Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Cozumel, You Stole My Heart

Each year, my dear and I make it a habit to travel to faraway places neither of us have visited yet.  Although every vacation we spend together has been quite memorable, our trip to Cozumel last week has truly stolen our hearts.  I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this island off of the coast of Mexico really is.  Cozumel rests across from Playa del Carmen which is on the east coast of Mexico.  You can even take a 30 minute ferry back and forth from both of these vacations spots. 



I wanted to share with my readers some of our new memories in order to give you a sneak peek into the boundless appetite of adventures, food, beauty and fun we acquired while planting our feet around this impeccable island. 

Before I share my photos with you, I wanted to stress the fact that Cozumel is honestly our new favorite vacation spot.  We've been all over Mexico, including the west coast of it, California, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and so on... but honestly, Cozumel is an unforgettable gem.  I highly recommend this island to those who wish to seek out new adventures while feeling safe, who like to snorkel and dive wherever they please, who love exotic views and scenery, and most of all... who love to eat at mom and pop dives while still having the luxury of fine dining which surround the hotels and touristy part of downtown. 

The one thing we didn't do, regretfully, was rent a jeep and drive around the entire island.  Towards the end of our trip, we learned that so many vacationers do this and love, love, love it!  Next time, we are renting a jeep for a day or two and seeing what the other side of Cozumel has to offer.



We began our vacation, officially, when we landed in the Houston airport, better known as a "hub." There are tons of connecting flights which venture out to the Caribbean and Mexico from here.  We had a four hour layover (awful, I know) in Houston's hub.  After having breakfast at a diner inside the airport, I decided to take advantage of the time and get a long walk in since I didn't exercise yet.  My iPod clocked my walk at 3.25 miles inside the airport.  It felt awesome!

When we landed in Cozumel, we met other tourists who were staying at our all-inclusive hotel, the Park Royal.  Those tourists love Cozumel so much that they make it a yearly trip and stay for a whopping 10 days!  The dear and I thought this was crazy but now, we totally understand why.  Next year, we plan on staying for a full 10 days.




This is the Park Royal All-Inclusive where we stayed

A view of the two infinity pools over looking the ocean where we snorkeled everyday






Now I'm going to share some photos of our incredible vacation... Enjoy!

 
 
This is me snorkeling with the big blue fish.  They are quite aggressive when they see you have food for them.  The others are a lot nicer!

More snorkeling.  I would highly suggest bringing your own snorkel gear and water shoes if you love this activity as much as we do.  There is a lot of coral on the edges of Cozumel and for this reason, you see a great amount of beautiful and exotic fish.

This was one of my favorite fish to swim alongside.



This shot was taken by the dear when we went snorkeling off of the waters of a dive restaurant we stumbled upon.
 
 

Here we are swimming under caves in Playa del Carmen.  We took the ferry over and went on an XPlore adventure.  We also zip lined through forests and water as well as drove ATVs but the camera died before we got to those places.
 
 
 
 
Pretty cool, right?!
 
 
This is a view from a dive we found and went snorkeling right off its edge.  We also ate really good grouper and guacamole there after we came up from the water.
 
 
This was such a sweet fish off of that little dive restaurant we found.  The other big ones kept hassling us for food but we managed to swim away where we found him=)
 
This is the lobby of our hotel.  We were waiting for a cab to head into town to find some real local Mexican food.
 
This hole in the wall we found is called Los Seras and in this photo is the main chef.  They make some really yummy pork, chicken and steak tacos.
 
I'm very happy with my food.
 
Iguanas were all over our hotel... very cute but extremely jumpy!
 
A bird flew into our room and didn't want to leave!  It was really neat looking.
 
Almost sleeping on my dear's finger.
 
Here we are, waiting for another cab to venture into town and find a new dive taco place to dine.
 
We found one called El Pique.  This was by far, the best place we had been to for pork tacos... out of this world!!
 
It was definitely a dive but had the tastiest tacos... other than Don Sirloin in Playa del Carmen.
 
Here we are at another one of our favorite restaurants, Habaneras.  We met the owner there and when I told him my children's book author name, he looked me up on his little iPad.  Two minutes later, he was shaking my hand and telling me how honored he was to have me at his establishment.  I know what your thinking... only in Mexico! But hey!  It felt good to have a few moments of glory before reality hit once I got home, ha! Oh well... I will get there someday!
 
This is my new Mexican abuela.  She is so sweet!  We bought a bunch of pastries and fried goodness from her cart two nights in a row.
 
 
We met a really nice group of people on our vacation and headed into town with them one of the nights. 
 
