10 year anniversary in Cozumel!
Rick and I honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico 10 years ago this past October. We decided to celebrate a decade of life and love together by returning to this same tropical island over our summer vacation. This was our first real holiday since our honeymoon and it was well past due. It was also our first extended time away from Kieran. We were both a bit apprehensive about leaving our little man for five days and nights, but we knew he would be in good hands with the grandparents and we finally felt ready to take the plunge...
***Warning, this post will not contain any adorable Kieran pictures.****
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| We stayed at the Aura Grand Resort and it was AMAZING! It is an all-inclusive, adults-only resort which means food, beverages, water activities, and live entertainment are all included... no worries about costs or carrying a wallet- just order what you want when you want it and it appears- viola! The resort has a relatively small number of rooms- all of which are 750 sq ft ocean-view suites complete with enormous king-sized-beds (ever since sleeping in that bed for a week, we have decided we are finally ready to get rid of our queen and up-grade!), sitting area, ocean view balcony, jacuzzi tub and rain shower- perfection! There are two casual cafe's and one gourmet restaurant at the Aura- all made to order food, no buffets, which was a nice change from the last place we stayed on our honeymoon. It has a beautiful beach with a lovely pier and reefs right off the beach that are great for snorkeling. There are two pools, one of which is a giant lazy river in the courtyard area that was nice at night when it was too dark for ocean swimming ;) The Aura has a "sister" resort which we had access to right down the beach- the Sabor which allows families and has a more party atmosphere. We enjoyed a couple evenings at the Sabor when they had special events- but we were glad to return to the quiet retreat of the Aura. |
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| The Aura and pier from above... |
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| A view from our balcony- what a perfect way to wake up every morning! |
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| That's me on the 2nd floor balcony to the left... |
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| Our room... beautiful accommodations- everything was sparkling clean. |
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| Our bathroom- view of the rain shower and jacuzzi tub- notice the "window" into the suite- I enjoyed a couple of lovely hot baths at night while watching tv and relaxing... we need a master bed/bath remodel just like this! |
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| The Aura lobby- totally open to the warm ocean breeze... |
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| One of the fantastic cafe's where we ate most of our breakfasts each day... nothing beats eggs, fresh squeezed juice, black coffee and an ocean view to start one's day :) | | |
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| One of Rick's lunches- every meal at the Aura had beautiful presentation and amazing flavor! |
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| Nothing like eating a gourmet meal with an iguana as your guest ;) This big guy hung out on the patio of the grill where we ate lunch and breakfast. There were dozens of little iguanas and other small lizards all over the resort- so cool! |
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| One of my meals- salmon cooked to order and scallops... mmm! |
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| Sunset on the beach... so beautiful every evening. |
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| This pier was a great place to go snorkeling off of and is also where boats picked up for snorkel and dive excursions.. |
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| Rick enjoying the morning sun and an ocean view on our balcony... |
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| Me taking in the stars over the ocean before heading out to dinner... |
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| Rick dressed in island formal wear on our patio... so handsome ;) |
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| Our second night we enjoyed a beach buffet at the Sabor prior to a fantastic fire show! The food was great- everything was so fresh and delicious... fruit, grilled meats and fish, seafood soups bubbling in giant cauldrons over smoldering logs, amazing desserts and of course an never ending flow of your beverage of choice- margaritas for me and pina' colados for Rick ;) |
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| One of the three fire show performers- this presentation went on for nearly an hour on the beach and it was amazing- these people are tremendous athletes and entertainers... so glad we went to this event! |
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| Rick and I posing on the steps of the Aura's lobby... we got dressed up every night for dinner- it was a nice change from swim suits and flip-flops! |
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| Dressed up in our room and ready for an evening out- that night we ate at an Asian-fusion restaurant at the Sabor- great meal and fun to get gussied up ;) |
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| Rick and I enjoying some private time on the pier- just the two of us... such a beautiful and peaceful place to be :) |
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| Sand on toes over crystal-clear-blue water :) |
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| One of three new bikinis for the trip... so awesome to spend the majority of each day in nothing but swim suits and sarongs ;) |
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| Rick and I on the southern tip of the island- this side offers beaches that have either powder white sand or black volcanic rock and huge waves- very different from the calm gulf side. This area is much less developed and is soooo beautiful and peaceful. We spent the better part of day on this beach that we came across while driving down the only road that goes around Cozumel. We parked our "Mexican Ferrari" on a little pull off and made the short trek down to this deserted beach- heaven! |
