The Gwilliam Fam: The Big Birthday Cruise

November 26-Dec 1, 2018

We had such an amazing week on Brian and Bruce's big birthday cruise (birthday surprise). Years ago when our kiddos were little Denise and I would talk about how fun it would be to vacation together. Living in different states with limited income and vacation time, we were lucky to see each other at the family reunions each summer. I am so glad we had this little window, after little kids and before grand kids, when we were able to make it work! We had such an amazing time. It was a perfect mix of relaxation, adventures and just hanging out together. Bruce and Denise are so fun and easy to be with...it makes me wish once again that we lived closer. (And a big thank you/shout out to Chris and Angelique for keeping our kiddos all week. They had a wonderful time. Also, Gram and Grampa were awesome to help with evening activities as needed.)

We were on the ship and just hoping Bruce and Denise were going to make the cruise. A few weeks before the cruise they realized their passports were expired. They had no time to renew but they found out they could use their birth certificates. Then they booked their flight a little too close to departure time. They had to pay big bucks to move their flight earlier in the day and it was still cutting it pretty close. Last, they made it to the port in time but found out they grabbed Kyle's birth certificate instead of Bruce's. Craziness! So when I look at this picture of me and Brian by the surf board it reminds me of when we were on the ship eating and relaxing and HOPING Bruce and Denise were actually going to make it on the birthday cruise!

The Carnival Valor

Our spot by the pizza place up on deck nine.

We had two ports we stopped in: Cozumel and Progresso Mexico. In Cozumel we went on a four wheeling adventure and stopped by a beautiful above ground cenote. In Progresso we took a private tour to see some Mayan ruins. We then went to a small village of about 300 people and took a tuk-tuk ride for about 20 minutes to see and swim in a cenote. Then we went to eat at a Hacienda that had been turned in to a very small bed and breakfast. I loved eating outdoors and having authentic Mexican food. We had squash empenatas and bitter orange juice. I ordered rabbit for my meal and Denise tried some sort of flower drink with hers. It was fun to be a little adventurous and the quiet, beautiful surroundings made our meal even more enjoyable.

Our little tuk-tuk rides. It was fun to see the village. Cute children, very small homes and very humble living conditions.

The front of the Hacienda

Eating at the Hacienda

I was a little disappointed when I learned the Mexican government pays to have these sites reconstructed. It makes sense but it was a lot cooler when I thought the Mayan ruins throughout the country were found like that. They are actually just stones and overgrown areas and then they reconstruct sites to go along with painting and remains they have found.

This was a lot of fun. They gave us enough leeway to pick up speed and have fun on the rugged roads. Our ship docked at the same time we were supposed to meet our group to go to the location...so we had to pay $30 more to taxi to the site. That was kind of annoying.

The water looks a little dirty but it is only from the foliage above it. It was crystal clear! Bruce and Denise were the adventurous ones from our group and swam in it. (Brian and I swam in a cenote the next day on our excursion.)