 
This is beef tongue taco!  I know, sounds disgusting, right?  Well, it was, ha!  Everyone seemed to like it but I thought it tasted like liver.
 
The owner of this restaurant (the guy with crazy eyes) visited Cozumel 15 years ago and after one visit, moved down there for good.  There were a few other people we spoke to who did the same thing.  That is me in the background with the funny little Mexican headband on my head=)
 
This is my dear and me in one of the infinity pools of our hotel.
 
If you have never tried this, you absolutely must!  It's called a Fish Spa and you soak your feet in the aquarium while tiny fish eat your dead skin!  Sounds gross, I know! It really tickles and leaves your feet feeling extremely soft once the fish are done with their meals=)
 
This was my reaction when I first dipped my feet in the tank, ha!
 
That's it for the dear and me!  I hoped you enjoyed seeing some of our beautiful memories and think about making Cozumel your next destination!  You won't be sorry.
 
 
 
A little note to my beloved readers, friends and family,
 
The Liver Life Walk 2014 will be held in Philadelphia on September 27th.    As some of you already know, my mother received a liver transplant the day after Christmas in 2012.  She would have died that following January if she didn't receive such an irreplaceable organ.  My sisters, aunts, mother and I will be walking in this year's Liver Life Walk. 
 
 
This organization raises money and awareness to help fight against one of the fastest growing public health concerns, liver disease.  There are currently 30 million Americans living with this disease and sadly, some don't even know it.  Not to mention, many will die from it.  This means 1 out of 10 people are walking around with this horrible illness. 
 
If you would like to donate to our cause, we would greatly appreciate it.  Anything helps, even if it's only a few dollars.  If you are unable to donate, then please help us raise awareness by spreading information about this walk to ensure people how important it is to help put an end to liver disease.  It is a very sad and unbearable sickness to endure. 
 
Here are both of our pages where you can find more information on how to donate and sponsor either one of us. 
 
My mother's participation page:  Ceal Webber
 
My participation page:  Gina Stoneheart (my real name will be shown on my participation page)
 
Thank you my beautiful friends, family and readers!  I wish you all a week of love and creativity.  Sorry if I am late catching up to your blogs.  I'm looking forward to visiting your wonderful writing again! 
 
 



38 comments:

  1. Looks like a great vacation! You looked so happy. :)

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  2. I was very happy, indeed, Kelly!:) We honestly can't wait to go back.

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  3. Gorgeous! Makes me want to pack my bags right this second. I don't know about those Iguanas, though. Yikes!

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  4. The Iguanas don't mess around! We saw a few getting very confrontational with each other. One of them stole a chicken wing from someone's plate while they were in the water and was dragging it in the sand by its mouth like a caveman. It was so funny!

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  5. Wow, do you guys looked relaxed! Ya got a good looking chap there, my friend ;)

    We hit Cozumel on our cruise...but obviously not to the extent that you guys saw. We just saw the touristy area at the dock area and that was it. It was walled up, so there was no crossing over the bricks :(

    But it looks fantastic, and those eateries are the things I would have loved to have tried for sure. I love authentic food like that...and especially when they come from the abuealas!

    Thanks for sharing these, Gina and welcome back. you were missed :)

    Paul

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  6. Awe, I missed being here and catching up with awesome authors and friends like you, Paul.

    My chap is quite handsome, I must say:) Thank you for such a sweet compliment! I'm sure the dear appreciates.

    I wish you and your family could have walked around Cozumel while your ship was docked. It really is a magnificent place. We had a few cruise ships dock next to our hotel and people came to party at our resort. I guess they sell day bands. It was quite the show, lol.

    We plan to return next year to discover the other side of the island and Xcaret in Playa del Carmen:)

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  7. Looks like paradise. Amazing pictures. I haven't visited Mexico yet.

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    1. There are many places to visit in Mexico but if you are going to go for the first time, I suggest Cozumel or Playa del Carmen. You get the best of both worlds with parts being underdeveloped and having a unique and touristy downtown as well. And there are a lot of adventures=)

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  8. Sounds like you and your dear had a wonderful vacation. The pictures look amazing and I just wonder how you didn't put on weight after all those taco dinners! I haven't been to Mexico but I think it's very cool that some people there now know a children's book author just visited their restaurant/cart. Go for a full 10-day stay next year!

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    1. It was so cool being at that restaurant, Claudine. Made me feel quite special while reminding me how blessed I really am.
      I actually put on some weight! We didn't go to the gym like we usually do here while we were in Cozumel. Even though we were active, I was eating so much that I ended up gaining a few pounds. Oh well, that is what vacations are for!

