Hola Amigo!

The seafood restaurant was our favourite one. The food was delicous and the service was wonderful. It was a beautiful evening on the patio.

View of our resort from the Xcaret Park tower. This park is the biggest tourist attraction in Mexico. It is full of natural and cultural heritage. We spent a full day there and still didn't see the whole park. It was a lot of walking, so we rented a double jogging stroller.

Ed took Anthony swimming in the underground caves. He loved it! Ed bought the 8x10 picture they took.

Iguana "mini-dragon". We saw lots of them.

At the Kids Club. The pool was 1.5 feet deep. Perfect for us and lots of toys to play with.

Each evening the Mayan people came through the hotel lobby and did a ritual. The culture and music was very interesting to learn about.

Anthony with his new hat (and chick hicks). The only way he would let me take a picture of him.

Getting ready to go out for dinner one our last evening. We headed to the Mexican restaurant.

View of the beach from the beach club patio. The water was so clear. Next time I'd bring flippers and some snorkling gear to see the fish and seashells.

James (groom), Ed, Anthony and Julien goofing around.

The beach was great for the younger ones. It was a man-made cove, because that area in the Mayan Riviera is quite rocky and the water in rough. Anthony loved playing frisbee with his dad. Others commented that he was great for only being 3 years old. He also liked licking the salt water off his skin.

Ed's good childhood friend James finally got married to Stephanie. They had been to this resort before and wanted to have their wedding there. We were lucky enough to all be able to make the trip. There was close to 70 family and friends at the wedding (including 10 children). Anthony enjoyed hitting the pinata.

Bath time for Ava. The room only had a large shower. Anthony didn't like it very much.

The beautiful bride and her father. Unfortunately we took a few more pictures from the wedding, but lost them after we dropped the camera. :(

Heading to the beach after breakfast.

We travelled to the Mayan Riviera for a week of fun and sun on January 14th, 2011. It was my first time to Mexico and to an all-inclusive resort. It was a great experience. The food was very good. There was lots of variety and the buffet was replenished often. Anthony didn't like the milk there (it is cow's milk- but they don't refridgerate it right away and it seemed sweeter).

The people were so attentive and helpful. We made sure to tip often. Anthony was warming up to them and would say "Gracias Amigo" and "Hola" a lot. They loved that! Ed had been to Mexico a long time ago and still knew a good amount of spanish. So much, that a few servers asked if he spoke espanol.

I have a new found respect for the Mexican people. I know the country has a lot of crime and the policing is corrupt. The people we spoke to were friendly, hardworking people. That area of Mexico is the safest to live according to the locals we spoke to. Even though a lot of them would love to live in a country like Canada. The wages they earn are so low compared to ours. The one man told us he gets paid pesos equal to $5 us a day. Some people don't tip often, so he is lucky to leave with $20-30 after a days work.

It was so nice to leave Canada for a whole week of cold weather. I kept thinking I'll come back and it'll be July. No, burrr...it was -10 and still January. We all had a great time and I hope in a few years, when the kids are older we can go back down south sans children. This time they were too young to leave at home. I told Ed, that either we all go, or we all stay home. I knew I'd be a wreak without them (plus who would nurse Ava and take both of them for a week)? Anthony is 3.5, more independant now, so a good age to go. Ava is 9 months, so too young to get into anything yet. She tried to eat the sand though.

I was nervous taking my insulin pump and supplies through security at the airport for the first time. I had my travel letter from my doctor and airport pump info from medtronic. I didn't have a problem with any of that. They didn't even ask to see my letters. On our return flight, the Mexican security took my hand sanitizer. No biggie. I guess the bottle was bigger than 4 ozs.


Buenas Noches!