wildwahinepaddler

Well it was a great trip to Mexico and we had a lot of fun, but I was glad to get back to paddling this morning at home, on Maui.  The conditions were perfect and the water clear, just the way I like it.  Wispy clouds hung over the mountain and the ocean glistened in the sun.  It felt so good to paddle again after a two week break!  I could feel the energy in my body as I paddled down to the boat ramp.  I saw one turtle down there, but it didn’t stick around and as I paddled back,  several fish jumped right out of the water in front of my board!  I wonder how they are able to propel themselves out of the water like that?  Jumping fish always take me by surprise!  All in all, it was a really nice day and I got to see some of my paddling friends too.  So glad to be home!

Todays adventure was a trip to an Eco park called “Xplor”.  What an amazing place!  A series of caves, caverns and underground rivers.  We paddled down the underground rivers amongst stalactites and stalagmites with these paddles you put on your hands. I was really wishing I had an outrigger canoe paddle because it would have been so much easier to paddle.  The rock formations were amazing.  It was like a Disneyland ride, except it was a real place under the ground! Then we did a underground river swim and then rode an amphibious vehicle through the jungle and through caverns and caves.  It was a blast!  My husband braved the zip lines, but I chickened out.  I am not too fond of heights like that!  At the end of the day they provided a wonderful buffet with seafood and a “flan” that was really delicious.  What an adventure!  Only one more full day here in Cancun, and then it will be a travel day on Friday back to Los Angeles.  Adios!

Paddling down the underground river in an amazing cavern!

We had another great day trip to Isla Mujeres today.  We took the ferry this time and had the whole day to spend on the island.  We rented a golf cart, loaded on our cooler and beach stuff, and we were off to see the sights!  First stop was a turtle farm with an aquarium, where we saw more neat sea creatures.  Of course I am loving all the sea creatures, even though I much prefer to see them out on the water when I am paddling.  There was a white turtle there, which I had never seen before, so that was pretty exciting, and also a green sea turtle.  At the turtle farm, they raise the little turtles until they are big enough to release them into the sea.  In the aquarium they had a moray eel, crabs, lobsters, lion fish, octopus, sting rays, sea stars, sea anenomes, fish,  and sea horses!  It only cost 30 pesos to get in and I think it was a good deal.  We circled the island in our golf cart until we ended up back in the little town, and stopped at a brightly colored cafe called “Manana” for lunch.  It was cute with a little book store in it too.  After lunch we drove to North Beach and spent the afternoon there.  I was thrilled to swim until I couldn’t swim anymore!  And I didn’t want to get out since the water was so warm, clear and a beautiful color of turquoise.  The ferry ride back was it’s own adventure, with the windy and choppy conditions out on the sea bumping us up and down on the waves! Tomorrow is another trip to an Eco park called “Xplor”, so stay tuned for my next report.  Adios!

Here I am enjoying that great turquoise sea!

Last night we had some excitement, we had a power outage in the middle of the night!  Unfortunately it didn’t get fixed until the morning, so we slept in.  It was actually nice to just hang out for a change with no big adventure to go on.  The beach in front of our Villa was pretty calm so we swam there, went in the pool, and sat in the big jacuzzi for awhile.  Then we ventured into town and visited a nice shopping mall called “La Isla” and had lunch.  When we came back, we took a walk on the beach at sunset.  It was very nice!  We discovered that there is a “turtle farm” just down the beach from us that is roped off in case turtles come up on shore and lay their eggs.  Unfortunately no turtles today!  Tomorrow is another day, though, so stay tuned.  Adios!

Nice beach in front of Club Regina, Cancun

Wow, what an incredible place!  We spent the day there and had a great time.  I was thrilled there were so many sea creatures to see!  Dolphins, baby turtles, manatees, fish, sting rays, Big turtles…. it was wonderful.  The beaches and natural pools were beautiful and we swam down an underground river!  Parts of the tunnel were really dark and it was kind of freaky, but we had a blast.  We ate a buffet lunch that had a sea food cerviche to die for,  at a restaurant called “La Peninsula” and we swam at the beach.  In the evening they put on a show that was impressive with colorful costumes, singing, and dancing.  We really enjoyed it!  What an adventure!  Stay tuned!

Great day trip on a Catamaran over to Isla Mujeres.  It ended up being quite a party boat, but the cruise was really beautiful.  The white sand and the turquoise water are amazing here in Cancun!  We had a nice lunch, and then walked around the charming little town in Isla Mujeres and visited Playa Norte, a very popular beach. I sure wish I had my SUP board because the paddling would be great here!  I love this little laid back town!  I think we are going to take another trip over there, this time by ferry, and spend a whole day.  We ended the day with a shopping trip to Costco and Walmart, and a relaxing soak in our own jacuzzi.  All the comforts of home right here in Cancun!  Tomorrow is another day, so stay tuned!

Beautiful white sand beach on Isla Mujeres

Riding "Tio" at Punta Venado

Hola!  Todays adventure was in Punta Venado where I went on a trail ride.  My horse’s name was “Tio” (uncle), but I think they should re name him “Abuelo” (Grandpa)!  No matter how hard I kicked him, he did not want to go at the speed I wanted to.  He even stopped to munch on some bushes!  Then when I finally got him to keep going, he just continued on with a mouthful of bushes, it was so funny!  The scenery was breathtaking with the trail following a deserted and undeveloped beach and ocean the color a beautiful turquoise.  A funny thing happened when our trail guide was trying to take a picture of me on the horse….he ended up taking photos of himself!  Then he tried it again and managed to switch my camera to video and he didn’t know he was videotaping! It was so funny.  After the ride I went back to the beach club with Bob and took a swim in the ocean.  It felt so good!  Tomorrow we are going to look for some more cenotes to swim in.  Stay tuned!  Adios!

Today was a great adventure day!  After an hour and a half drive to Tulum, we hiked around the Mayan ruins and was it ever impressive!  The back drop of the turquoise blue Caribbean sea was breathtaking and just being at the ruins gave you a feeling of reverence.  On the way back we discovered a cenote called “casa cenote” in Tankah and had a great swim and snorkel!  I really wish I had my stand up  board because it would have been a great paddle!  Tomorrow is another day so stay tuned!

Mayan ruins at Tulum

Today was another driving adventure.  We wanted to experience Playa del Carmen since I have heard so much about it.  Well,  it was the most congested little town I have ever seen!  Driving there was a nightmare.  We couldn’t even get to the beaches.  I couldn’t wait to get back on the highway!  We ended up at a beach away from Playa del Carmen called Punta Maroma and it was very beautiful. But here was the problem, it cost us $10.00 each to get in!  It included being able to use the facilities at Paradise Beach Club, but this is making me really appreciate all the nice beaches on Maui that are free.  I took a swim with my mask and snorkel and it was really nice to get into the ocean!  I saw two huge schools of fish and some other interesting fish, but no tropical looking fish.  When we got back to Cancun, it had started to rain a bit.  Tomorrow is another day, stay tuned!

Punta Marona Beach

We spent the afternoon cruising Cancun.  We finally found Costco and Walmart and tried to figure out the Cancun streets and traffic lights (some crazy streets and bizarre traffic lights!).  I’m sure glad bob likes driving in Mexico because I don’t think I could do it.  Our hotel/condo is really nice.  We have been enjoying our own jacuzzi on our balcony and enjoying the sound of the ocean at night.  I am posting some photos taken from our balcony.  We finished off this day with a quick visit to Puerto Morelos,  a cute little beach town about 30 minutes from our hotel.  Tomorrow is another adventure!  Stay tuned.

View from our balcony in Cancun

Our own jacuzzi!