SNORKEL!!

Sadly Adam and I arrived home last night pretty late from 4 nights in Cancun. We were both sad to leave due to perfect weather, beautiful water and good times. As some of you know I'm always searching for the unique local favor. It was spring break time frame so we did our best to stay far away from that madness. Successful we found "off the beaten path" activities to enjoy.

FOOD:
The day of our arrival was spend at the Westin pool bar drinking. At first sip we were hooked on the mango margarita. Plus the bartenders were super cool and ended up giving us a great recommendation for lunch on the Island of Women.


That night for dinner we hit Caption's Cove a short bus ride from our hotel. Adam had never tasted Lobster before so we ordered the seafood special for two. It had grouper (which was my first time and pretty good), shrimp, scallops, calamari and two lobster tails. Dinner can with veggies and fries or baked potato. It was a lot of food but we worked it out. A bottle of wine later we ordered dessert. Mango cheesecake,,,Barney Rubble.


I did a little research before leaving on cool places to eat. I found Thai. I know, Thai food in Mexico,,,why. It was all about the experience for me. It feels a lot more like Thailand than the edge of a Mexican shopping plaza. With a backdrop that includes three dolphins cavorting in an enormous aquarium, Thai restaurant offers a unique and calming setting with bungalows on the lagoon (I wish I would have reserved one) with soft red and blue lighting, and Asian chill and lounge music contribute to the romantic ambiance.


The best meal by far was the seviche at a shack type place right on the beach on the Island of Women. It was fresh mixed seafood with lime juice, salt and pepper searched with chips and "cookies" (saltines). I wanted nothing else after eating this dish. The bartender at the Westin was right, it was worth the bus, taxi, ferry and golf cart ride to get there.

Another notable meal was our breakfast the last two days. On our way to the Island the day before I asked a local for directions. He had stopped at our bus stop for a few breakfast tacos from a women selling them out of back of her van. She was there everyday but Sundays. She offered shrimp, chicken, pork or beef tacos with a load of condiments (adam's favorite) for $.50 each. I had to try it. I'm super proud of Adam for jumping in despite his nervousness. The lady and her husband were very nice and spoke great English. The tacos were so good we had them two days straight. Best dollar breakfast I've ever had.



ACTIVIES:
we snorkeled...3 times. I found a great spot within walking distance from our hotel.
Just off the beach of the Club Med next to the Westin gave us free snorkeling for two days. It was awesome. We saw 3 huge parrot fish and tons a little colorful coral and fish. I really enjoyed finding a school of fish. Here is where we entered to get to the better location. A little rough but we figured it out without injury.


Adam had mentioned he wanted to see and/or swim with sharks. I wasn't sure we could pull that off but sure enough a young man had a small nurse shark in a cage on the Island of Women. He offered us to come in the water with it and take pictures. The shark even rolled over so was could pet it's belly. I wasn't going to miss that. a $2.00 tip was all we paid.

All around the trip to the island was great. We drove the entire island on our golf cart. First stop resulted in walked a long trail that took us to the highest part and very tip of the island. The views were amazing. Due to the hiking and walking thru the rock waters we didn't take our camera. North beach was the most popular part of the island and covered with sun bathers. We weren't there long.

Here are a few other pics from the trip.