The ending of my time in SC came with a great reward.....back to Mexico, Cancun. A few gals from KC had wanted to go "sometime" this year, I had no clue it was as close to my previous visit in October until they called me to tell me that I was in fact going with them! So Friday I ended my stint at Toumey Hospital in Sumter, SC and began packing the apartment to leave the state. I have my new buddy the walking boot on my right foot which was to protect my supposed stress fracture or tendinitis from further demise! The entire weekend was spent packing, resting, elevating, cleaning, taking meds, resting, packing, carrying, and taking the boot on and off about 8times a day so that I can drive Samantha for errands as well as to move some items to Dhana's home for the week. I thank my mother for my organizational skills that I have to possess at this particular time in my life. I had bags for Mexico, bags for the following week to travel to Boston, items that can sit in my truck for the week at the airport, and more valuable items that needed to be stored at Dhana's! Are you tired yet?
So here I am sleeping on my couch in my sleeping bag in my clean and empty apartment realizing that I am a complete crazy person!! Woke up at 5:30am to finish packing and such, turned in my apartment keys and headed to Charleston to board the plan for Mexico. Arriving in Mexico about 1hr earlier than my friends coming from KC, I had no choice but to stand outside at the bar and catch some sun. After the arrival of the friends we successfully made our way to our gorgeous resort in Cancun. Great hotel, bluest waters ever witnessed and a perfect sunset. The week was set up to be very relaxing even before I injured my paw. Angela had assured me that she had no intentions of doing anything beyond sitting at the pool/beach, and she did not disappoint.
Day one was spent at the pool or beach or swim-up bar, having fun and laughs all day with some sun as well. This night we went to the "oriental" restaurant at the resort which was fabulous. We ended up singing a little karaoke and partaking in the hot tub experience. The next day was cloudy and windy with hints of rain, but this did not stop Angela and I from sitting at the pool most of the day. The other 2 girls had made arrangements to go swim with the dolphins, but as Angela had promised, her, I and the boot stayed behind for some R&R. After the other gals returned we tried out the "Italian" restaurant which was not as horrible as everyone had warned, but not awesome. We had planned after dinner to go out with the activities crew from the resort however with a twist of fate we missed the boat on that one and ended up back in the hot tub.
The following day we all went on a wonderfully scary excursion! Angela has 2 major fears, flying and sharks. How she ended up in Cancun, I will never know but she had done really well. We went to the marina and loaded into little 2 seater boats that we were now blessed to operate with little to no demonstration. Our instructions were to follow the boat in front of you and not to pass, follow the hand signals and you will be all right. After about 5min of driving in the bay we entered the "jungle" area around topsy-turby turns, high winds which make big waves. It was about this time that Angela began to rethink her purchase of ticket. Then it was about this time that we were signaled to give it the gas out into the vast ocean. Now is when Angela's "fun" turned into pure panic! Here I am, a female that happens to like to fish, that has happened to land me behind the wheel of several boats and driving them into waves at Johnson Lake that sometimes get quite high.....now at the mercy of my friend that has driven a pontoon boat only.
We were not the last one in the boat parade followed by another couple and then one of the guides. However, at the time of the most panic, we found ourselves not only at the end of the line but pretty far from the last boat from what I could see of them. Angela was trying to keep it together between gagging and screaming, but every time a large wave came about.....she would slow up! I tried to remain calm, being that I work with panicked patients daily I knew that active listening would be key. Well then it turned into forceful suggestion....."Angela you have to gun it or you will drown us!" This could really be a life philosophy....When faced with a huge wave, just gun it!
Well much to my amazement and to Angela's dismay, we made it to our destination seemingly unharmed. The new problem being that our destination was not land, or even close to it. We were tying up to a booie in the middle of the ocean along a reef. Most of us jumped out of the boats and began our snorkeling adventures, Angela stayed in the boat and watched for sharks! The snorkeling was not the best but we did see a sea worm, lobster, large sea shell with urchin in it (very precise I know), and lots of beautiful fish. Obviously when we returned to the boats, it was my turn to drive. I will say that the ride back was much more calm and it had little to do with me. The wind had calmed and we were driving with the waves back to shore. Landing successfully on land we high tailed it back to the resort for all of us to relax our nerves! Who in their right mind would allow untrained females to drive a small dingy into the vast ocean and tie up to a small booie?
After a short recovery period we made our way to the room for a well needed and deserved nap. We awoke with a sprint to head back to the oriental restaurant when Becky realized that she did not fell well and eating was no longer an option. I was back in bed by 8:30pm never to get back up until morning light! Friday was our last full day in Mexico so Angela and I had a very busy day planned at the pools while the other two, Angie and Amanda, headed to the Mayan Ruins. I would like to make a side note that I was not being difficult or uninterested in the Mexican culture during this trip in any way. It was simply the fact that this was my 4th trip to Mexico in the past 10yrs and I had seen about all I needed and bought enough souvenirs to fill my and my families' homes. Now staying on this side of the coast line had proven to be quite windy. At some point during the day, while the whitecaps were filling the pool, Angela told me that wind in some cultures is used as a torture form. It was about 2hrs into the day that I believed her. The wind was so great that you couldn't even hear yourself talk, let alone your friends. Drinks had to remain in hand for fear of spilling and after every application of sunscreen came a dense coat of sand that was blowing up from the beach about 100ft away.
