Day 5
We met my parents at Topsider's for breakfast and loved it again! Ben enjoyed the idea of endless bacon. It was easy for all of us to find something we loved.
After breakfast I ran up to deck 9 for towels again and we headed down to deck 1 for a short wait to go ashore to Cozumel.
From the ship, it was a short walk to a large escalator that lead to an open air mall. The vendors were friendly and very willing to haggle. We had a little time before our excursion so we spent it shopping. We didn't want to have to carry a lot of packages with us to our excursion so we tried not to buy too much.
After about 45 minutes we headed down to get a cab to our excursion. We had booked a jungle ATV excursion online ahead of time through Shore Excersioneer. We took a short cab ride to a nice resort where we met our excursion leaders. We then loaded into an open air bus and drove across the island to a little lot full of ATVs.
We had booked three of the normal ATVs but when we got there they offered us the side by side ATVs if we wanted them. Everyone jumped at that idea but I gave the kids the "look" and asked what the cost difference would be (I had not booked the side by side's because they were more expensive) they said it was all the same price so we happily loaded into the side by side's. My parents in one, Maizie and Ben in another and William and me in another. I wasn't sure how Maizie would do since she's always been a little timid and cautious about driving. But Ben doesn't have a license so she agreed to drive. We all got goggles and helmets and headed out down the road to a sandy trail through the jungle.
We were three in a line of maybe 15 ATV's. Once we reached the sandy jungle road the lead guide took off and we were all off through the jungle. It was a one lane trail with jungle on both sides. We wound our we deeper and deeper, sometimes loosing site of the ATV's in front of us but always knowing we'd catch them. Sometimes there were rocks to jump over and we could slow down and get a gap between us and the next ATV so we could get up to speed and really fly over them. It was so fun. William and I pretended we were in Jurassic Park and being chased by a T-Rex. After a while I realized I was smiling so much that my teeth were dusty from the trail.
We stopped to take some pictures at a beautiful spot by a beach and I was able to ask Maizie how she was doing. She was having a BLAST
! Soon we were back on the trail. After more winding and jumping, we came to a small Mayan Ruin. It wasn't much and unless we were told we really wouldn't have thought much of it. It was interesting to see though and we got a chance to take a few pictures, walk out to the waters edge (the waves were STRONG and the beach was rocky, certainly not the place for swimming) we all got water bottles and reapplied sunscreen and then we turned the whole train around and started back through the jungle again.
This time William and I pretended he was Indiana Jones and we were being chased by villagers for taking Mayan treasures. We all had an absolute blast. Maizie said this was the most fun she's ever had.
When we arrived back at the little lot we turned our goggles and helmets back in and loaded back into the bus. The tour guide announce that we would be making an unplanned stop at a tequila factory (another thing that would have cost extra to book online). I was a little nervous because we still supposed to have lunch at the resort, William was wanting to play at the beach and we all wanted to do more shopping. We had a little time and apparently someone had asked about the tequila tour so I didn't say anything.
We did a quick tour of the tequila factory (just a very small workshop, nothing like a "factory" in the way you would think of a factory in the U.S.) and learned a little about the process of making tequila. Then the bus ride back to the resort.
I was getting pretty nervous about our time so Maizie and I took William over to the beach while everyone else waited for lunch. Lunch and the beach were both at the resort and included in our excursion. William and Maizie built sand castles, something William had REALLY looked forward too. We got back to the table when lunch was being delivered. After lunch (which we ate pretty quickly) we hopped in a cab back to the port. We only had about an hour to be back on the ship but we all had things we wanted to buy. We split up and did a mad dash back through the mall.
Ben went back to a little stand where he had worked out a deal for a poncho/hoodie that morning. The seller had told him $25 in the morning so he went back with cash in hand. This time he asked and the woman told him they were $150 but she would sell it to him for $80
. He went to get my dad. When my dad came over the woman told him the same thing. My dad said that just that morning she had told them $25, she smiled and said "ok, you give me $50. Haha, they got it for $25 in the end, but it was a funny exchange. That's one of Ben's favorite stories!
We all managed to get the souvenirs we had found that morning and even found some more deals that we couldn't pass up. With Ben and my Dad threatening to leave us behind we finally dragged ourselves out of the stores, back to the escalator and then back onto the Magic.
When we stepped back onto the ship we were just below our floor and as we walked up the stairs William said "we're almost home." It was cute, our little 2022 did feel like home.
We all cleaned up and relaxed for a bit and then went to dinner at Parrot Cay again. We always enjoyed seeing our servers and chatting with them about their families and where they were from.
Later we saw Disney Dreams. We had heard that this was a great show and we were not disappointed! A girl working in one of the stores had told Maizie that she teared up the first time she saw it. We were expecting a lot and I have to say we teared up too!! It was just so magical.
Again, Ben was off to Vibe and Maizie, William and I split up from my parents and went back to our room. That night we decided to order some pizza with our nightly cookies but it took so long that William and I fell asleep waiting. After waiting up, even Maizie got tired of waiting and called down to cancel the order. She fell asleep and then.... a knock at the door. We had noticed before that room service gets pretty busy at night. None of us were really hungry so it wasn't too disappointing.
