Best week ever....
Wow. Mexico is my most favorite place on earth...everyime I go it just gets more amazing, better, richer, sweeter and harder to leave.
We met up with the DeWalls at the airport before we left...what a great family they are. I had no idea that they would help make the trip so awesome. Our plane ride took what felt like forever, I don't think I've ever been so antsy to get somewhere in my life. It was so hot and so humid and so sunny...just totally awesome. Danielle and I sprinted to the pool first thing after we'd arrived at the hotel. Our hotel itself was just incredible....SO huge, so many people and gorgeous. They had at least 6 bars, 5 restaurants, a theatre, a disco, 2 huge pools, swim up bars, the beach....I miss it so much right now I can't even explain. LOL The first night was ridiculous...the hotel was so big and Danielle and I had never set up any definite plans on where to meet everyone for dinner, so we spent a good 2 hours searching the hotel with no success of finding our group. So we just decided to go to bed and get rested for the week ahead.
Tuesday was super relaxing...we layed by the pool, tanned, floated in the pool, ate...it was a good day. We had dinner just our family that night and then met the DeWalls at the show afterwards. The talent they have was aweosme, I was way impressed. After the show, everyone headed over to Captain Morgan's disco/bar to hang out and dance and have fun. It was crazy, so many kids were there shakin' their asses and just drunk as all hell. It was great though, we learned a whole bunch of new shots to take, like Scooby Doo's and Purple Motherfuckers....I have to say though that they are a little too sugary for my taste. It was a ton of fun. I met a really sweet guy named Brian...he's from Portland and just really great and down to earth. After the disco closed, Brian and I hung out on the beach and decided to go swimming in the warm ocean...it was great for a little while until we saw security guards coming after us so we decided it would be best to get out. :)
Wednesday we decided to lay out on the beach. It was so beautiful...white sand everywhere and it was so soft, almost like powder beneath your feet. We played in the waves, bobbed around on our little water rafts and tanned. Wednesday night we went into Playa to meet up with some friends that were staying at the Riu Palace down the road from us. Playa was awesome, I wish I had brought my camera to take pictures because there really isn't anything like a Mexican town. I so love the culture and the vibrant colors, sounds and smells. We walked all around, shopped a little...my dad bought Danielle and I these really beautiful white linen tops and skirts. We had dinner at these sweet restaurant, they had 2 Mexican's playing songs on a big wooden xylophone. We had dinner with Molly, Kyle, Aly, Leslie and all their parents. We got the biggest margaritas I'd ever seen with dinner, our parents all got them too and I think we all had more than one so by the time dinner was over, everyone was pretty gone. We traipsed down to Senor Frogs where we met up with like 20 other people from Danielle's school. It was sweet, I had been a little hesitant to go to one of the clubs but it was just so much fun. Kelley and I sat out on the deck ovelooking the ocean and chilled and occasionally went and danced. When we finally decided to leave, it was quite the adventure with 2 sets of wasted parents to try and bargin with the taxi drivers to give us a ride home. For a while I was totally set on walking because it was taking so long to figure it out but eventually we got home. Kyle and I decided that the night was not yet over so we headed over to the disco to dance and drink some more. Brian and I met up again and went walking down the beach to the pier after the disco closed....I must say, there is nothing like a warm ocean breeze to set the perfect romantic mood.
Thursday I think we just chilled by the pool again, you know...the usual...my parents, Danielle, Kyle and Pete went horseback riding. I was going to go but I wasn't sure if I could do it with my ankle. They got to go see an awesome thing....a natural grotto behind the hotel. We ended up going back later to swim in it, but it was like a huge cavern and the water inside was so clear, you could see all the way to the bottom. We swam back so far that we had to swim under rock archways to get to the other side and it was pitch black so all you could do was feel your way. It was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced, almost like a movie. Back where it was more shallow, we would stand really still and these tiny little fish would come up and bite our legs...it was the craziest feeling! Kind of like they were giving us little kisses on our legs.
Friday went got up early and went down to Akumel to go snorkeling. It was really awesome because this wasn't a tourist spot, totally local. There was a really cute 2 month old Rottweiler puppy that I was petting and it bit me on the hand, the little snot. That just reaffirmed all my notions that they are NOT nice dogs....EVER. Snorkeling was pretty sweet....we saw a huge sea turtle, which was probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. We also say a sting ray, Dory fish, a baracuda, parrot fish and one fish that was like half the size of my body and I thought it was going to eat me. We had quite the scare however...we all went way to far out and got caught in the undertow. I kept trying to swim back and was kicking as hard as I could and just kept getting pulled further and further out. Finally I faced backwards and just swam until I could hardly breathe and managed to make it back out. Kelley panicked and had to be picked up by a boat along with another couple that was snorkeling along side her. Luckily we all made it back ok.
