Day 7 - Honeymoon

*Well, since the internet was spotty then I wasn't really motivated to get on the computer.. these are a little late to post! :)

We woke up early to make sure we got those windsailing reservations. We skipped the juice and coffee and went straight to the buffet for breakfast. Breakfast buffet typically had: lots of bread and toast, meats and cheeses, fruits, waffles, pancakes, pastries, bacon, sausage, made-to-order omelettes, donuts, salads, freshly squeezed juices, yogurts, cereal, different "milkshakes"/smoothie type drink, crepes, fiber-type stuff for the healthy people visiting, and other breakfast-y Mexican things. I wanted to make sure I listed the type of food at least once. Otherwise, I know I'll forget in a couple months!

Mark had really wanted to try the windsailing, so the little hut opened at 9 am for making the day's reservations. Unfortunately, the winds and seas were too rough for the day and no one could go out. :(

So instead, we laid by the pool and beach and relaxed pretty much the whole day. I had grabbed my complementary Iberostar travel mug to fill up with the banana and chocolate "milkshakes" for hanging out by the pool.. they were so delicious!

I tried to take a 360-degree photo from the pool to get the whole view of where we stayed.

Here's Mark, being a nice husband, and bringing me my strawberry margarita! :)

It was a GORGEOUS day!

For our last dinner, we made reservations for the Japanese restaurant, Haiku. It was the ONLY day available during our visit, which goes to show how popular it is. We had high expectations, to say the least!

It was good.. but not TOTALLY AWESOME like we had expected. They were able to sit us at a hibachi style seating, where the chef cooks right in front of you. Mark got a combo of shrimp, lobster, and fillet, while I ordered a combo of shrimp and fillet. We each received a huge portion of fried rice and grilled veggies. Before the meal, each of us also ordered some sushi and nigiri as appetizers.

We met this couple from Boston that was really nice and super funny. They were telling us about their family and some newlywed advice. It was nice to be able to sit and talk a little with visitors. We ordered some coffee and chatted for a bit.

For tonight's show, the theme was Boogie Nights. We were both excited for this one and it did not disappoint! We stopped by the bar before heading into the show and listened to the live band for a few minutes. There were some rowdy groups from Texas (I'm only assuming) because they went WILD when the band started playing some Garth Brooks music. Dancing and singing.. whew. They were tiring.

We decided to head in early and grab our seats. We chatted with this other couple on their honeymoon from England. They were really friendly and super funny. The woman said she worked in the postal service, but said, "Yes, I work for the Queen!" Too funny! The guy worked in some service - I can only imagine it's something like OSHA - where he checks or contracts pre-fabbed living areas for construction workers or something along those lines. Again, another fun couple to spend a few minutes with.

The Boogie Nights show was super fun! They really go all out on these nightly shows. They have professional dancers and singers and live music.. costumes that match each theme, backdrops.. it was a fun time! They played some Aretha Franklin, Abba, and more. Mark and I were singing along most of the time. :)

It was a great ending to the night! Our flight leaves tomorrow around noon, so we're out around 9:30 am to head for the Cancun Airport.

Back to reality!

Love, Mr. & Mrs. Frilles!

Day 6 - Honeymoon

*Well, since the internet was spotty then I wasn't really motivated to get on the computer.. these are a little late to post! :)

On Day 6, Mark and I got more mango juice, pineapple juice, and coffee delivered as our wake-up call. I was a little more awake this time since they came after I actually woke up!

We ate at the breakfast buffet and decided to go on the bike tour Iberostar offers for the Grand Hotel guests. One of the guides takes you around to the other hotels and tells you a little bit about each of them, the shopping center and spas, and about the resort.

It was fun to bike around and see the place. Mark had looked up before that the resort has one albino peacock. Guess who saw it on their bike tour?? These honeymooners!

After the bike tour, we went back to the room and saw a surprise gift:

Iberostar honeymooner shirts! Woohoo!! I love free shirts and I love that we got something special for our honeymoon. :)

We spent some more time by the pool in one of the cabanas, but decided our neighbors at the bar were too loud. (Group of guys and girls throwing ice at the bottles for some weird game..??)

A trip to the spa pool we walked to yesterday! On our bike tour, the guide showed us the spas over there. They had these weird shaped metal things by the pool. Turns out, they were fountains! The Grand Hotel spa had four different ones. You push a button and a jet of water comes rushing out. Super neat!

The rest of the day was spent mostly relaxing either by the pool or beach. Mark had tried to book us for the windsailing, but it was booked up. We'll be trying again tomorrow when they open.

We visited the tide pools again and saw some crabs on the shore! Digging out their place for the night.

After a buffet dinner, we wanted to try out their casino night. We were able to score two spots on the roulette table. It was really fun and we got to chat with a few other couples visiting.

The show that night was some pre-historic Mexican show, which didn't sound too fun, so we decided to hit the hay.

Tomorrow is the last full day, so we aim to make it count!

