We've been back for a week now so I figured I should probably get around to writing the anniversarymoon recap before I forget everything! Where to begin, though?!
First, I have to say that it was quite awesome to go to a foreign country where I actually can speak a bit of the language. I was a few credits shy from minoring in Spanish in college (changed my mind after the Spanish composition class!), so I know enough to get around. In fact, by day two, I was able to order my margarita oro en las rocas con sal (Gold [the good stuff] margarita on the rocks with salt for all of your French majors) without missing a beat. Señor Bloom would be proud.
The resort itself was absolutely gorgeous. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be completely thrilled with it because it doesn't actually have beach access, and I'm the type of girl who will pick the beach over a pool any day. However, it does have a lagoon with imported sand so it's kind of a faux beach and that was enough for me. The lagoon was actually kind of ideal because I didn't have to freak out about getting attacked by any sea creatures! The only sea life in the lagoon were friendly fish and teeny-tiny hermit crabs and I'm totally comfortable swimming with them. We left our snorkeling/scuba gear at home, but we borrowed the resort's snorkeling gear to go out one morning and saw some really beautiful tropical fish, including a gorgeous angel fish. Unfortunately, Jon forgot his waterproof camera case at home, so we didn't get any snorkeling pictures this time.
I think the best thing about our resort was the staff. It's like it was their personal mission to keep you properly sloshed from sun up until sun down. Since it was all-inclusive, I embraced the opportunity to try all sorts of crazy drinks that I normally wouldn't get because I don't want to pay for it, but by the end of the week I was back to just drinking my favorite, the margarita. Even the cheap tequila was good there, but the bars all had the top shelf stuff too so that's what Jon and I were drinking! We spent a lot of time at the swim-up bar in the pool because that's where most of the activities took place. I'm proud to announce that Jon won the Iron Man competition and I won the Miss Mexico competition...the competitions consisted of ridiculous events like chugging syrupy-sweet grenadine laced Sprite and singing competitions, respectively.
As you probably know, travelers to Mexico are often advised not to drink the water. Our resort actually didn't even give you an option. All of the water they use is bottled so I wasn't too worried about getting sick. And I didn't get sick, minus the one day where I had too many shots at the pool and felt ill at night! However, Jon got Montezuma's Revenge and spent a good deal of time in the bathroom. Fortunately, it only lasted two days and he was able to enjoy most of our anniversarymoon.
The only downer on our trip was when we visited the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The actual ruins were very cool. I'm such a history nerd and love to visit anything ancient and imagine what it would have been like to live there. The bad part came when our tour bus dropped us off at a tourist trap souvenir shop on our way back to the resort. Jon and I are used to these sorts of things and it seems to be the same everywhere. I'm convinced that the tour guide must get some sort of kickback for dropping his bus full of tourists off at a remote shop full of overpriced souvenirs. This tour guide actually locked us off the bus though and we were left to mill about a store run by "authentic" Mayans, as he referred to them, for 45 minutes.
We were standing outside, waiting for the 45 minute stop to be up, when we noticed a skinny, fleabitten mutt laying in the corner under a covered patio. It came over to us and of course I almost cried right then there at the shape the dog was in. You could count every rib and could see the outline of her spine. You could tell the dog had puppies at one point and she was obviously now starving. She was such a sweetheart, rolling over on her back for a belly rub and just gravitating to anyone who showed her any sort of attention. It was finally time for us to leave, and as I was walking down the aisle of the bus back to my seat, I happened to notice one of the "authentic" Mayans walking over to the dog, who had since gone back to the patio. As the Mayan walked, he was slowly removing his leather belt and looking over his shoulder to us on the bus to see if we were watching.
My stomach dropped because I knew exactly what he was going to do. And Jon knew exactly what I was going to do. I ran off the bus, ignoring Jon's calls for me to come back and hurried to catch up with the man, where he had chased the dog behind the back of the store. I caught up just in time to hear the terrible yelps of the dog as he hit her. The guy disappeared farther behind the store and I couldn't get the dog to come to me. I don't blame her, as I wouldn't trust any person either if I had just been whipped. I walked back to the front of the store and proceeded to chew out our tour guide. I reminded him that this little stop to the tourist trap was not a resort approved stop and that he should think twice about bringing a group of animal-loving Americans to a store that openly abuses animals.
I don't care if I came off as a bitch because if there is one thing I won't tolerate, it's animal cruelty. As fate would have it, a few days later, we met a Mexican man at our resort who runs a local animal sanctuary. He brings the rescued animals, including iguanas and birds, to the resort and charges a fee to take a picture with the animals and all proceeds benefit the sanctuary. I told him about what we had witnessed and he was planning on paying the shop a visit and hopefully rescuing the dog. I pray that it happened. As added measure, I also complained to our resort and they were going to look into at least the part of the tour guide dropping us off at that ridiculous store. I completely embarrassed Jon, but as I always remind him, he was well aware of my passion for animals before he married me!
Despite that ugly incident, the anniversarymoon was so, so amazing. I can't believe that two years of marriage have already passed us by. It just keeps getting better and better and it's sometimes hard to imagine that we'll ever be happier than we are now, but I know it'll happen. I love him and our life; being "we" with him makes me a happy girl. And now, enough of the sap, here are some pictures!
The view from our balcony:
Overlooking the lagoon:
One of the many wild iguanas running around:
I took this at 4:00 AM, after being awakened by my throbbing lips, please excuse the bedhead:
And a close-up (incidentally, that morning, I googled 'swollen, sunburned lips' and this was one of the first places I was directed! our lips looked identical!) Honest to god, they were much bigger in person, just ask Jon:
Me in front of a Mayan ruin:
Jon at the pool bar:
Professional photo in front of the lagoon:
And a kiss at sunset:
Also, I'm working on getting some hilarious video uploaded, some of which include me dancing drunk at the pool and eating habeñero peppers. I won't tell you if they both occurred at the same time, you'll have to see for yourself :)
