My Love Affair with Mexico!

   To be honest, my most recent trip to Mexico was what made me want to start a blog to begin with. Mainly one day in particular, but I'll try not to get ahead of myself. After a rough first year of marriage, my husband and I decided to take a belated honeymoon once he got home from almost 8 months in Afghanistan. He allowed me to choose the destination, so naturally, I chose my "happy place" - Mexico!
   See, at 14 my father took me on my first out of country vacation to Akumal, which started my love affair with the Yucatan and we didn't even leave the resort! We went again when I was 16 and were able to do some more exploring this time. We went to the gorgeous ruins at Tulum and snorkeled at Xel-ha. After graduating high school and starting community college (2006-2007) I decided once again it was time for a visit! I asked one of my good friends if she would come along and she said yes! We decided Cancun would be best. I must admit we were two single 19 year old's at the time, having just hit rough patches with the men who would later become our husbands, so, we were looking for a typical Cancun experience! We needed to let loose and let loose we did. We stayed only four nights, so we jam packed what we could into the short stay. We did the bar thing, Senor Frog's, Dady'o and Coco Bongo were a great time! As far as cultural experiences, we took a party boat to Isla Mujeres, which was the highlight of the trip for me. I am not a big drinker, all of the disco's were fun, but, I truly love to learn about the place I am visiting! Isla was beautiful! We got a golf cart and drove around the island. What beautiful views. We even stopped and held some nurse sharks. :) The whole vacation was over very quickly but the memories will certainly last.
   Fast forward to 2009-2011. I am a newlywed! My husband and I reconciled before he left for boot camp. Later he was stationed in Okinawa and proposed when he came home for a month long visit. We were married 7 months later at the courthouse in the town where I grew up in New Jersey with just our close family and friends. One month later we moved to our new duty station in North Carolina and 5 months after that he was deployed. After the whirlwind that was our first year of marriage, we really needed relaxation mixed with some fun! Like I said, my husband said to choose a destination and book it, so I did. Cancun it was. I was familiar with the area so I knew we would have a great time.
   We arrived mid-afternoon so we decided that night and the next day we would relax and book our day trips. We met with our representative and booked two trips. We took a full day trip to Isla Mujeres via Albatros. We started off with a snorkel trip mid-way to the island, followed by lunch at a beach club. Following lunch was a short cruise to the other end of the island and some shopping and then right back on the boat for a party and spinnaker ride before docking. If it seems like I rushed through the description of this outing it's because that's how the whole day felt. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself and our main guide was wonderful. But, I would have enjoyed it more if we had more time to do each activity. The boat was quite crowded so it wasn't a very personal experience.


Now for the absolute highlight of every trip I have taken to Mexico combined! SELVATICA!!!!!! My goodness, where do I start?! I believe that this place and the people who work there have truly left a mark on my soul. Some during, some in the year after. I had always wanted to zip-line, but was afraid of heights. When our representative told us about this excursion, my husband said "we'll take it" right away. I was apprehensive but we were told we really should not miss out on this. I reluctantly agreed. We were picked up by our driver around 9 am and headed to the jungle! When we arrived I was so nervous! Immediately the guides eased the tension with their smiles and jokes! We were broken up into our groups, given gear and name tags, took some photos with beautiful birds and were off for Zip-lining 101. Jungle Boy gave us our lesson (you'll find many of the guides have nic-names!) and helped us all feel very secure that we will be okay and are in good hands! And, if we are to fall, not to worry, because we are wearing a helmet - which won't do much, but hey! At least we took precautions! (I promise it was funnier when he said it!)
   Little did I know, we were about to do 12 ascending zip-lines, each one higher and faster then the last. What a freeing experience it is to fly through the trees! I kept hearing "wanna do it upside down?" after every line, when the moment I dreaded came. This time, they were asking ME! I said "no, no, I can't. I really can't." To which two of the guides replied "Come on!!!! The little boy just did it!" Not to be shown up by a pre-teen, I said "Okay, let's do it." Well! I was paralyzed with fear to be honest. The guide kept saying "let go! let's take a picture" But my mind and body were on two different pages. I wanted that photo so badly but I could not let go! I was upside down though! My heart raced for the rest of the zip-line portion of the trip! What an adrenaline rush it was, not just being upside down at the top of the forest, the whole zip-line experience. I am officially hooked. (No pun intended.)
   Next, we hopped on an old-school army truck and were taken into the jungle for the ATV portion of our excursion. To our surprise, we were the only people taking a ride on the quads! It was just me, my husband and Freddie, our hysterical guide. What a great experience it was. Just the three of us riding through the jungle! We stopped for some photos, then were off the the cenote. You should see our DVD of the whole day! I go from looking terrified during our introduction, biting my nails and shaking my leg - to an ear to ear smile. I have always wanted to visit a cenote but this was my first time making it to one! It was so beautiful, there are just no other words! Now, like I said, when I showed up that morning, I was scared of heights, but when I got to the cenote, I was among the first to grab the handles and zip right into the water! It was COLD, but refreshing! I stood back the rest of the time and let everyone else have their turn. My husband was a bit of a show off, doing back flips and what not, but he deserved to let loose!
   The most dreaded part of our day, the end. We were brought back to where it all began for lunch, which we were told was Chihuahua Fajitas! I busted the guides chops right back, as I have two chihuahuas, Tequila & Charles who are the loves of my life and didn't like their little joke! ;) After lunch, we were giving the opportunity to buy souvenirs, photos and a DVD of the excursion and we bought it all! Unfortunately we left our shirts in the van on the way back to the hotel and they were taken by the people who were dropped off after us. I called Selvatica and they went above and beyond to help us. They searched the van and spoke with our driver but our belongings were gone. Luckily though, we still have our photo's and dvd to remind us of the truly remarkable experience! I am forever grateful to the staff for making this trip so amazing! I can not wait to return and get my redemption at doing it upside down! :) I am so proud to say; I AM A CITIZEN OF THE JUNGLE.