they ask who wants to go first. I was terrified but you do it in couples so that was nice. You also go at your own speed since you control it with your left hand and then towards the bottom you just let go completely to make a splash into the water and so the picture has a dramatic effect. It was pretty cool. We swam through the  cave till we reached our first zip lining area. I believe there were 5. Or maybe 7. I remember 2 being at the end, after lunch. 

The zip lining was pretty cool too. I had tried zip lining in Costa Rica back in 2010 and somewhere else too but I don't recall where. I was terrified and there's actually a video where you see the tour guide messing with me and just as he lets me go he says "oh wait wait" but I'm already going so my heart drops to my bottom and all I hear is laughter. Not cool, not cool. It was funny to have that on video. 

From there we ended up in a underwater cave where we got snorkeling gears and got to swim through to the other side. That was the coolest experience ever! So I just Google searched  it to see if I find this place and it's actually called Cenote Sac Actun. Guys, I totally recommend you checking out this Cenote if you are ever in Mexico. I can't swim. Well not too good anyways and the whole time I stayed next to the tour guide and my hubby because let me tell you, the view into the water was beyond breathtaking yet at the same time I was pooping myself. Specially when it got dark. I remember at one point I panicked and hubby must have noticed because he got next to me and told me to relax. To stop and take deep breaths. How can I explain this. I honestly don't think I can. This is the longest underwater cave in Mexico, I remember hubby pointing out a sign about it being on National Geographic. They had that sign on site. This experience was just too amazing to ever put into words. Is one of those things were you just have to experience it for yourself. And we didn't even get pictures of that part of the excursion. So it is definitely something that I will forever be thankful to have had experienced. 

More zip lining and then lunch. This food was authentic Mayan food and it was AMAZING! hubby and I repeated servings twice. Oh and the Tamarindo juice, Dios Que Riqueza! It was really good. 

After lunch we had some free time to check out souvenirs on site and the tour guide gave us the option to finish the zip lining or walk it back but of course we all chose to zip line. We then stopped for margaritas and to "shop" for our photos. I have to say that I was impressed with their system. They really persuaded you well for giving in to buying the pictures. Not like you had a choice since you didn't have a camera of your own. Nonetheless it was worth it. 

We made it to back to the resort. Showered, dinner, show, and bed. 

The weather was pretty decent on our last day in the resort. we hung out at the beach after breakfast for a few hours and wondered away from the resort on the beach side to see what else was around  then we came back to the pool area. It was a very low key last day there. We talked bout how much we loved Mexico and we jut knew we would be returning within the year to bring our boys. we missed them so much! But it was a much needed getaway to rekindle our love :)

On December 2016 we took a 5 days getaway to Mexico to celebrate Hubby's 30th birthday. We wanted to do something memorable and that we enjoyed. We love traveling and it was fitting that we decided on trips instead of big parties for our big transition into the third decade of our lives. We stayed at the beautiful Grand Sunset Princess Resort and although the weather wasn't what we had hoped for we made it work.

We landed in Cancun Airport and we were taken to enterprise were we had reserved a car for the next 5 days. After getting situated there we got in our rental and drove about 40 minutes to the resort. It was a smooth drive. I wasn't sure what to expect and I'm not going to lie I was somewhat scared since we did not know anything about Mexico but hubby's confidence had me a little more at ease. He's a truck driver so he's very good at getting around places plus there's just something about him that makes me feel protected. Could it be his size/appearance? who know. Bottom line, getting around The Riviera Maya was not difficult at all. It also helped that we knew the language but even if we wouldn't have I think it was fairly easy to get around.

The resort was beautiful and pretty big! There were 3 parts to it. At one point we got lost and ended up in the family resort which was also beautiful and looked very kid friendly. The food was amazing at every location and at any time of day but my favorite was the coffee. I don't know what kind of coffee they used but we drank cup after cup after cup. Hubby loved their liquor selection. He kept saying they had top shelf liquor, whatever that means. I like my wine, Corona, and Patron. One thing I did not like was the juices they used to mix drinks. Throughout our entire stay there was not one drink I repeated or enjoyed as much as hubby. I just couldn't get pass the after taste. It wasn't till our last day that I decided to drink wine (I didn't drink any before because wine and sun does not go well with me) but boy was their wine good :) Ooo and their burgers, OMG their burgers. I was hooked! Mexican burgers are way better than American burgers for sure or at least the burgers at this resort were. Night entertainment was really good. They had the best shows and live bands every night. That did not disappoint at all. The pool was good but again, the first couple of days it was hard to enjoy it because the weather was not as good so we did a lot of lounging and relaxing. The beach I did not like much. Very rocky. I only went in once and the next time we walked a couple of miles to the right of the resort and ended up at a beautiful beach which was good for swimming. We would definitely come again to this resort.

The weather on our second day was rainy and gloomy early in the morning so we decided to check out the excursions they had available. Since it was late morning already and the sun was coming out we opted for driving ourselves to Tulum and going to Xel-Ha Park. Actually the guy recommended it more than Xcaret since Xcaret was more kid friendly and it was only us two. We booked another excursion for the following day and drove to Tulum on our own. That drive took about 45-50mins from the resort and again it as a smooth drive. Only one turn and it was to get into the park itself. We loved it there. Everything there was pretty much water activities and food and drinks (even alcoholic beverages) were included in the entrance fee which I found it to be super cheap. We did the jungle trail by bike which led us to the river tour and snorkeling, cliff jump, zip-lining over the water, we checked out the garden, and the manatees cove. There was so much to do but we only had about 5 hours and the sun was beaming. It was the perfect day to be there for sure but our faces were burnt. I wonder if it was because we were on a different location. Again the food here was out of this world. They had lots of restaurants to choose from and we opted for authentic Mexican food. I can't even describe how good the food was. And the drinks... Hay Dios, Delicious! The Best Tamarind Margarita. This was something we agreed to do with the boys one day. They will both love it so much. 

On our way back to the resort we stopped at La Quinta Ave. I had read about it on my search for things to do/places to visit in Playa del Carmen and it was also recommended by the guy who we booked our excursion with. He said that's something we must do and it was about ten minutes from the resort so it was convenient to make a stop on our way back from Tulum and so we did.

So what is La Quinta? You can say is like a boardwalk except that it runs parallel to the shore "Playa Del Carmen" and it has tons of restaurants, shopping stores, hotels, bars, and so on. We ended up buying all of our souvenirs here and a little tip, if you ever go to Mexico is better to buy things using their money. They give you better prices, as we were told by the locals. Something about them not getting good exchange rates when they change dollars to Mexican pesos so they charge more if you pay in dollars to make their profit. Walking around La Quinta was a little intimidating, especially because it was getting darker and later in the evening. There are lots of locals and some people walk right next to you and offer you weed, cigars "massages", etc but they don't disrespect and if you ignore them they leave you alone. Now if you start asking them question expect them to try to hustle you. Unfortunately we didn't get to walk it all. I think I read somewhere that the whole thing is 4 miles long and I think we walked a mile, if that. We were just tired from all the sun and swimming earlier. We had planned to return again and maybe eat lunch or a snack but with 4 full days total there was just no room to fit it in again. I would totally do it again though, I'd like to experience it and go to the actual beach. Maybe even go for a getaway and instead of staying in a resort staying in a hotel along La Quinta Ave. That would be fun!

We headed back to our resort, showered , had dinner and went to enjoy the live band for the night.

These were only two days into our trip and we were loving the culture. Next post will be on our Tulum group excursion and our last day in the resort.