Playa Del Carmen Mexico
Kristi and Brandi have been planning a trip that we could go on with each other for a long time now. Finally they decided that we should head to Mexico and stay in an all-inclusive resort. This would be the first trip that Kristi and I had been on outside Canada and the United States. We were excited to have some time together (Without the kids--Sorry Boys) and to spend time with Ryan and Brandi.
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Waiting to board the plane. Can you tell that
we are excited? |
We met Ryan and Brandi in Calgary and spent the night. Our flight was early in the morning, so it was easier to stay in calgary than drive from Cardston and Edmonton in the morning. We had to be at the airport at 7am, so it was an early morning. BUT, its pretty easy to get up and out of bed when we knew that we would be soaking up the sun in about 5 hours. The best part was that it had snowed the day before and we were leaving it behind for the beach!
The Flight was about 5 1/2 hours, but it was great looking out over the country. The best part was when we were flying over Texas and just entering the Gulf of Mexico. We could see all the oil platforms and the oil tankers in the ocean. As we flew into Mexico it was amazing to see how much Jungle there was. I am not sure what I was expecting but the amount and thickness of the jungle was amazing.
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| Flying ove the Gulf of Mexico |
Walking off the plane was a shock!! We were all in our hoodies on the plane coming from Canada, but the second we stepped off the plane the humidity of Mexico punched us in the face. We could not believe how different the heat was than back home. It was like you could feel the air and moisture on you. The airport was a gong show with people everywhere. I think 6 or 7 planes landed around the same time, so it took us some time to figure out where to go. We quickly found our ride and started our 40 min ride to the Resort.
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Ryan Trying to figure out where
to go in the Mexican airport |
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This was the note in the Taxi Van
that we took to our resort |
The resort was huge and had 4 or 5 different complexes that made up the entire resort. There were 2 or 3 different pools, buffets, theaters, golfing, basketball courts, ping pong tables, volleyball courts, jet skis and shops everywhere.
We spent most of our days in the pool, the ocean or eating at the buffet. It was great to not have to be anywhere at anytime, but to just make our own schedule. Each day was between 30 to 33 degrees, so it was great to just relax in the pool. We played water polo a few times with a whole group of Italians. It was strange to be the odd man out with language. We get so used to being to dominate speaking language, and it is an eye opener when you go to a place where hardly anyone speaks good english. Ryan and I were able to snorkel in the ocean and see hundreds of types of fish. It was great, but the taste of ocean water is probably the grossest thing ever!! Ryan bought a camera that we could use under water, so we were able to get some great pics.
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Found a cup at the bottom of the ocean, so I
decided to take a drink |
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| Trying to catch a Fish |
The Night Life at the Theater
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Micheal Jackson
Impersonator |
Each night the resort had a live show at the theater. The first night was a Micheal Jackson impersonator, and he was actually really good. He could dance great, and sounded just like Micheal when he would talk and sing.
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| Battle of the Sexes |
The second night was called "Battle of the Sexes". Kristi and I were called up on stage to participate in the game. The first game was a name that tune game. They put a chair in the middle of the stage and would play a song and the first person in the chair would get a point. I am pretty sure I won 8 out of the 10 rounds. All the songs were TV and Movie superhero theme songs. The second game was a skipping rope game where me and a partner had to skip together and whoever skipped the most would win. Me and my partner won this one as well. The 3rd game was to stuff as many balloons into this stretchy suit that they put on me. The girls won this match, but I think there suit was bigger than ours. The men won the game, and we won 2 free 30 min massages, which I gave to Kristi and Brandi.
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| Me and Ryan Rockin the Mic |
The 3rd night was a open mic karaoke night. Ryan and I decided to sing "All the small things" by Blink 182. Lets just say we Rocked the Mic and the crowd loved us. We were harmonizing and singing like we had practiced for weeks before the show. Thats how good we are haha. 5 String 4 Life!!!!!
The 4th night was a game called the "Ideal Couple". Once again Kristi and I were called up on the stage. They said they wanted us up on stage cause we were fun and people like us. They called us Ken and Barbie on stage, because they always thought my name was Ken.....even though I would say Kent. Kristi is blonde, so they would keep calling us "Ken and Barbie". There was 1 main game that helped us win over the crowd. The dancers showed us a dance and we had to perform the same dance. In the damnce the guy picks up the girl and lifts her from one side of his body to the other......Kristi looks at me and says "there is no way your doing that with me". So her idea was to lift me instead. The crowd loved it and we were voted the best couple on the stage. So everyone realized how perfect we are for each other. So we won a couples relaxation float.