Friday night....ah what a good night!!! First off, Michael Jackson performed for us that night..or should I say "Miguel Hackson". He was incredible, exactly like MJ in every way....and as far as I'm concerned, he was the real deal. We were first in line to get our pics taken with him after the show. *Sigh* It was amazing. I love him. During the show, Kelley and I had had a few too many bacardi and cokes and our adrenaline was running high so when we got to the disco, I was raring to go. We danced like crazy, it was just so much fun. I can't get over how hot it was the entire time...pretty much you just sweat no matter what you were doing. We had so much fun hanging out at the bar and dancing. After the disco, Brian and I took another long walk down the beach and hung out for a long time. It was his last night, so sad. :( Nothing makes Mexico better than when you add the romantic aspect to it. It wasn't really the same after he left, he and his brother were some of the only people that were actually my age and I was bummed that they had to leave. Both of them were just such sweet, really great guys and who knows, maybe I'll see them again someday. LOL If I ever make it to Oregon. Too bad they don't live here. Brian came to say goodbye right before he left on Saturday morning, which was sweet. I really did miss him after he left. Haha I'm such a sap.
Saturday I think we just pretty much chilled by the pool, our favorite pastime....that night we had dinner at one of the fancy restaurants in the hotel. It was great food, lots of fun...the waiters came around periodically and poured tequila down everyone's throats, which made the night that much more entertaining. I graciously refused....drinking so often in one week was starting to take a toll on my body so I decided to take a sabatacle for the night.
Sunday we woke up with much to do for the day since it was our last full day. We (of course) layed out, played in the pool, got henna tattoos and Danielle and I got chosen to be in the Miss Barcelo beauty pagent the hotel was hosting that night. Eek. Kelly, Merrilee, Kyle, Pete, Dad and I hiked over to find the grotto and swam for a few hours there, which was incredible. Afterwards, I met up with Danielle and the other 3 beauty pagent contestants to find out what we were supposed to do that night. The first round they said we had to wear our bathing suits and high heels and walk the runway for the judges. The second round we had evening gowns to wear. Seemed easy enough to me. Anyway, after the rehearsal, we got ready for dinner at the other fancy restaurant. It was awesome, we met in the lobby again for pre-dinner drinks and then headed over to the restaurant. They had such good food and wine and pretty soon I was pretty buzzed and then we had to head over to get ready for the show. As all the girls and I were changing in the dressing room, the crazy Mexicans kept coming in and whistling at us and bringing us tequila shot after tequila shot....we had to gain some confidence before heading out on the stage half naked, right? The bathing suit round went well expect we were all pretty drunk and all missed one of the points where we were supposed to stand and turn around for the judges. Then, little did we know, we had to play some ridiculous and humiliating games....the first one we each had to stand on the stage and gargle "La Cucaracha" with a mouthful of water. Only Danielle did it successfully, the rest of us either spit or choked on the water. How elegant. The second game we had to run out into the audience and see how many guys we could kiss in 20 seconds. Lucky for us, there was a huge group of like 20 guys in the front, but they were all sweaty and stinky. Ew. Then, we had to pick a guy from the audience (I picked Kyle). The game was to pop balloons on the guy without using our hands and the host picked the positions we had to do it in..let me just say that it was X-rated and hilariously funny trying to hump the ballons to death on our guys laps. After that we just had to walk around in our evening gowns, whcih was fun...neither Danielle or I won the title of Miss Barcelo, but I did win a bottle of tequila, pearl necklace and earring, money to the gift shop, a CD and a rose. Not too bad. I'd definitely do it again.
After the pagent we all headed over to the disco to celebrate it being our last night in Mexico....the trip that I'd been looking forward to for 3 months just flew by. I'm already trying to plan our next trip back and hopefully it won't be long. It was probably one of the best weeks of my whole life. I'm so sad and lonely back here in cold icky Colorado. I miss my family and I miss the hot, humid air and the pool and the white beaches....sigh.....anyway, I posted my pictures so if you all want to check those out, feel free. I hope you all had as great of a break as I did!! Adios!