We met my parents at Topsider's for breakfast and loved it again! Ben enjoyed the idea of endless bacon. It was easy for all of us to find something we loved.
After breakfast I ran up to deck 9 for towels again and we headed down to deck 1 for a short wait to go ashore to Cozumel.
From the ship, it was a short walk to a large escalator that lead to an open air mall. The vendors were friendly and very willing to haggle. We had a little time before our excursion so we spent it shopping. We didn't want to have to carry a lot of packages with us to our excursion so we tried not to buy too much.
After about 45 minutes we headed down to get a cab to our excursion. We had booked a jungle ATV excursion online ahead of time through Shore Excersioneer. We took a short cab ride to a nice resort where we met our excursion leaders. We then loaded into an open air bus and drove across the island to a little lot full of ATVs.
We had booked three of the normal ATVs but when we got there they offered us the side by side ATVs if we wanted them. Everyone jumped at that idea but I gave the kids the "look" and asked what the cost difference would be (I had not booked the side by side's because they were more expensive) they said it was all the same price so we happily loaded into the side by side's. My parents in one, Maizie and Ben in another and William and me in another. I wasn't sure how Maizie would do since she's always been a little timid and cautious about driving. But Ben doesn't have a license so she agreed to drive. We all got goggles and helmets and headed out down the road to a sandy trail through the jungle.
We were three in a line of maybe 15 ATV's. Once we reached the sandy jungle road the lead guide took off and we were all off through the jungle. It was a one lane trail with jungle on both sides. We wound our we deeper and deeper, sometimes loosing site of the ATV's in front of us but always knowing we'd catch them. Sometimes there were rocks to jump over and we could slow down and get a gap between us and the next ATV so we could get up to speed and really fly over them. It was so fun. William and I pretended we were in Jurassic Park and being chased by a T-Rex. After a while I realized I was smiling so much that my teeth were dusty from the trail.
We stopped to take some pictures at a beautiful spot by a beach and I was able to ask Maizie how she was doing. She was having a BLAST
! Soon we were back on the trail. After more winding and jumping, we came to a small Mayan Ruin. It wasn't much and unless we were told we really wouldn't have thought much of it. It was interesting to see though and we got a chance to take a few pictures, walk out to the waters edge (the waves were STRONG and the beach was rocky, certainly not the place for swimming) we all got water bottles and reapplied sunscreen and then we turned the whole train around and started back through the jungle again. This time William and I pretended he was Indiana Jones and we were being chased by villagers for taking Mayan treasures. We all had an absolute blast. Maizie said this was the most fun she's ever had.
When we arrived back at the little lot we turned our goggles and helmets back in and loaded back into the bus. The tour guide announce that we would be making an unplanned stop at a tequila factory (another thing that would have cost extra to book online). I was a little nervous because we still supposed to have lunch at the resort, William was wanting to play at the beach and we all wanted to do more shopping. We had a little time and apparently someone had asked about the tequila tour so I didn't say anything.
We did a quick tour of the tequila factory (just a very small workshop, nothing like a "factory" in the way you would think of a factory in the U.S.) and learned a little about the process of making tequila. Then the bus ride back to the resort.
I was getting pretty nervous about our time so Maizie and I took William over to the beach while everyone else waited for lunch. Lunch and the beach were both at the resort and included in our excursion. William and Maizie built sand castles, something William had REALLY looked forward too. We got back to the table when lunch was being delivered. After lunch (which we ate pretty quickly) we hopped in a cab back to the port. We only had about an hour to be back on the ship but we all had things we wanted to buy. We split up and did a mad dash back through the mall.
Ben went back to a little stand where he had worked out a deal for a poncho/hoodie that morning. The seller had told him $25 in the morning so he went back with cash in hand. This time he asked and the woman told him they were $150 but she would sell it to him for $80
. He went to get my dad. When my dad came over the woman told him the same thing. My dad said that just that morning she had told them $25, she smiled and said "ok, you give me $50. Haha, they got it for $25 in the end, but it was a funny exchange. That's one of Ben's favorite stories!We all managed to get the souvenirs we had found that morning and even found some more deals that we couldn't pass up. With Ben and my Dad threatening to leave us behind we finally dragged ourselves out of the stores, back to the escalator and then back onto the Magic.
When we stepped back onto the ship we were just below our floor and as we walked up the stairs William said "we're almost home." It was cute, our little 2022 did feel like home.
We all cleaned up and relaxed for a bit and then went to dinner at Parrot Cay again. We always enjoyed seeing our servers and chatting with them about their families and where they were from.
Later we saw Disney Dreams. We had heard that this was a great show and we were not disappointed! A girl working in one of the stores had told Maizie that she teared up the first time she saw it. We were expecting a lot and I have to say we teared up too!! It was just so magical.
Again, Ben was off to Vibe and Maizie, William and I split up from my parents and went back to our room. That night we decided to order some pizza with our nightly cookies but it took so long that William and I fell asleep waiting. After waiting up, even Maizie got tired of waiting and called down to cancel the order. She fell asleep and then.... a knock at the door. We had noticed before that room service gets pretty busy at night. None of us were really hungry so it wasn't too disappointing.
