Day 4 brought us back to one of my favorite places in Cozumel. I was super excited to share Chaulkanob Park with my Mom. The kids and I loved it and I was sure she would to. How could you not? I will preface this by saying I had a great time but my mom encountered some issues that may not have made it the most enjoyable day but it was memorable. I had booked our excursion at Chaulkanob with Carnival and it included a guided snorkel, sea lion show, park access, and even a Tequila tasting- which was not advertised and we opted to skip. We were busy losing things and getting stung by sea creatures.
First up was the snorkeling. I was a little worried because the first time I snorted it was just in shallow water and It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the hang of it. My mom is a better swimmer than me so even though she had never snorkeled before, I wasn't to worried about how it would go for her.
We donned our gear and took a big leap ( Okay, we shuffled slowly down slippery steps) in the water. I had a little trouble with my goggles. Underwater, I was fine but when I came up I could see very little. So that was fun. I kept taking them of and putting them back on trying to get better vision, but it just kept getting worse. So, let this be known that this was the reason it took me so long to discover my mom was not with the group. She and another cruiser were still back at the steps. Where they stayed for the entire snorkel. Unknown to me, she was having trouble with her mask, vest, and flippers.
So, I snorkeled on. Quite proud that I was doing so in extremely deep water. I have some sort of fear that I will forget how to swim in deep water. The guide lead us out and we saw a few underwater statues and schools of fish. Honestly, what I saw the most of was flippers. Flippers from the others in the group. In my face. And then, the underwater Paparazzi (yes, they take your photo underwater) assaulted me and took several photos- which I did not buy. $30? For one photo- No thanks! I really had fun, even though I did not see as many different types of fish as I did the first time I snorkeled. After discovering that the area we were in was not that large, I opted to say far behind the group- to limit the flipper in the face factor.
I was pretty exhausted and ready to hit the sand when we headed back to the steps. I discovered my mom was still there. The flippers were bothering her and she didn't want to swim out and risk a leg cramp. Which apparently, has happened to her the other times she wore flippers. With our snorkeling adventure completed, we were able to choose staying with the guide or heading off on our own until the sea lion show. We opted for free time. Mom took a smoke break and then we headed to this shallow little cove.
First up was the snorkeling. I was a little worried because the first time I snorted it was just in shallow water and It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the hang of it. My mom is a better swimmer than me so even though she had never snorkeled before, I wasn't to worried about how it would go for her.
We donned our gear and took a big leap ( Okay, we shuffled slowly down slippery steps) in the water. I had a little trouble with my goggles. Underwater, I was fine but when I came up I could see very little. So that was fun. I kept taking them of and putting them back on trying to get better vision, but it just kept getting worse. So, let this be known that this was the reason it took me so long to discover my mom was not with the group. She and another cruiser were still back at the steps. Where they stayed for the entire snorkel. Unknown to me, she was having trouble with her mask, vest, and flippers.
So, I snorkeled on. Quite proud that I was doing so in extremely deep water. I have some sort of fear that I will forget how to swim in deep water. The guide lead us out and we saw a few underwater statues and schools of fish. Honestly, what I saw the most of was flippers. Flippers from the others in the group. In my face. And then, the underwater Paparazzi (yes, they take your photo underwater) assaulted me and took several photos- which I did not buy. $30? For one photo- No thanks! I really had fun, even though I did not see as many different types of fish as I did the first time I snorkeled. After discovering that the area we were in was not that large, I opted to say far behind the group- to limit the flipper in the face factor.
I was pretty exhausted and ready to hit the sand when we headed back to the steps. I discovered my mom was still there. The flippers were bothering her and she didn't want to swim out and risk a leg cramp. Which apparently, has happened to her the other times she wore flippers. With our snorkeling adventure completed, we were able to choose staying with the guide or heading off on our own until the sea lion show. We opted for free time. Mom took a smoke break and then we headed to this shallow little cove.
The day goes on....
We grabbed beach loungers and I ordered drinks for us on the beach. The little cove was a little more crowded than the last time I came. The kids and I pretty much had it to ourselves. We soaked up the sun and things were looking up for mom. Until she discovered she had lost her cigarette case. If you smoke ( I don't) you would understand this to be a crisis. She went back to retrace her steps but had no luck. We decided to take her mind off of it buy taking a swim. Out to the rocks, where you can peer out at the deeper water and see the schools of fish. Here is where things take another bad turn for my mom. We were both sitting on the rocks. I lost my balance and stumbled cutting my hand a tiny bit. Moments later, my mom was stung by something. We took our injured selves back to the loungers and debated on what stung her.
If you have ever been stung by an unknown sea creature you would know that it can be easy to freak out as the pain gets worse. We finally decided to find first aid. We headed back to the lockers to get out stuff near the outdoor restaurant. My mom showed her sting to the staff and they put some vinegar on it and told us that it was just a "barnacle sting" and nothing to worry about.
The panic and the sting subsided! Things were looking up. Turns out someone had turned in mom's missing cigarette case and she was able to smoke.
If you have ever been stung by an unknown sea creature you would know that it can be easy to freak out as the pain gets worse. We finally decided to find first aid. We headed back to the lockers to get out stuff near the outdoor restaurant. My mom showed her sting to the staff and they put some vinegar on it and told us that it was just a "barnacle sting" and nothing to worry about.
The panic and the sting subsided! Things were looking up. Turns out someone had turned in mom's missing cigarette case and she was able to smoke.
Next up, we headed to the Sea Lion show before heading back to the ship. I enjoyed the show even though it was my second time to see it. Because it was November, the Sea Lions and handlers were wearing Santa hats and the show had sprinkle of holiday flavor to it.
After the Sea lion show we did a little exploring and head back to ship. To eat of course! Here a few more photos from the park.
Day 5: Fun, Food, & Towel Animals
We managed to stay busy the entire cruise. True some of that time spent lounging and relaxing but we also hung out a lot in the music areas, watched the nightly comedy shows,sunk down into the hot tubs, and we even watched the towel animal puppet show. We decided to give the Towel Animal Making class a go. We were each given towels to use to create our creatures and then called up to speed out on the stage to make our critters. The staff gave us lots of laughs and hands on help. In the end, our towel animals came out better than I had expected!