On Thursday morning, we got up fairly early and went back to the Hotel Zone to get on the boat for Isla Mujeres. We were way early! But that's just like Noel. He prefers to get somewhere very early and wait! I'm not quite that way, but when in Rome...
Once the people let us on the boat, we were immediately served breakfast in an air-conditioned room!! Oh, the joy! It was a nice American-style breakfast with a few local Mexican touches. The first offer was a giant platter of fruits--pineapple, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and papaya--all cut and ready for the plucking. While I was trying to pluck the different fruits with the provided tongs, I tried to maintain a modicum of decorum since I was in a public place. But alas, it was not meant to be! The papaya was particularly evil that day and decided to fly out of the tongs and land on the floor of the room. Now...what should I do? Ignore it? Or should I pick it up? If so, where would I put it?? In that split second time of decision-making, I chose to ignore it. I know that probably sounds like a stereotypical Ugly American action, but I didn't know what else to do since there were no readily available trashcans. What made it even more funny was the lady at the table beside me. I was telling Noel about it and she overhead me. Her comment was, "Yes, I saw you drop it and knew how slippery it was, but when I went for some myself, I to dropped it on the floor!"
After breakfast, we went out on the upper deck and stayed there during the 30 minute trip to the island. It was so beautiful! The breeze was very nice and the view was absolutely stunning! The guides on the ferry were very funny while telling us about the park and what we could do and the times. Once we docked, we were treated to a small dolphin show and then taken by taxi to Parque Garrafón, where we spent the rest of our day.
Once we entered the park, we went straight to the snorkel gear area and were fitted with our flippers and the rest of the gear. We put our belongings in the locker and headed for the beach. We entered the reef area and put our gear on. When I entered the water, I suddenly realized one of my flippers had slipped off my feet and was sinking to the bottom. Noel asked the lifeguard to help me and he dove in and retrieved it for me. I am sure he was muttering something about "el gringo loco"! And yes, I was embarrassed!! When I put it back on my foot, I made sure it was on TIGHT! After that small delay, we started snorkeling. Of course, by now, I was a professional snorkeler and didn't have quite so many panic attacks. I was enjoying the view of the reef immensely and also enjoying just being in the water. We had limits to where we could snorkel and Noel made sure I was in the right place at all times!
After snorkeling for a while and trying unsuccessfully to get good underwater pictures, we tried the sea kayak. We made two passes along the edge and Noel decided he didn't like it. Honestly, we couldn't get a rhythm going! haha. I decided then that I had had enough water for the day. I went to rinse and dry off while Noel soaked up some solar rays on the beach. During this short time, I decided to try the zip line. All to no avail. Once I was suited up and saw how high and how far away the end was, I chickened out. Now I think back on it and regret it, but there's always a next time!
After Noel's teasing of my zip line fiasco, we went to eat lunch at a nice buffet. The breeze was blowing through the restaurant and the view where we sat overlooked the beach and ocean! WOW! After stuffing ourselves, we went to the Jardín del las Hamacas and spent the rest of the day there. It was WONDERFUL! I took a nap under the palm trees and enjoyed every minute of it. After my short nap, Noel and I sat in chairs and enjoyed our remaining time before we had to take the taxi back to the dock.
Once back at the dock, we watched the sharks while waiting for the boat to open. The trip back was equally nice and we made it back to Cancún a little after 6 PM. It was an absolutely wonderful day and I am looking forward to returning one day!
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