We met up with the DeWalls at the airport before we left...what a great family they are. I had no idea that they would help make the trip so awesome. Our plane ride took what felt like forever, I don't think I've ever been so antsy to get somewhere in my life. It was so hot and so humid and so sunny...just totally awesome. Danielle and I sprinted to the pool first thing after we'd arrived at the hotel. Our hotel itself was just incredible....SO huge, so many people and gorgeous. They had at least 6 bars, 5 restaurants, a theatre, a disco, 2 huge pools, swim up bars, the beach....I miss it so much right now I can't even explain. LOL The first night was ridiculous...the hotel was so big and Danielle and I had never set up any definite plans on where to meet everyone for dinner, so we spent a good 2 hours searching the hotel with no success of finding our group. So we just decided to go to bed and get rested for the week ahead.
Tuesday was super relaxing...we layed by the pool, tanned, floated in the pool, ate...it was a good day. We had dinner just our family that night and then met the DeWalls at the show afterwards. The talent they have was aweosme, I was way impressed. After the show, everyone headed over to Captain Morgan's disco/bar to hang out and dance and have fun. It was crazy, so many kids were there shakin' their asses and just drunk as all hell. It was great though, we learned a whole bunch of new shots to take, like Scooby Doo's and Purple Motherfuckers....I have to say though that they are a little too sugary for my taste. It was a ton of fun. I met a really sweet guy named Brian...he's from Portland and just really great and down to earth. After the disco closed, Brian and I hung out on the beach and decided to go swimming in the warm ocean...it was great for a little while until we saw security guards coming after us so we decided it would be best to get out. :)
Wednesday we decided to lay out on the beach. It was so beautiful...white sand everywhere and it was so soft, almost like powder beneath your feet. We played in the waves, bobbed around on our little water rafts and tanned. Wednesday night we went into Playa to meet up with some friends that were staying at the Riu Palace down the road from us. Playa was awesome, I wish I had brought my camera to take pictures because there really isn't anything like a Mexican town. I so love the culture and the vibrant colors, sounds and smells. We walked all around, shopped a little...my dad bought Danielle and I these really beautiful white linen tops and skirts. We had dinner at these sweet restaurant, they had 2 Mexican's playing songs on a big wooden xylophone. We had dinner with Molly, Kyle, Aly, Leslie and all their parents. We got the biggest margaritas I'd ever seen with dinner, our parents all got them too and I think we all had more than one so by the time dinner was over, everyone was pretty gone. We traipsed down to Senor Frogs where we met up with like 20 other people from Danielle's school. It was sweet, I had been a little hesitant to go to one of the clubs but it was just so much fun. Kelley and I sat out on the deck ovelooking the ocean and chilled and occasionally went and danced. When we finally decided to leave, it was quite the adventure with 2 sets of wasted parents to try and bargin with the taxi drivers to give us a ride home. For a while I was totally set on walking because it was taking so long to figure it out but eventually we got home. Kyle and I decided that the night was not yet over so we headed over to the disco to dance and drink some more. Brian and I met up again and went walking down the beach to the pier after the disco closed....I must say, there is nothing like a warm ocean breeze to set the perfect romantic mood.
Thursday I think we just chilled by the pool again, you know...the usual...my parents, Danielle, Kyle and Pete went horseback riding. I was going to go but I wasn't sure if I could do it with my ankle. They got to go see an awesome thing....a natural grotto behind the hotel. We ended up going back later to swim in it, but it was like a huge cavern and the water inside was so clear, you could see all the way to the bottom. We swam back so far that we had to swim under rock archways to get to the other side and it was pitch black so all you could do was feel your way. It was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced, almost like a movie. Back where it was more shallow, we would stand really still and these tiny little fish would come up and bite our legs...it was the craziest feeling! Kind of like they were giving us little kisses on our legs.
Friday went got up early and went down to Akumel to go snorkeling. It was really awesome because this wasn't a tourist spot, totally local. There was a really cute 2 month old Rottweiler puppy that I was petting and it bit me on the hand, the little snot. That just reaffirmed all my notions that they are NOT nice dogs....EVER. Snorkeling was pretty sweet....we saw a huge sea turtle, which was probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. We also say a sting ray, Dory fish, a baracuda, parrot fish and one fish that was like half the size of my body and I thought it was going to eat me. We had quite the scare however...we all went way to far out and got caught in the undertow. I kept trying to swim back and was kicking as hard as I could and just kept getting pulled further and further out. Finally I faced backwards and just swam until I could hardly breathe and managed to make it back out. Kelley panicked and had to be picked up by a boat along with another couple that was snorkeling along side her. Luckily we all made it back ok.