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| We are the "Ideal Couple" |
The 5th night was a circus performing night. They had some great acrobatic performances. Kristi just about got into a fight with the lady beside us because she was mad that Kristi was cheering so loud. I thought I was going to see her throw down. haha
By about the middle of the week, it seemed like all the workers and many of the guests knew who I was and would always come up and talk to me. It was a lot of fun getting to know the staff and the other guests. Everyone was so friendly and seemed to enjoy what they were doing. It was an eye opener when we found out how much the workers were making at the resort. One of the waiters that we talked to said that he only made about $6 a day......A DAY. Every 15 days he would make about $200. Of coarse the cost of living is lower, but it was still crazy to see how hard these people work for so little of pay.
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2 Guys I don't know hoist
me up to show that we should
win the contest. |
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| Waiting in line to get on the Zip Line |
One of the nights we went to the "Jaguar Club". This was a dance club for the guests of the resort. I dont think Kristi and I have ever really been dancing together before, so it was interesting for Kristi to see my dance moves. haha or lack there of. It is always easy to act like an idiot and dance when nobody around knows who you are.
Xplor : Zip LInes
One of the trips outside the resort was to a place called Xplor. This was a place that had zip lining, caving, and Quading. There were many different zip lines around the area. Once you got off a zip line, you would just climb up a tower and get on to another zip line. The first zip line I was told that I was too light and I would get stuck in the middle, so they made Kristi go with me. Then I look over and there is a kid that weighs half of what I do going down by himself. I come to find out that they were just trying to speed the lines up. The final zip line was always into the water at the end. The underground caves were filled with water and we were able to get on some small rafts and paddle around. Kristi and I quickly realized that we did not work well together with paddling and opted for individual rafts after our first river float. We each had ideas of what would be the best way to turn the boat. haha. They also had an underground swim through the caves as well. The water was a little cold, but it was great to see the formation of the caves.
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| Me and Kris ready to go on the Zip Line |
Coba: Mayan Ruins
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Nohoch Mul
42 Meters (138 Feet) high and 120 steps to the top |
The other trip outside the resort was to the Coba Mayan Ruins. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I love history and learning about how people lived in different parts of the world and different times in history. I wanted to go to the Coba ruins because they were the oldest ruins in the area and we could climb to the top of one of the main ruins. Our tour guide was great and was very knowledgeable about the area and the culture. The Coba ruins is one of the oldest in the area and they have a Mayan calendar for tourists to see. It was great to see the ruins and the game areas that the Mayans used. The game areas were still in great condition and it was amazing to think about these Mayans playing these games hundreds and hundreds of years ago. At the top of the ruin was the place where the Mayans would sacrifice people to show their loyalty to their gods. This was an interesting point to think about as we sat at the top of the ruin. It would be interesting to know how many people were sacrificed on the same place that we were standing. Much of the area was undiscovered because the Mexican government would not put any more money into the excavation of the area.
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| View from the top of the ruin |
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| The Mayan Calendar |
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| Mayan ball courts |
The Rest of The Trip in Picture
The rest of the trip was filled with the beach, eating, swimming and drinking. The drinking part is a funny story in itself. We would always get laughed at by the bartenders and waitresses because we would order our drinks and say "non-alcoholic Please". They would say things like, "you came all the way to mexico and no tequila?". This lasted the entire time that we were there.
We went into Playa Del Carmen one of the days to shop. It was so hot that day and everyone would try anything they could to get you to come into there shops. One man even said, "give me a chance to rip you off". hahaha. Well at least he was being honest with us.
There were a few different restaurants besides the buffets that we could go to at night. We went for Steak, Seafood, and Japanese. It was funny to see the Mexicans dressed up in Japanese clothing serving and cooking Japanese food.
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| Just another day at the Buffett |
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| Steve Lizaard |
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Having fun with the under-water camera
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Both of the boys wanted play Laser tag in the junior high for there birthdays. It is great being able to use the junior high almost anytime. It is an easy place for a birthday party cause the boys can play games in the gym and run ragged through the halls. Brody's party was first and he wanted to have an Army theme, so all the boys dressed up in there army costumes. The Boys played Laser tag for hours and seemed to love every minute of it. We were also able the ice cream machine in the concession, so the boys were pretty excited about that as well. 
