The kids were excited to ride on a plane - especially Jack. There was a group of nice brothers waiting for the same flight as us who entertained the kids with magic tricks - coins in ears and the like. Hazel especially loved "Magic Guy." Gemma poked random people as we walked down the aisle towards our seat. So weird and funny.
The resort was ultra nice. Everything was beautiful. We were spoiled with a two-bedroom suite that also had a living area, dining area, three bathrooms, and a huge balcony. It was swanky, comfortable hotel living.
By our third day, Todd had gone utterly stir-crazy. Like, he was kind of angry, and held a grudge against the resort the rest of the trip. We had looked up stuff to do before we left and had been tempted by zip lines and jet skis and swimming in cenotes and plenty of adventurous offerings, but had determined that our kids were too little for most of it (especially Gemma) and that we would be unable to enjoy it because of the kids. So our plan had been to just lay around at the resort and enjoy having nothing to do. Well, turns out Todd is incapable of being happy with nothing to do.
Luckily, we had an excursion planned for the next day, a dolphin encounter. Unfortunately, we had used our free "resort credit" to pay for it, so that meant we were part of the cattle herd: riding the bus crammed full of people, and being in a big, slow group with lots of rules, the saddest one of which was no cameras (because they want you to buy the photos they take).
We were split into a smaller group of 10 or so, and led into the water wearing life jackets. We stood on a platform in water up to my waist and met a dolphin playing with her trainer. Everyone got to have a turn to kiss and hug the dolphin, and multiple opportunities to touch him as he swam past us. Hazel, Todd, and I were able to get a ride on a boogie board, with the dolphin pushing us through the water with his nose on our foot. Hazel had a HUGE smile on her face when she got to do that! Gemma was so scared of the dolphin at first, and just clung to me, but eventually she warmed up and kissed and touched the dolphin and laughed and loved it.
Afterward, we found a pizza place for lunch. The kids loved the huge glasses their lemonades were served in. It was the first food we had eaten that Todd and I liked. The food at the resort was quite disappointing.
We spent the rest of the day in the pool, teaching Hazel and Jack how to use their snorkel masks. Jack especially took to it, and would glide all over, breathing slowly and gently kicking his feet. We stayed in the water forever.
When we got back to our room, Todd got on the internet and started looking things up furiously, and announced that he was going to rent a car for the rest of the week, and we were going to spend as little time as possible at the resort for the remainder of our vacation. He was so done! His words: "break out of prison."
It felt awesome hopping into a jeep the next day, just the five of us, free birds on the road. Our first stop was the Croco Cun Zoo. The place was packed with cool animals, and we were allowed to have close encounters with them all. We all held parrots and macaws, and Hazel and I held a little crocodile (with a band holding his jaws shut) and a baby boa constrictor! The crocodile felt really cool - bumpy and smooth on top, not scratchy at all, and soft and squishy underneath.
So we got to this section of the zoo with a locked door, and the guide unlocked it and led us in without so much as a sentence about what we were walking into or what the rules of behavior ought to be. We strolled in, and there, not three feet away from us, was a full-sized crocodile! I was a little nervous, but it was nothing to what happened a moment later. I stepped back, further away from him - holding Gemma's hand, mind you, my three-year-old! - and turned around, only to find another large crocodile on my other side, and I was getting closer to it! My heart skipped a beat and stopped in my throat for a minute. I looked around and discovered that these big guys were everywhere. Like, at least 20 of them in this enclosure, and no fences or anything to separate us from them! We were on a walking path that had a bit of rocks or something along its border to define the space, and none of the crocs were on the path, but that was it! It was pretty scary, but I tried to play it cool. I mean, it couldn't be that bad if they were letting us all walk though. And then one of the guys in our group was holding his hand out in front of him, trying to use it as a size gauge in the picture he was taking with his other hand, and the guide sounded a little panicked as he told him to stay back, that the crocodiles don't like having people that close in their space and they can move fast. Eek! We stuck around for everyone to get a picture next to one of the crocodiles, and then moved on. Pretty exciting!
Next we saw some monkeys, and then looked at some turtles and Mexican hairless dogs (who puts dogs in a zoo?) and one of the best parts of the experience was that everyone got to feed these small deer, and they were all over us, snatching vegetables and seeds right out of our hands so vigorously that it was hard to put the food in the kids' hands before the deer ate it. It was so fun for the kids!
We got some lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall in Puerto Morales. Hazel's heart strings hurt as she saw plenty of stray dogs and learned that there are too many strays in Mexico (and many other parts of the world) to all be given good homes. She was almost in tears, so we let her give part of her lunch to the dog by our table. She noticed many more dogs around town the rest of the week and was sad about it.
