Enjoying the Island of Costa Maya!

The first few photos are of the Costa Maya Port, which we bypassed and hopped on the shuttle to Tropicante. There was a nice sitting area around the swim up bar and lots of great eating spots. If you just want a pool day or are on a tight budget, I could see this being a nice place to just chill and read a book or maybe do a little port shopping. Our first option was to visit the Chacchoben Ruins but we knew that it was going to take up so much time and we only had so much allowed time before heading back to port. Maybe next time!

The shuttles to Mahahual are further out of the port, past all of the shops. The tickets were $3 per person and the open air trolley was very nice! If you walk even further down, you can grab a taxi for only $2 per person.

I had done quite a bit of research on where to visit in Mahahual; it had been years since our last visit. I finally decided on Tropicante because I had read great reviews on Trip Advisor and found out that it is owned by Steve from America. I emailed him before our trip and reserved 2 beach chairs w/shade. As soon as we got into town, one of Steve's employees came up to our trolley and had our names on a chalkboard sign and walked us over to the sitting area on the beach. Such great service!

The views were just amazing! The water was such a beautiful color of blue. It was so nice to watch the boats and people kayaking in the water.

This guy came by and sang an entire song for me so I tipped him a couple of dollars. I should have asked to pose with his sombrero!

The first thing that I did was order a margarita- pretty much my favorite drink! It did not disappoint; very delicious!

Later, we ordered lunch and opted for the Grande Burrito to share. It was a pretty big plate and all that we needed between the two of us. It was really fresh and delicious and the waiter was so nice and brought out extra chips for the salsa.

The hubby and I walked up to the Tropicante Bar and each had a shot of their 100% agave tequila. Some of the best tequila that I have ever had! It was so smooth that I didn't feel a heavy buzz/hang over after, which is always good!

 

We paid our tab and grabbed a taxi back to the port for $4 for the both of us. Our day in Costa Maya was really amazing! We are hoping to explore some more new spots on our next trip. Comment below if you know of any more great spots that we should check out!

Where is your favorite spot/thing to do in Costa Maya?

Winter Getaway!

We are leaving for Mexico in less than an hour!!! I'm currently up at 3:00 a.m. enjoying a latte and finishing up this blog post. I am so excited you guys! We have been working extra hard this year trying to finish house projects, so it will be nice to have a week-long break. We will be visiting both Costa Maya and Cozumel- we have been to both, but it's been a while since we last visited.

I am looking forward to catching up on some kindle reading, writing in my journal and hopefully get some clarity on my business/career for the upcoming year. I have been so overwhelmed with my business that I really need some time to just step away from it all and do some soul searching about the direction that I want to go. And let's just be real, I am especially looking forward to some sun and tropical drinks on the beach! I will be back soon with some photos to share!

What are some of your favorite spots in Cozumel & Costa Maya?

St. Augustine Trip: Day 2

The next morning we got out early and did some walking around historic downtown. It was nice to be up and about early without so many people on the streets- it gave me a chance to take some great photos! 

 

 We missed out on the St. Augustine Distillery on our last visit so we made sure to fit it in this time!

 It was interesting to hear and see how their Rum, Gin, Bourbon and Vodka is processed. It's definitely a lot of steps to create!

 After our tour, we were given the chance tot try samples of their drinks with their specialty liqueurs which was my favorite part! 

We  visited the San Sebastian Winery next. Every time we visit St. Augustine, we make sure to visit San Sebastian to do the wine tasting and purchase some wine to take home.

After finishing up our St. Augustine trip, we packed up our things and headed back home. We made a couple of Starbucks stops on the ride back home. It was a fun trip and we plan on visiting again this fall!

Our 7-day MSC Cruise

We are back from our 7-day MSC Cruise and we had the best time!

Nassau, Bahamas
We visited the Straw Market, took the taxi to Atlantis to Paradise Beach and enjoyed the sun and water for a while. We had planned on getting a couples beach massage, which we normally do every time, but they were already busy, so we decided to just enjoy the sun a little. Later, we headed back to Atlantis and visited some of the cute shops behind Atlantis and also the gorgeous yachts and marina by the restaurants. We walked around and took some photos and headed back to the ship. We had to board at 1:30 so it was a fairly short day.

