Old Mexico 2008 part 3

The finale. Where were we, oh yes - Tulum. What's crazy is that the last picture I posted from Tulum of the beach was straight out of my camera, no digital trickery or editing whatsoever. It's really that beautiful, loved it!

We knew we wanted to go to Tulum from all the amazing things we've heard about it and our driver, Jesus, (Hey-sus people, it's Spanish) was totally pumped to take us, and make a few other stops on the way. First a bit on Jesus - he's pretty much the coolest guy ever! He served in the Mexican army for a while but left because of the corruption (Jared was pumped to hear the Mafia bribing and snake eating stories) and then lived in California for two years working in various places. Then he moved back to Mexico and has several jobs, one of which is a private driver. He told us about his family and his life in Mexico, took our picture at every place we went and bought crackers for us to feed the fish when we went snorkeling. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet such amazing people like Jesus.

So when Kellye, Paige and Melissa decided they wanted to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams and swim with the dolphins we called Jesus. It was the coolest place! Not only were there dolphins, but sea lions and manatees too! While they got suited up and watched a safety video about not scratching the dolphins and such we checked out the sea lions. They reminded me of Chauncey for some reason.

Then the dolphin adventure began, in all its glory. Now we went on a "swim with the dolphins" excursion once before on a cruise that turned out to be more of a "stand in the same water with the dolphins and watch them swim by you very closely" kind of thing, but this was the real deal. They pet the dolphins, got dolphin kisses (Kellye's favorite), rode on their fins, and got propelled through the water/air with a "foot push". It was pretty awesome.

The next day Jesus asked where we'd like to eat lunch "inside or on the beach?" That was easy, "On the beach!" I don't even know if the place had a name but it was awesome. Almost everyone there was in a swimsuit and we couldn't understand a thing on the menu, my kind of place. After we ordered, Jared and I took a walk on the beach and officially decided that we love Mexico. The food was delicious and so was the lemonade (which was actually just margarita mix, I'm pretty sure.)

Jared found a baby coconut.

The last big adventure was one of my favorites. Jesus told us about this lagoon and it sounded like paradise. It is a giant pool of fresh water that connects to the ocean, so the fresh water and ocean water mix to make a crystal clear blue lagoon full of fish and some sea turtles and smooth as glass. It was like snorkeling in a freshly cleaned zoo aquarium, like the ones the otters swim in you know? So awesome.

And on the last day we relaxed, shopped the local market, and ate Guacamole until we turned green.

Dad's beach read - "The Coming Economic Collapse" - how relaxing.

Kellye showing a little love to the swan towel.

What a trip, the adventures were great and the beaches were beautiful but during that week I realized that good company is more valuable than anything. Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome vacation and for getting everyone together, love you more than words can say.