We braved the wind and managed to have a great day, planning to go out in Cancun and live it up for our last night there. After the girls' adventures and the torturing wind we decided to eat and go to bed early. We are definitely showing our age by this point in the trip. The next morning, Saturday, we packed up the rooms and headed for our homes in the states. The girls landed in KC and I made it back to Charleston around 8pm then to drive the 2hrs back to Sumter. I got to Dhana's about 10pm, caught up on the week with her then packed Samantha ready for our trip up north!!!! No plans of returning to Mexico despite my mom's idea to sell my home and move to Mexico, "since you love Mexico so much". I have seen how she has dealt with Steph moving to Texas and I think in an effort to save her sanity I will continue my travels within the USA!
So here I am sleeping on my couch in my sleeping bag in my clean and empty apartment realizing that I am a complete crazy person!! Woke up at 5:30am to finish packing and such, turned in my apartment keys and headed to Charleston to board the plan for Mexico. Arriving in Mexico about 1hr earlier than my friends coming from KC, I had no choice but to stand outside at the bar and catch some sun. After the arrival of the friends we successfully made our way to our gorgeous resort in Cancun. Great hotel, bluest waters ever witnessed and a perfect sunset. The week was set up to be very relaxing even before I injured my paw. Angela had assured me that she had no intentions of doing anything beyond sitting at the pool/beach, and she did not disappoint.
Day one was spent at the pool or beach or swim-up bar, having fun and laughs all day with some sun as well. This night we went to the "oriental" restaurant at the resort which was fabulous. We ended up singing a little karaoke and partaking in the hot tub experience. The next day was cloudy and windy with hints of rain, but this did not stop Angela and I from sitting at the pool most of the day. The other 2 girls had made arrangements to go swim with the dolphins, but as Angela had promised, her, I and the boot stayed behind for some R&R. After the other gals returned we tried out the "Italian" restaurant which was not as horrible as everyone had warned, but not awesome. We had planned after dinner to go out with the activities crew from the resort however with a twist of fate we missed the boat on that one and ended up back in the hot tub.
The following day we all went on a wonderfully scary excursion! Angela has 2 major fears, flying and sharks. How she ended up in Cancun, I will never know but she had done really well. We went to the marina and loaded into little 2 seater boats that we were now blessed to operate with little to no demonstration. Our instructions were to follow the boat in front of you and not to pass, follow the hand signals and you will be all right. After about 5min of driving in the bay we entered the "jungle" area around topsy-turby turns, high winds which make big waves. It was about this time that Angela began to rethink her purchase of ticket. Then it was about this time that we were signaled to give it the gas out into the vast ocean. Now is when Angela's "fun" turned into pure panic! Here I am, a female that happens to like to fish, that has happened to land me behind the wheel of several boats and driving them into waves at Johnson Lake that sometimes get quite high.....now at the mercy of my friend that has driven a pontoon boat only.
We were not the last one in the boat parade followed by another couple and then one of the guides. However, at the time of the most panic, we found ourselves not only at the end of the line but pretty far from the last boat from what I could see of them. Angela was trying to keep it together between gagging and screaming, but every time a large wave came about.....she would slow up! I tried to remain calm, being that I work with panicked patients daily I knew that active listening would be key. Well then it turned into forceful suggestion....."Angela you have to gun it or you will drown us!" This could really be a life philosophy....When faced with a huge wave, just gun it!
Well much to my amazement and to Angela's dismay, we made it to our destination seemingly unharmed. The new problem being that our destination was not land, or even close to it. We were tying up to a booie in the middle of the ocean along a reef. Most of us jumped out of the boats and began our snorkeling adventures, Angela stayed in the boat and watched for sharks! The snorkeling was not the best but we did see a sea worm, lobster, large sea shell with urchin in it (very precise I know), and lots of beautiful fish. Obviously when we returned to the boats, it was my turn to drive. I will say that the ride back was much more calm and it had little to do with me. The wind had calmed and we were driving with the waves back to shore. Landing successfully on land we high tailed it back to the resort for all of us to relax our nerves! Who in their right mind would allow untrained females to drive a small dingy into the vast ocean and tie up to a small booie?
After a short recovery period we made our way to the room for a well needed and deserved nap. We awoke with a sprint to head back to the oriental restaurant when Becky realized that she did not fell well and eating was no longer an option. I was back in bed by 8:30pm never to get back up until morning light! Friday was our last full day in Mexico so Angela and I had a very busy day planned at the pools while the other two, Angie and Amanda, headed to the Mayan Ruins. I would like to make a side note that I was not being difficult or uninterested in the Mexican culture during this trip in any way. It was simply the fact that this was my 4th trip to Mexico in the past 10yrs and I had seen about all I needed and bought enough souvenirs to fill my and my families' homes. Now staying on this side of the coast line had proven to be quite windy. At some point during the day, while the whitecaps were filling the pool, Angela told me that wind in some cultures is used as a torture form. It was about 2hrs into the day that I believed her. The wind was so great that you couldn't even hear yourself talk, let alone your friends. Drinks had to remain in hand for fear of spilling and after every application of sunscreen came a dense coat of sand that was blowing up from the beach about 100ft away.
We braved the wind and managed to have a great day, planning to go out in Cancun and live it up for our last night there. After the girls' adventures and the torturing wind we decided to eat and go to bed early. We are definitely showing our age by this point in the trip. The next morning, Saturday, we packed up the rooms and headed for our homes in the states. The girls landed in KC and I made it back to Charleston around 8pm then to drive the 2hrs back to Sumter. I got to Dhana's about 10pm, caught up on the week with her then packed Samantha ready for our trip up north!!!! No plans of returning to Mexico despite my mom's idea to sell my home and move to Mexico, "since you love Mexico so much". I have seen how she has dealt with Steph moving to Texas and I think in an effort to save her sanity I will continue my travels within the USA!
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