Cancun part 2 (The Novel)

Ok, I decided that I better get another post going so I can move those pictures that Natalie took of me sleeping down a little farther.
I left off on Thursday night, the day we went to Chitchen Itza.

So, I'll pick up Friday morning.
We didn't really have anything to do on Friday, with the exception of changing our room for the 3rd night in a row. Needless to say, we were very excited to finally be able to unpack. Suffice it to say we were satisfied with our new room. We went swimming at the beach after we got all moved in. We searched long and hard for an empty space on the crowded beach, and decided to just drop our stuff right in the middle of the beach. I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I've only been to beaches like Huntington beach where there's just tons of sand, and so it never really looks crowded (at least the times I've been there).
We relaxed by the pool for a while drinking our Miami Vice's, as was suggested by my sister-in-law Zipporah! She warned us though that even though we asked for virgin drinks, sometimes they would assume we were kidding... So, the first time I ever tasted alcohol was on our honeymoon.

Then after a chilaxing day at the beach and pool, we went for a walk. That was a lot of fun, on the sidewalk next to the really busy traffic where I studied the driving habits of all the taxi homres, which came in handy the following Sunday. It was awesome, Natalie and I love going for walks. We haven't been able to do that for a long time because it's been so cold all winter long. It really was just so nice to finally have her all to myself.
So, Friday night, I had to make some travel arrangements to go to an ecological theme park called Xcaret. I had arranged for Natalie and I to swim with dolphins there Saturday afternoon. I called the front office to ask them how we should plan on getting there. They made it sound like buses drove there frequently, and it wasn't any big deal getting there. So, Natalie and I decided to sleep in and snuggle (I love to snuggle!)
When we finally decided to leave, we found out from another source that all of the buses had already left to Xcaret, and the only other option we had was to either rent a car, or hire a taxi. As reluctant as I was to pay more money for that day, Natalie and I rented a car. So, I learned how to drive like an hombre! It was so fun not having to use the blinker, and not have to worry about driving in between the lines, and not really watching the speedometer!
Swimming with the dolphins was so crazy! I probably wouldn't have thought to do that, had Natalie not suggested we do that. I'm glad she did though, because it was really a new experience for us. It was weird because they really seem to have a fun personality! What kind of fish has a fun personality?! So we pet the dolphins, danced with them, kissed them, and they even pushed us by our feet!
The rest of the day was spent at the ecological park called Xcaret. I really wished we had spent more time there because it was ginormous! There were cenotes to swim in, iguana's to catch, pelicans to touch, mccaws to talk to, lagoons to snorkel in, fish to catch, sea turtles to ride, and so much more! Natalie even made friends with a very fast mayan hombre. We were totally spent by the end of that day.



I called Shauna a couple of days before the wedding because it dawned on me that we were going to be on our honeymoon over Easter! So I decided that the Easter bunny ought to visit us, even though we were in Cancun! So, I called Shauna to see what Easter traditions Natalie grew up with. When I called Shauna was in line at the store, so she just told me about the song, "Boo-la Boo-la." I laughed so hard when she called me up later and sang it to my voicemail! I think I still have that message. Anyway, Sunday morning came, and Natalie got up, and I sang the "Boo-la Boo-la" song, until she found the basket. The Easter Bunny didn't make it too difficult for Natalie to find because he knew that I didn't really want to sing the song too much! ;)
Renting a car actually worked out really well for us though, because we were able to attend church on Sunday! That was a lot of fun. I think Natalie enjoyed it more, because she has a little more exposer to spanish than I do. I didn't understand a darn word. It reminded me of when I was a young missionary in Denmark, wondering what the heck everyone was saying, and why my teachers failed in teaching me Danish!
After church we had a day of leisure on the beach enjoying the redundant sound of latin music blaring on the beach (did I mention Dos Playas was a spring break hot spot? lol) We read conference talks, scriptures, slept, sun tanned, and played Phase 10 (of course Natalie won, she always wins!)
Natalie and I decided Sunday night to arrange to go snorkeling one more time before we left on Tuesday. That turned out to be very eventful. First of all, when we woke up, it was pouring like I had never seen. I called the travel agency to see if we were still on. It stopped for a little bit, so still had to go snorkeling. So, we packed up our stuff, and hopped on the bus to head to the lagoon. The problem was, that I told the bus driver to take us to the Sunset Lagoon, when really I should have said Sunset marinas! Oops... So, we drove past our destination three times, and ended up having to take three buses just to get there. But once we got there everything was fine. We hopped in our little boat, drove out through the mangroves, and out to the reef. The guides had some fish food, so we had a swarm of fish around us. It was funny because they kept teasing a few of the girls there because they were freaking out at the very sight of fish!
Our resort package ended on Monday, but our flight wasn't until the next day because I can't really count. Oops! So, Natalie and I stayed at another hotel our last night. It was right on the beach, and very nice. I arranged at check in, for a wedding cake and coke (instead of champaigne) to be delivered to our room while we were doing a what we thought was a dinner cruise. We left the hotel to the dinner cruise. We were kind of pressed for time, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot cash... I ended up running back to our hotel room (in flip flops) to find out the only bill I had was a $50! The bus driver was not happy when we tried to use a $50 bill on his bus. He didn't even make us pay because he didn't want to have to deal with breaking it! So, we made it just in time for, what ended up being the booze cruise!
When I made the reservations, I was under the impression that dinner cruise would be a romantical way to end the honeymoon. Sailing in the Lagoon at sunset with a live band, and dancing... sounds good enough. When we first got on the boat, they tried to give Natalie and I a rum punch drink. That should have been a warning sign. down next to a man that couldn't stop talking about how you haveWe sat to have rum when you're on vacation. It full on turned out to be a booze cruise. I felt like such and idiot, and felt so bad for putting Natalie in that environment! They were doing Tequila shots, drinking games, and everything! Natalie and I tried to distance ourselves from the actual party, for the most part. They did have one dance dedicated to the honeymooners, Natalie and myself, along with another couple from Australia that each has 5 kids. Then there was the limbo contest! So, technically there was dancing... just not the kind of dancing I had gotten used to at the Murray Arts Center.
I'm going to post this baheemoth of a post because it is ginormous and I really feel bad for my readers. I'm just trying to get caught up. I just have to write about our last night in Cancun. You'll want to stick around to read that too, because thats a major highlight for Natalie and I.