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| We wanted to rent a car again on this trip just like we did on our honeymoon and we wanted a VW convertible since that is what we had before. This is what our "Mexican Ferrari" looked like... it was a real piece of work ;) The doors didn't always stay shut, there were more than a dozen rust holes in the floorboards and shifting it was a serious chore- Rick drove ;) We got the car through an on-line add which proved too good to be true offering half price rentals- turns out there were some hidden fees for this little beauty... not to mention it's deteriorating condition... We arranged to be picked up from the airport by the rental company and that was in it-self a story... The owner of the rental company showed up at the airport in an equally impressive and ancient Mercedes that was full of junk and smelled like grease and gas. I can't remember the guy's name but he was a crusty 65+ ex-pat who has been living in Cozumel for the past 20 years or so renting cars to tourists. He drove like he might have been drunk and regaled us with stories of island life... I didn't hear too much of what he said because I was intently watching the narrow road which swarmed with people in cars, on whizzing mopeds and on-foot, none of whom seemed to be following any sort of obvious traffic rules- but somehow managed to narrowly miss running into one another as they swerved all over the street! Although we were relieved to be out of the car with that crazy man, we were also a bit distressed trying to navigate Cozumel traffic ourselves in the little white rust-bucket we had rented... despite never being able to get the car much above 50 km per hr. (the speed limit was 90 and most people were going a lot faster) we manged to make it safely to our resort... You should have seen the look on the valet's face when we pulled into the posh drive of the Aura... priceless! |
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| Yet another bikini- after all that sun and exposure you would think Rick and I would be very tanned- but thanks to repeated applications of spf 50, we didn't get too dark nor burned. |
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| The rocky shores of the Atlantic side of Cozumel. |
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| Powder soft white beach complete with crashing waves... amazing! |
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| A shot from our car on our day excursion to the Atlantic side... this sign is for Senor Iguana's- the little cantina we stopped also at on our honeymoon. We indulged in mixed drinks and crunchy tortilla chips with amazing guacamole as we dug our toes into the bar's sandy floors and watched the waves... after drinks we had a delicious lunch at the restaurant next door (which was new and had not been there 10 years ago). The fresh grouper tacos were out of this world... |
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| Gathering shells for Kieran- I promised him I would bring him some back from our trip... |
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| The little man was never far from our minds... his name in the sand with our footprints below. I am so excited to take Kieran to the beach one day... he will LOVE it! |
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| The shells I collected for KP... |
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| A frame I made for Kieran from some of the shells... |
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| We really enjoyed snorkeling and went right in front of our resort as well as on a boat excursion to reefs in the Chankanaub national park. Amazing views and so much fun, despite a jellyfish sting- ouch! |
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Mom and dad got us a really neat underwater camera for the trip- it came in handy not only for capturing the scenery and wildlife but also to aid Rick's vision- he is near-sited and couldn't wear his glasses in the ocean... but he said the camera's screen really helped him to see more clearly... what luck!
We saw so many cool fish but only got shots of a few... some of the ones we missed were: flying fish (they really do fly- fast and far... they look like birds or faeries skimming the waves!), butterfly and angel fish, jellyfish, wrass, puffer-fish, tangs (like Dory ;), parrot fish, cow fish and more coral life than you can shake a fin at! |
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| can you spot the stingray?? |
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| I think this is a surgeon fish... we saw dozens of these guys on the reefs... |
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| Sergent major... saw lots of this little striped guys too... |
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| A sea anemone and a grunt fish (?) |
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| A not so great picture of a really cool sea turtle- do you see it?? |
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| Tiny black sea urchins on the rocks near shore... |
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| Close up... I guess these things can be eaten... never saw them on our menus though... |
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| Surrounded by fish... they were all over the place and so close- but I never was fast enough to touch one... unless you count the jelly that stung me ;) |
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| A Barracuda... cool! |
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| Rick relaxing on a swing at the bar... we both had "dirty monkey's" on this occasion which was a delicious frozen concoction with unknown liquors that went down far too easily ;) |
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| All bars should have swings and for that matter, ocean views! |
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| We took advantage of the water activities the Aura offered... besides snorkeling we also tried our hand at ocean kayaking and sailing! |
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| "Ahoy matey!" Who knew Rick was such a good sailor?! He really did manage our little Hobie Catamaran well... I was very impressed ;) |
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| Me taking it easy on the sail boat... other than this shot, I always wore my life jacket... safety first ;) |
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| With the package we got through Travelocity, we had vouchers to be used at the Islander Spa, located in the Sabor. Much to my surprise, Rick suggested we try the "Romantic Retreat" which meant an hour long couples massage followed by time in a private jacuzzi complete with champagne, fresh fruit, rose petals and candles... wow! I was shocked he was willing to get a massage since he never had one before- but that man is always surprising me and I love that about him ;) It was a fantastic experience, the Islander Spa is beautiful, peaceful and immaculate. We were both completely relaxed afterwards. There was a pop-up afternoon thunderstorm on our way back to our room- what a refreshing and exhilarating end to a couple of hours being pampered, rubbed and soaking in a hot tub- walking down the beach in the cool rain... yet another perfect day in Cozumel :) |
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| The waiting room in the spa... the decor totally reminded me of Cloud City from The Empire Strike's Back (nerd- I know ;) |
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| Filling out paperwork prior to our massages... gotta love going to a spa in nothing but a swim suit and sarong- didn't even bring shoes! |
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| The jacuzzi room... so romantic ;) |
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| A parting shot... our lat night at the Aura (although not our last night in Mexico as it turned out...) such a wonderful trip, so many new memories made and an amazing way to spend five days just the two of us... here's hoping we do this again before another ten years comes and goes! |