Okay, so that afternoon will go down in the books as one of our dumbest parenting moments of all time. We had planned to take the kids snorkeling and had practiced with them in the pool the day before. The older two had done really well, but Gemma wouldn't even put on a mask (what were we thinking even buying her a mask?!?!) so we planned to bring her in the water in her floatie and let her just swim around while we snorkeled. I know I had in my mind a scenario similar to the last time Todd and I snorkeled in Hawaii: a calm, protected spot where we could just walk in straight from the shore, and we were going to have this incredible experience sharing our love of the ocean with the kids, and they were going to be amazed at all the fish and coral they could see, and they would understand why we love to scuba dive, and it was going to be the absolute highlight of our entire trip.
Not so much how it went down for reals. We got to the beach, and it was all open water, and it was windy, so it was choppy. Todd and I wondered to ourselves whether it would even be a good time to try it, because the wind might have stirred up the sand below and lowered the visibility. Well, Todd walked off to go get our things from the car, and I was playing in the water with the kids, and then someone approached Todd as he was leaving and deals were made and money was exchanged, and next thing I know, we're loading everyone onto this little boat with six or eight other adults on it, and we're setting off into the water, and we're just doing it! And the life jackets they had on the boat were in bad condition, some buckles not functioning and everything ripped, and no one spoke English, and Todd and I did not have a moment to consult together at all, and if we had, we would have either a) left me on the beach with Gemma, or b) made a plan to split up and go one at a time with the older kids because they were taking the boat to two locations and we totally could have done that, but we didn't get a chance to. So suddenly we're at the first spot, and they're shouting at us to get out of the boat, and the water is choppy - did I mention that yet? - and Gemma is freaked out, clinging to me and hating the salt water that is continuously splashing in her face, and Hazel is stoked and takes off, but isn't good at staying with the group, so I'm panicked, watching her and making sure she doesn't head off in some lonely direction of the ocean away from us all, and Todd is doing a good job coaching Jack, but Jack is definitely not ready to do this on his own, and Gemma keeps crying and I keep standing up on the coral to get her face out of the water and talk to her and help her feel safe. And I put my face in the water a handful of times, but didn't see a single fish, and mostly was above level trying to see everyone and not panic. And then for some reason, Todd passed Jack to me, and I had Jack and Gemma both, and that was the worst part, and we were all floundering, and then Todd took Gemma, and she was inconsolable from that point on, and Jack went into Mamma mode and stopped having fun and told me his mask was loose and he wished he could get back on the boat, and then suddenly, the crew were there, demanding we hold onto a life preserver, and they swam us back to the boat, much to my joint relief and disappointment. Todd took just Hazel on the second spot, and they had a great time, but I'm so sad that Jack doesn't want to try it again, that he had a bad experience, because he had been sooooo good in the pool and he really could love it, and what were we thinking?!?!?!?! It was insane.
We went back to the beach at Puerto Morales the next day and thought maybe we would try snorkeling from the beach on our own, but none of the kids even wanted to get back in the water. We ruined them! They just played in the sand, and then asked to go back to the hotel to swim. Frown!
I made the kids gaze out at the water and admire the beautiful color, and told them this was why I love the color turquoise so much - because whenever I see it, it reminds me of the Caribbean Sea and all the happy vacations Todd and I have taken near it, and all the fun we've had scuba diving and such. It just makes me happy.
We went souvenir shopping at a flea market. Jack picked out a wooden dolphin toy, Hazel a carved animal necklace, and Gemma a stuffed mermaid doll.
It was interesting driving through real Mexico and seeing villages and everything. Man, it makes me so grateful for the comfortable life I have! Guilty, too, if I'm being honest. There was such an absolute split between what we lived in at the resort and what the locals have, We had some good conversations with Hazel about our blessings and our responsibility to share our bounty with others. She has a good heart: I know she is internalizing these lessons and they will make a difference in how she lives her life and shares what she has with others.
Our last day in Mexico, we drove for a couple of hours to get to some ruins that Todd thought would be too out of the way for the hordes of tourists to go to. (Ek Balam) We walked up 106 steep steps to get to the top of the ruins, and gained an amazing view in return for our efforts. We talked with the kids about King Benjamin and ancient Lamanites. At church today (back home) I pointed out a painting to them on the wall of Jesus visiting the Nephites and Lamanites after his death, and asked them where it looked like they were. Both of them saw it: "the ruins!"
To get to the ruins, we could drive through all the towns on the local roads and arrive in about five and a half hours, or we could pay about 20 bucks to drive on the freeway and get there in a less than two. We paid the toll. At one point, Gemma had to go to the bathroom, so we pulled over to squat. ONE car drove past us while we were stopped. One. That road is for tourists only! The locals can't afford that. It was eerie being on an empty freeway.
All in all, in conclusion, the trip was a successful week of family bonding. And we have guaranteed that we are independent travelers who are not content to lay around and relax, or at least Todd isn't! I was happy to do it, although I wholeheartedly agree that traveling independently is lots more fun.
When we got home, I walked into our house and was overwhelmed with how beautiful and nice it is. And I determined to be grateful for it. I am going on an HGTV fast, and I took my real estate app off my phone. I'm done looking at other houses and thinking of ways I wish ours were better. What we have is more than enough, and I am going to be content and happy and thankful and generous with all that we have.