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  9. Oh, wow! It sounds like you had a fantastic vacation! The pictures are gorgeous!

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    1. We really did, Cherie! And it was much needed!

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  10. Gina, wow! I mean WOW. Looks like you had an absolute blast on your vacation. Cozumel is AMAZING. My friends went down last year and couldn't stop talking about how beautiful it was. I'm definitely putting it on my bucket list, and thanks for all the tidbits. 10 days and all-inclusive seems like the best way to go! :D

    P.s. Welcome back!

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  11. Oh, Anna, you must go! You would absolutely fall in love with Cozumel. Not only did this amazing island give us the adventure and R&R we were looking for, but it also reminded us to take a better look into our restless lives and look deeper into the core of ourselves. I can't stress how lovely this place and the people who live there are! Truly made our vacation one of the most memorable:)

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  12. You guys are so adorable...you look super happy. And Cozumel looks like heaven on earth! I love Infinity pools. I've never actually gone swimming in one, though.

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  13. Awe, thank you, Stephanie:) We were very happy in Cozumel. One of our best trips so far.
    If you ever have a chance, go to Cozumel. You will love it and the infinity pools are gorgeous!

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  14. Thank you, my sweet Sandra. And thank you for your donation=) I really appreciate it!

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  15. I love seeing all of your pictures and hearing about your trip! I don't know if I'd be able to put my feet in the Fish Spa. Well, maybe I could put them in, but I don't think they'd stay for long because my feet are super ticklish! haha

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  16. If your feet are as ticklish as mine then it will definitely freak you out at first! It took me a while to get used to the feeling but I'm so glad I tried it. I can take trying a fish spa off of my bucket list now, lol:)

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  17. We hit Cozumel a while back--took out the mopeds and saw the lay of the land. You're kicking up my wanderlust. I so need to go on vacation...=)

    Way to get involved in such a great cause!

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    1. We are definitely renting jeeps next time and cruising all over the island. Didn't think about the mopeds, though! I hope you enjoyed Cozumel as much as we did=)
      The Liver Life Walk is a really important cause, especially this year. One of the best liver transplant centers in South Jersey (where my mom received her liver) is in jeopardy of closing due to lack of funding. It's really sad because liver disease is one of the biggest growing health concerns in the United States.

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    2. Oh man! This is when I wish I was disgustingly wealthy and could endow the establishment with a long-term trust to keep it going. I hope the run goes well and the needed funds are garnered!

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    3. Me too, Crystal. Even though we might not be able to reach our goals, it will still be an awesome day. A lot of my family members are walking with us so it will be really nice to share such an important event together.
      Ahh, to be disgustingly wealthy... heck, I will take wealthy in general! lol

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  18. I've been to the Caribbean and would love to go back some time. Cozumel looks awesome.

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    1. You should go, M Pax. You won't regret it! We loved it so much we are already talking about returning next August=)

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  19. Oh wow, I can see why Cozumel stole your heart! It looks so beautiful, and such a perfect blend of local, authentic flavor, tourist luxury, and natural beauty. I'm so glad you got to go, and even happier that you shared all of these gorgeous photos!!

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    1. Awe, thanks Liz! It really is such an exquisite island. I never even heard of Cozumel until our friends were vacationing with us in Playa del Carmen last year. We were gazing out across the ocean one night and saw the lights of Cozumel. When they told us about this hidden gem located only 30 minutes away from Playa (by ferry) we were really interested. It's breathtaking!

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  20. Happy Wednesday & Thursday, Sandra=)

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  21. Those pictures are fabulous!! And your BF is such a hunky-cutie!! I'm delighted to hear you had such a nice time and that you look forward to going back. It'll be something wonderful to look keep in mind through the dreary winter. :)

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    1. Awe, thanks Lexa. I am very lucky to have not only such a handsome fella, but also one of the most caring and kindest=)
      You are absolutely right! The only things which will be getting me through this terrible winter will be my AM writing and another vacation!

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  22. Happy belated Labor Day weekend, Sandra!=)

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  23. Thank u for providing me with this virtual guided tour of Cozumel. I am so happy that u had the precious time to relax & regenerate your amazing writing skills. It will be school visit time before u know it. Welcome back from that exotic dreamland to our much in need of u blogland! Love, Mom

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    1. I know! I'm looking forward to scheduling my first visit of the year. I already have a couple for next year in the winter but I have to buckle down and get things going for October and November.
      Love you too!!

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