Vacation Cruise Part 1: Cozumel, Mexico

BY SKEETER

 Hello Bloggers, I'm back! I have been one busy gal since my last posting. We travel a lot during the Fall and Winter months and boy have we been busy. Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Mexico, Belize and Honduras were on the agenda. Now we have moved on to Winter and wow, this is the coldest Winter we have had in my GEORGIA GARDENS since moving here in 2001.

 

Once back home after the holidays, I twisted my ankle really bad so I have been pretty much laid up trying to recoup. Laid up does not include sitting at the computer so most of my computer time has been spent on my tablet, which has none of my photos attached, thus no blogging for me. Now, the ankle is healing and I am back to the computer and sorting through vacation photos in hopes of them warming me up a bit.

 

Our Winter Cruise is always a great adventure and the one we took in December was no exception! Our first shore Excursion was in Cozumel, Mexico. We have been to Cozumel once before so we knew what to expect with the city. Our tour took us to an all-inclusive day at Chankanaab National Park. Click HERE for more on the park...

 Since our first Cruise, I have wanted to snorkel but did not know how. The Saint has since worked with me in our pool but the past few cruises, the weather was not warm enough for such fun. This year was the perfect time to try out my snorkel techniques. Here I am waving at ya.

 The Saint and I were so sure we would be snorkeling this year, that we purchased an Underwater Camera. Seeing the views in crystal clear water on a sunny day was spectacular to say the least! There is my Saint swimming with the fishes!  

 It was such a wonder to have beautiful fish swim up to us.

 A large school of fish were hanging out by the reef.

 The Coral was damaged by recent Hurricanes but as you see, they are making a comeback.

 I felt like a fish myself under the water and was so happy I became brave enough to give it a try.

 Under water is a different world.

 We were not sure how the camera would be with snapping pictures as this was our first time playing with it. I must say, we captured some pretty nice colored fish that day.

 After snorkeling, we had lunch then took our fruity drinks and strolled the garden grounds.  

 Such lush jungle type gardens which we enjoyed.

The Waterfall was soothing to our souls and the Saint had to drag me away from it. I just love waterfalls.

 Mayan type beauties were scattered throughout the gardens.

 We liked this hanging planter.

 Some of the Mayan reproduced pieces were very large!

 We spotted a young iguana in the gardens. With our many lizards, I felt right at home with this little guy.

 There was not a lot of color within this garden so this red really popped.

 There was more activities for us to enjoy such as a manatee exhibit, seal show, dolphin viewing, etc. but we opt for more swimming in the ocean. Yep, that is a large fish in front of us. And yep, no people on the beach behind us! December is the perfect time for a cruise. 

 We plan to return to this island again some day as this was a wonderful place to explore. 

Back to my favorite spot on the back of the Carnival Dream to sit an relax until our next Excursion, In the Garden...

 

**Stay tuned for part 2 in Belize.

River Ride, 4-wheeling and Caving.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Mexican Agave

By SKEETER
After our Disney World visit, we returned to our Georgia Gardens for one day. Yep, I had one day to unpack, do laundry and repack for our Winter Vacation! At times, I do think I am a gluten for punishment.

We checked into our Mobile, Alabama hotel where we were greeted by this unusual Christmas tree. Unusual not due to the Ocean theme, after all, we were at the ocean. Unusual due to being upside down. I found this a most whimsical tree and it made me smile.

I awoke the next morning in time to see this beautiful sunrise from our window! The Saint had the coffee going as I called the remainder of our party (10 people total) to have them share in this glorious sight. You can see the USS Alabama battleship's silhouette.
We sat on the lounger enjoying the sunrise with coffee in hand and also watched as our ride cruised into port!

My gardens suffered with no new pine straw mulching and no major plant purchases last year in order for us to partake in this Winter Vacation with friends. But sometimes, you gotta save a bit here to enjoy life a bit there. Our journey took us to Mexico where the sunrises and sunsets were awesome each day!
The yellow of this Cozumel church popped using the blue sky as a background. I love the colors blue and yellow together. I have toured many churches while living in Europe and I must say this church in Mexico is more of a simple church then the fancy European versions. The Catholics in our group, knelt and said a prayer for our safe journey home.
Our tour then took us to the Tequila Museum. Next to our destination we spotted this building. The sign had us all thinking and giggling. One thing we learned: It is mandatory for everyone calling Cozumel, Mexico home to learn the English language.

Now to the Museum where we also found a Free Pee Pee station.Out front, I had a close up look at the Bougainvillea. I spotted these all over the island and in full bloom. Seeing something in full bloom in the month of December was a treat! I kept watching a Hummingbird buzzing around it but could not get him to pose for me.
To the left of the Bougainvillea was this mass of fruit. I cannot remember the name of it but someone in our party recognised this from his days of living in California. It is edible but tart they said. I love the orange color of the fruit.
The tour of the Tequila Museum was most interesting. Here is an example of an Agave field. I talked about Agave in the past when posting on the Century Plant . These Agave pictured here are not native to this area of Mexico. They are brought there to show the real Tequila making Agave plant to tourist. Just as the French claim fame to Real Champagne, A certain region of Mexico claims fame to real Agave producing Tequila. This Agave does not do well with salt air thus the native region is found away from the ocean in the middle of Mexico. Don't ask me the name of the region as my aging (okay, Tequila drinking) brain does not remember.
An Agave plant must be 10 years old before it can be processed into Tequila. Each year, they trim the leaves of the plant until they have a root ball as large as the one here on display. The ball is cooked and goes through a process to become Tequila.
Once inside, we were free to sample the different tequilas. I had never before seen flavored tequila! I am not a fan of Tequila unless in a margarita but I must admit the almond and coffee flavored along with the blue stuff (Name escapes me) were yummy!

This is my favorite way of indulging in Tequila. Good friends, the beach and some tooty fruity! Oh so refreshing.... This was our second cruise and we are hooked! Only drawback to them is the time goes by way too quickly, sigh but there is always next year! This was our fond farewell from the skies before we headed back home to Georgia. This year I hope to slow down a bit and maybe enjoy some MEXICAN AGAVE, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden