A couple of weeks ago we took what we hope will be only the first of many vacations to the Rivera Maya. It is only a two hour flight to Cancun from Monterrey, so it's pretty easy travel for our family while we live here in Mexico. This trip we were especially blessed because Ben's parents met us there! We rented a condo together in a little town south of Cancun called Akumel. While the condo wasn't super fancy, it was right on the beach and we could see the ocean from the living room window. Also, an unforeseen bonus was that our beach happened to be one that mama turtles lay their eggs. So, when we arrived at 10:30 p.m. on Friday night, we walked outside and saw a huge turtle digging her nest. It was absolutely an amazing experience.
Each set of sticks marks a turtle nest. There were literally hundreds of them on our beach.
Each nest was labeled with the date the eggs were laid.
The view from our deck.
Eight in morning on day one and the twins were already in the ocean. It was all that we imagined it could be for those boys. Having never experienced a warm ocean before, the Caribbean was heaven for them!
(Sam on left with a shell, Seth on right with a boogie board)
Joshy making a sand castle with Grandma in his undies before breakfast
It was so awesome to have this right outside our door.
Unfortunately our beach had quite a bit of weeds, so after we all ate breakfast, we drove to la playa paradiso (Paradise Beach), just about 10 minutes further south. It was a beautiful beach where you can see the Tulum Mayan ruins in the background.
Joshy had a blast making a sand castle
The twins quickly took to boogie boarding
Not too many grandmas would join their grandsons in boogie boarding and be just as enthusiastic (or more so) than they! (Diane and Seth)
Jeff joined in the fun too
After several hours on the beach we ate at a wonderful Thai restaurant that had a gorgeous view. It was weird for Ben and I to be in tourist Mexico, where the servers speak English and Thai food is even an option (no Thai restaurants here in Monterrey). It was such a treat!
In the afternoon we headed to a beach that Jeff and Diane had already stayed at for the previous few days. We purchased snorkeling gear for Ben and the twins at a store and they practiced in the pool for a bit before heading to the ocean.
I have to take a moment here to say how proud we were of Seth and Sam for their sense of adventure and courage the entire trip. They were up for any new experience that was put in front of them and really were brave. First time boogie boarding, snorkeling, and kayaking and they never hesitated! (Seth, Sam)
It was so helpful that the boys have become pretty good swimmers over the past few months here in Monterrey!
Ben is such a great teacher (and Dad!)
The boys out in the ocean snorkeling!
Joshy doing what he does best: digging in the sand.
Seth coming in from snorkeling
Note to any parents who head to the Caribbean: spray sunblock does not give enough coverage, especially on the face. All the kids got pretty burned on day 1. Seth even got sunburned on his eye lids. Bad parenting moment!
We were also blessed to be able to take kayaks out on this particular beach. All the kids loved kayaking!
Ben and Seth
Josh LOVED being in the kayak...poor Diane's arms were so tired by the end because Josh kept asking her to paddle around.
Sam and Ben
I wish that this picture wasn't blurry, because it shows such a sweet moment of Diane reading to Josh at bedtime.
Morning on day two, we woke up and the boys immediately rushed to the water again. This time we were blessed to see two babies turtles who were trying to make their way to the water. It was so awesome!
There were quite a few of us rooting them towards the ocean
Come on little guys!
It was pretty amazing to watch!
We knew that S & S would love the Caribbean ocean; they absolutely had a blast from the moment they woke up each morning until the sun went down.
Seth
Can you find the iguana? As we drove out from our condo in the morning we saw this guy.
The beach we went to this second morning was by far our favorite. It was absolute paradise and had great body surfing.
Joshy checking out the ocean with jerky in hand.
Everyone spent a lot of time out in the ocean on this morning
Josh eventually went out into the ocean with Ben and bobbed around for the longest time. He didn't want to get out because he was having so much fun!
Seth
Getting ready to catch a wave (can you see Seth's white mark in his hair? It's the way you can tell Seth and Sam apart from the back!)
Trying to get the three boys to look at the camera and smile is nearly impossible
That's the best we could get (Sam, Josh, Seth)
More water play
Josh pretty much thought that he was invincible in his water wings and was fearless of the waves
Seth
Isn't that an idyllic beach?
Sammy catching a wave
Josh hanging with Grandpa and Grandma
Two adventurous souls
Our lunch stop was recommended to us by our apartment manager here in Monterrey
It was a pretty cool place: we ate with sand between our toes and a great view
There was also the most amazing decor, including a huge tree fort
Sam and Seth in the fort
Sam, Seth
Such a cool place!
Our little family
That evening Jeff and Diane watched the boys for us so that we could go on a date. We didn't get to go out alone for our 12th anniversary this June, so we called this our anniversary date. We drove North to Playa del Carmen and had a wonderful dinner on the famous pedestrian avenue there. It was a nice break from parenting! When we arrived back home we sat on the shore, listening to the waves, watching the stars and a lightning storm that was only over the far off ocean. It was a pretty neat experience, one in which you are reminded of God's majesty in creation of the stars, storms and oceans.
The third morning, the kids were exhausted and slept in a bit. I took the opportunity to walk along the beach by myself. About 15 minutes into my walk a hotel worker who was clearing the ocean weeds spotted me and asked me to release this baby turtle into the ocean (the turtle had gotten caught in the piles of weeds and needed open ocean to swim in). I have to say: this was one of the coolest experiences ever! I held a baby turtle!
When the kids woke up, Ben took just the twins to a bay in Akumel known for seeing turtles while snorkeling (Josh stayed behind with Jeff, Diane and I and made sand castles). Ben, Seth and Sam all got to see several very large turtles while snorkeling that morning.
Truthfully, by this point in time we were all pretty tuckered out. We headed back to the condo for some lunch, rest, and swimming in the condo pool.
Sam
Seth
Josh was a big fan of the big pool floaties
The hotel maid created the boys some towel creatures that afternoon. While Josh took a nap, Seth and Sam threw on their life jackets and floated around in the ocean by our condo literally for hours. They loved it so much.
We're so grateful that Jeff and Diane joined us!
When Josh woke up, Ben took him out on the kayak again
We all headed to Playa del Carmen for dinner and shops on the final night.
Thankfully I found someone to take a family picture for us!
We left early on day four, but not too early to miss this beautiful sunrise.
We look forward to returning to the Rivera Maya again someday soon!
Getting to board the plane via steps was one of the boys' highlights. Josh will tell you all about how HUGE the jet engines are.
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