Friday night....ah what a good night!!! First off, Michael Jackson performed for us that night..or should I say "Miguel Hackson". He was incredible, exactly like MJ in every way....and as far as I'm concerned, he was the real deal. We were first in line to get our pics taken with him after the show. *Sigh* It was amazing. I love him. During the show, Kelley and I had had a few too many bacardi and cokes and our adrenaline was running high so when we got to the disco, I was raring to go. We danced like crazy, it was just so much fun. I can't get over how hot it was the entire time...pretty much you just sweat no matter what you were doing. We had so much fun hanging out at the bar and dancing. After the disco, Brian and I took another long walk down the beach and hung out for a long time. It was his last night, so sad. :( Nothing makes Mexico better than when you add the romantic aspect to it. It wasn't really the same after he left, he and his brother were some of the only people that were actually my age and I was bummed that they had to leave. Both of them were just such sweet, really great guys and who knows, maybe I'll see them again someday. LOL If I ever make it to Oregon. Too bad they don't live here. Brian came to say goodbye right before he left on Saturday morning, which was sweet. I really did miss him after he left. Haha I'm such a sap.
Saturday I think we just pretty much chilled by the pool, our favorite pastime....that night we had dinner at one of the fancy restaurants in the hotel. It was great food, lots of fun...the waiters came around periodically and poured tequila down everyone's throats, which made the night that much more entertaining. I graciously refused....drinking so often in one week was starting to take a toll on my body so I decided to take a sabatacle for the night.
Sunday we woke up with much to do for the day since it was our last full day. We (of course) layed out, played in the pool, got henna tattoos and Danielle and I got chosen to be in the Miss Barcelo beauty pagent the hotel was hosting that night. Eek. Kelly, Merrilee, Kyle, Pete, Dad and I hiked over to find the grotto and swam for a few hours there, which was incredible. Afterwards, I met up with Danielle and the other 3 beauty pagent contestants to find out what we were supposed to do that night. The first round they said we had to wear our bathing suits and high heels and walk the runway for the judges. The second round we had evening gowns to wear. Seemed easy enough to me. Anyway, after the rehearsal, we got ready for dinner at the other fancy restaurant. It was awesome, we met in the lobby again for pre-dinner drinks and then headed over to the restaurant. They had such good food and wine and pretty soon I was pretty buzzed and then we had to head over to get ready for the show. As all the girls and I were changing in the dressing room, the crazy Mexicans kept coming in and whistling at us and bringing us tequila shot after tequila shot....we had to gain some confidence before heading out on the stage half naked, right? The bathing suit round went well expect we were all pretty drunk and all missed one of the points where we were supposed to stand and turn around for the judges. Then, little did we know, we had to play some ridiculous and humiliating games....the first one we each had to stand on the stage and gargle "La Cucaracha" with a mouthful of water. Only Danielle did it successfully, the rest of us either spit or choked on the water. How elegant. The second game we had to run out into the audience and see how many guys we could kiss in 20 seconds. Lucky for us, there was a huge group of like 20 guys in the front, but they were all sweaty and stinky. Ew. Then, we had to pick a guy from the audience (I picked Kyle). The game was to pop balloons on the guy without using our hands and the host picked the positions we had to do it in..let me just say that it was X-rated and hilariously funny trying to hump the ballons to death on our guys laps. After that we just had to walk around in our evening gowns, whcih was fun...neither Danielle or I won the title of Miss Barcelo, but I did win a bottle of tequila, pearl necklace and earring, money to the gift shop, a CD and a rose. Not too bad. I'd definitely do it again.
After the pagent we all headed over to the disco to celebrate it being our last night in Mexico....the trip that I'd been looking forward to for 3 months just flew by. I'm already trying to plan our next trip back and hopefully it won't be long. It was probably one of the best weeks of my whole life. I'm so sad and lonely back here in cold icky Colorado. I miss my family and I miss the hot, humid air and the pool and the white beaches....sigh.....anyway, I posted my pictures so if you all want to check those out, feel free. I hope you all had as great of a break as I did!! Adios!