Love, Mr. & Mrs. Frilles!

Day 5 - Honeymoon

Since we are waiting on pretty much hand and foot, we thought we'd do a wake-up call by being delivered juice and coffee in the morning. On the form to fill out, you mark a time range of 7 am to 8 am... knock knock! 6:51 am and we get juice and coffee!

That was a bit of a shock, but with fresh mango juice, pineapple juice, and coffee - can't complain.

We went to the buffet for breakfast, then decided to walk around a bit. We checked out the spa/pool area. It was really nice, with a retractable roof and two spas. On the way, we saw lots of iguanas!

There are many activities throughout the day. I saw they had archery, so I made Mark walk over there to play. It was located in one of the other hotels here on the property. There were tons of families all around. The archery place was crowded when we got there. Mark put our names on the list and waited until we got called.

Mark went first. He did pretty decent! Got a couple arrows in the target.

I tried and as the staff member said, my score was "Happy face!!!" Meaning = I didn't hit any of the bulleyes! haha :) But on the second round, I did better. I got 2 arrows in! My final score was 80, Mark's was 260.

Around the other hotel, signs were posted of this local raccoon animal, the coati. I had told Mark about them before we got to the hotel, but hadn't seen any yet. On the walk back, we saw one sneak up, jump in one of the trash cans, and run out with food!

More hanging out by the palapas and sunbathing. Getting more drinks. On the beach are some rocks that made some tidepools. Mark and I went to check out what they had. Little fishes, a couple hermits crabs, and some rockfish were in there.

Lunch was at the Mexican buffet restaurant. Mark was SO EXCITED to see the seafood buffet. Just take a look at his plate!

This is the second plate.. he had three more lobster tails before this!

Afterwards, we walked around the place a bit, napped, ate buffet dinner, watched the night show (Las Vegas themed!), then ordered room service. We got some ice cream, or helado, and a margherita pizza! Here's some picture from the rest of the day..

Love, Mr. & Mrs. Frilles!

Day 4 - Part Dos of Lunes de miel!

We started off the day with some more breakfast buffet.. getting the last helping of breads, hot chocolate, and fresh specialty juices.

Originally, Mark and I planned to get in a little bit more snorkeling, but I got burned on my lower back and the back of my legs, so snorkeling didn't seem as appealing. Instead, we lounged about in our room, slowly getting ready. I hung out a bit in the hammock, which was nice in the morning. The kids that play in the pool weren't outside yet, so I could still hear the ocean and birds instead of kids yelling and loud pool music playing.

Checkout was at noon, so we had a couple drinks before doing so. Turns out, we got a little pass that allows us to keep eating and drinking on the premises. Oh well!

Mark and I decided to try and save a little and walk from Cozumel Palace to the ferry. Turns out it took about 30 minutes in humid heat. Ugh. Sweaty and tired, after buying tickets, we just sat instead of doubling back for treats at Starbucks.

The ferry was WARM but luckily I fell asleep for most of it. I'm not sure how Mark did, but I think he got a little siesta in there as well.

We arrived in Playa Del Carmen, still sweaty and tired. I had found on Tripadvisor forums, that Iberostar has a shuttle, but forgot to write down what those times were for pickup. Oops! So, Mark found us a taxi and we zoomed to Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso.

Many other hotels had big entrances on the way, but still Iberostar was amazing. It is a giant resort! There are different hotel levels (Grand being of course, the grandest!) and our taxi pulls through these red iron gates and in front of this huge atrium entrance. We received cool, scented towels to refresh and a drink while our passports were processed for check in.

Next, one of the staff gets us onto a golf cart and seriously rushes around the Grand complex, zooming around corners and circles. He lost our snorkel gear along the way with the fast twists and turns, so we speed back to find them.

Our room is a corner spot with an outdoor Jacuzzi. It faces the ocean and immediately I though, why did we even bother with Cozumel Palace!?!

The end of the room,which opens up to...

 This gorgeous view, but wait.. turn to the right and...

 

Oh hello amazing view and an amazing place to view it!

We have a personal butler who showed us the room and explained the complex, plus a concierge service with any reservations or other needs.

Me, sitting in my fancypants!

Mark and I walked out to the beach (our room is on the 3rd floor) and saw that a wedding was going on! Super small and cute, which reminded me of Keith and Kenna's beachfront wedding almost 2 years ago. Awww. :)

We toured some of the complex and made it back to our room to change for dinner.

Mark made us a reservation for Toni's surf and turf restaurant.

We each ordered a yummy seafood soup, Grand Paraiso seafood platter, lobster tail and beef filet, and dessert. I also had a café latte and BURSTING after eating all that.

It is pretty late (almost 10pm) so off to bed to get up early and get in these all-inclusive activities! :) Woohoo!

(Geckos on the walls!)

Love, Mr. and Mrs. Frilles!

P.S. I'm sure Mark would love to make sure everyone knows - I got my first bug bite today! One on my arm, then another one on my neck. The score is almost even. :)