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Old San Juan is always my favorite stop. The first thing we did was stop at Starbucks to grab a coffee and look at the map. We go here often, so we wanted to try something different. We ended up finding a secret scenic area by the water that goes all the way around the El Morro Fort. There were so many Iguanas everywhere. We took lots of pictures and then headed towards town to find Barrachina's- I had read all about their amazing Pina Coladas. They originated at Barrachinas, so I figured they had to be amazing! And I was right, they were the best Pina Coladas that I've ever had in my life! The bartenders use almost 3 shots of rum per glass and the hubby and I shared 3 large drinks and some grouper fritters- I was definitely feeling relaxed. My husband liked them so much that we walked all around town to find the same rum that the bartender used and we finally found it and purchased 2 different Puerto Rican Rums to use at home.

We also visited Pigeon Park where you will find hundreds of pigeons and you can feed them. I chose not to because I saw a girl almost get attacked when she had food in her hand (no thanks!). My husband did go in and I stayed outside the gate and observed. One pigeon ended up landing on his shoulder and sat there for the longest time. It's also by the waterfront, which is really beautiful. From there, we did a little bit of shopping and I found a nice white dress to wear to dinner. On the way back to the ship, there was a long line of local vendors who sell their wares for a living. I found a sweet little old lady selling shell bracelets, necklaces and other things. The hubby and I chatted with her and ended up buying matching shell bracelets and headed back to the ship.

Phillipsburg, St. Marteen
We opted to take the water ferry over to Great Bay Beach. They had so many cute little shops and bars/restaurants. We visited Diamonds International where my husband almost bought me a pair of diamond earrings. I just wanted to look at the jewelry and enjoy myself, but the salespeople were so aggressive that it turned me off from wanting to purchase anything. They even tried to bribe us with a private open bar upstairs at the last just to get us to purchase some jewelry. I had to make the hubby leave because he really wanted to buy them for me, but I was just so ready for the beach. Maybe next time, some place where they aren't so pushy. Thanks, but no thanks. I was so happy to get out of there! We also had to leave early this day so we bought a Guava Berry drink from the bar and sat on the beach for a little while. It was nice to have a view of the cruise ships in the near distance. The beach was loaded with these tiny little shells. The hubby helped me collect a few to bring back home.

We really enjoyed the Cruise Ship as well. We ended up purchasing a couple's 1 hour facial on the third or fourth day and it was amazing! By purchasing the facial, it gave us access to the thermal spa which we enjoyed for about 4 days in a row.

I also loved that MSC Cruises offers the option to purchase the smaller drink/beverage packages. We had purchased an 18 alcohol package plus a 15 coffee beverage package. It ended up being perfect for just the two of us. We tried every tropical drink on the menu- pina coladas, Miami vice, mojitos, daiquiris, sweet and sour,tequila sunrise, Jamaican rum drink,Mai tai. Dinner was also amazing- lobster, escargot, scallops, shrimp, surf and turf. The desserts were out of this world- tiramisu, baked Alaska, cheesecake. Which is why I gained almost 10 lbs! Also, their pizza and pastas are all hand-made and so amazing! We watched the chefs hand-roll the pizza dough, add the toppings and bake it in the pizza oven. The pizza was so good! There were several nights that we grabbed a slice for a late night snack (and sometimes, a plate of dessert as well).

Now, we're back home and I've started a new exercise routine with the hubby. We are doing HIIT workouts. We started yesterday and did only 20 minutes and it was amazing! We also plan on getting back on gluten free, soy free, low sugar and mostly dairy free eating plan. I'm pretty sure my body is in shock from all of the sugar, dairy, alcohol that I consumed for 7 days!

It's so nice to be back home. Now I'm just catching up on laundry, we just had gluten free waffles and chicken sausage for breakfast and are getting ready to get some things done! Have a lovely weekend!!

Where are you going on vacation this year? I'd love to hear all about it!