My Vacation - Yes, There's Pictures!

Driving down to New Orleans was a lot less tiring than driving back. Probably because we took two days to get down there and only one day to return. That, and the fact my husband was trying to see if he could read a book in one day (he'd never done it before), so my four hour driving stint turned into six and a half (I drove from Tuscaloosa to 30 miles out of Cincinnati). He proudly finished the book at 11:00 pm and drove the rest of the way home (which took all of 90 minutes – Thanks, Tess Gerritsen!).

 

Besides all that driving, the cruise was wonderful. Weather was sunny and warm at both Progreso and Cozumel. Thoroughly enjoyed that!

We had scheduled excursions for both stops, but our kayaking trip in Progreso got cancelled at the last minute (not enough signed up for it), so my husband and I took a $3.00 double-decker bus tour through the little town.

 

Then we walked down to the beach. Our friend wasn't feeling well, so she stayed on ship (so it was probably a good thing the excursion got cancelled or she would have been out some money!). Progreso is a nice, quiet place. The place the Mexicans come to vacation (or so we were told by two Canadians who now call Progreso their home).

 

During the summer, the place gets packed with 150,000 people. As you can tell from the pictures, not so many visit during the off-season. Although, why it's off-season, I have no idea. The weather was TERRIFIC!

We were hit numerous times to purchase massages and the Mayan cell phones (large conk shells!). I cracked up at that.

We'd been in Cozumel before (back in 2007) and didn't sign up for anything then, because nothing really appealed to us. This time we took the XRail excursion. The guide called it the Mexican Lamborghini.

 

This was one rough event (and muddy, too), but a whole lotta fun! I didn't take my camera along – wasn't risking it getting ruined – but the tour guides took lots of pictures. Yeah, they came with a price (and some T-shirts), but it was worth it.

 

This was our second best excursion ever (River Tubing in Belize is still #1) and if we ever go back to Cozumel, we will definitely do it again (of course, next time I will NOT drink anything at the half-way point unless it's hot out and I'm sweating – riding in those things with a full bladder isn't so great).

On our assigned dinner table, my husband had the privilege to be the only man amongst nine women – Mary #1 (our friend), Mary #2, Karen, Passion, Rachel, Danielle, Diane, Ruth, and ME! Sometimes you wonder what kind of dinner mates you'll end up with. So far, we've been lucky. Dinner was enjoyable, although I think the table behind me was having a bit more fun than we were – or maybe they just drank more!

Overall, we had a great time. I don't know when our next cruise will be (since I'm currently not bringing in a paycheck), so I'm glad I have this one as my last to remember for awhile. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Here are some more (and as always, click on the photo and you'll get a better/larger view):

 

Port hole was a bit on the wet side, but I just
loved the sunrise!

I was looking at taking a picture similar to the Corona
commercial, but I don't think I quite got it!

Not sure what they were building in Progreso, but the
birds appeared to enjoy it!