Cruisin'

Chris and I returned Thursday from a five-day cruise with some awesome, fun friends! Tanya had approached us months ago about a surprise trip for Doug's 40th birthday, and as it turned out, Chris and I were the only ones able to join them. It was a spectacular deal and I was so excited to experience my FIRST cruise!

We sailed out of Galveston, TX on Saturday. Our plan was to surprise Doug by literally bumping into him after coordinating the whole thing with Tanya, but that plan was foiled when they showed up almost directly behind us in the security line! He was surprised and at least acted excited to be cruising with us...

We spent the late afternoon on pins and needles watching our Horned Frogs pull off a victory over Texas Tech. We had to share the sports bar with Baylor and Tech fans, which was annoying, to say the least. After the narrow win, we celebrated with our sit-down dinner with Doug and Tanya. 

Sunday was a day at sea, so it was mainly spent at the pool reading, napping, eating, and gabbing! Also, the Cowboys played that day so Doug and Chris stood in a packed bar all afternoon hoping for a Cowboys win. That evening was the elegant dress-up night, so we got all dolled up and went to a show and dinner, and took some pictures, of course!

Monday morning we docked at Progreso, Yucatan for a day. The four of us had finally settled on an excursion to the Mayan ruins at Uxmal and snacks at Hacienda Ochil, a 1 hr. 45 min. drive from port. Our tour guides, while not entirely factually accurate, were hilariously entertaining and provided Doug with plenty of comedic fodder for the remainder of the cruise! The ruins were awesome and we would all highly recommend visiting the 150-acre site at Uxmal if you have the opportunity.

Pyramid of the Magician, built on existing pyramids

Bats in the wood door frames at Uxmal

A portion of the Nunnery Quadrangle, named by the Spanish

See the iguana?

This is where the infamous Mayan games were played, with deadly consequences

We climbed these steep stairs of the Great Pyramid for stunning panoramic views of the ruins

Doug ended up helping this elderly lady come back down from the steep altar

HUGE iguana... these things are like squirrels! They were everywhere you looked

Palace of the Governor, one of the best examples of Puuc architecture in existence

After spending time at Uxmal, we journeyed to 17th-century Hacienda Ochil for some traditional food.

We had some time to shop around and do some bartering before getting back on the boat, so Chris and I picked up some bracelets for our kids.

Tuesday morning we docked at Cozumel.

We didn't book an excursion for this day but instead looked into renting a jeep or something. We decided on scooters, which only cost $30 apiece for the day! I rode with Chris and Tanya and Doug each had one.





We set off for a ride, stopping for some pictures and just enjoying a beautiful day in Mexico.

After riding for about 45 minutes, we turned down a bumpy road that led to a beach-side restaurant. We snagged a table and some beach chairs and spent the day there in bliss.

There was no pressure to buy any food or drinks (but we did, of course), or even to free up the table when we finished. We actually had to search for the guy just to pay our bill. We left after several hours, continuing the ride for awhile to enjoy the views, but we headed back the way we came because we were nervous about the timing of continuing around the island. We were back to the boat with time to spare, sunburned and relaxed from a fun day on Cozumel!

Wednesday was another day at sea, and we tried to stay out of the sun because of our sunburned state. Instead, we found a quiet corner of a piano bar during the day and relaxed with our reading materials. It was fun just rehashing our adventures and enjoying one more day of food and relaxation. We saw a show again that night and lingered over dinner. One of the dance clubs was playing country-western music so we ducked in for a line dance and some two-stepping, then enjoyed coffee and a great Asian rock band out in the casino. 

Thursday morning we arrived in Galveston and watched the dolphins playing as we docked!

Our debarkation process was smooth and quick, and we were sorry to say goodbye but anxious to see our families.