Ten Years. It’s been ten years since that tropical evening of wedding frivolity. (Still talked about as one of the best weddings ever…thank you very much!)
We’ve lost a lot but gained so much more. This was the decade that Joe and I morphed from the unencumbered, traveling, entrepreneur newlyweds to the more settled and reserved married with children. While we only shifted a little on the entrepreneur part, there were two major changes that changed our course a bit…first a Seager and then a Dagon. For me, years of breastfeeding and diapers, sleepless nights and just plain old exhaustion has settled into a more manageable lifestyle…thank God. This turn of events has left me with a peace that I can finally leave the boys without worry and guilt. So, to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary and the partial return of a long missed me, Joe and I decided it was time to pack our bags, get on a plane without the +2 and go on a long overdue, romantic trip. Could we really afford it…no. Did we deserve and need it…most definitely!
With a glowing recommendation to work with, we chose the El Dorado Seaside on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. So we shipped the boys to Mamaw and Papoo’s and became a childless couple again. I will admit it was very weird at first for me. Joe had been on several trips to Costa Rica without the kids so it wasn’t as shocking for him except for the fact that I was tagging along and he was unable to enjoy his newfound style of traveling…no reservations, no plans…go where the wind blows you. That may work for a group of guys in Costa Rica but I’m a planner, call me crazy. Finally, we arrive…here…
The place was absolutely gorgeous and very tropical (heaven in my book)! After getting a tropical drink,
We quickly checked out the signature amenity of the property…the beach beds! King size, tiki hut covered beds. Lots of them…everywhere…on the beach, in the palms, in the bushes, by the pools…if you wanted to hide you were in luck!
Now I know I’ve died and crossed over into my version of heaven! We had a wonderful dinner and settled in early to recover from our day of traveling. The next morning, we strolled the beautiful grounds and went in search of some advice on things to do. Joe wanted to go fishing
and I gladly sent him solo. I wanted to park my butt in a beach chair, in the partial shade of a palm tree, and do absolutely nothing.
And I did. Joe later questioned me about my day and was completely confused by the fact that I sat there all day and didn’t say a word (by choice) to anyone except the lovely senorita who asked me if I wanted another drink. And NO ONE called me Mommy. Aahhhh! Paradise! Towards the end of the day I ventured to the room to get cleaned up for Joe’s return. I entered the room to find a little surprise…candles,
a bubble bath
and some smooching swans swimming on the bed! Joe also enjoyed numerous surprises upon his return! Later, much later, we headed to dinner. Joe had presented the chef with his catch of the day and we enjoyed a special dinner served to us by the chef himself. It was a delicious ending to a great day.
We decided to pick one excursion to enjoy on this trip and we chose well. In all of our previous visits to the Mayan Riviera, I have always wanted to visit a cenote and that was our first stop. Tak Be Ha is one of the connecting underground, fresh water caverns (cenotes) located in the jungles of Akumal.
We donned wetsuits and snorkels and descended into an unbelievable cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites, bats and the freshest, clearest water you will ever see.
I was very nervous at first, about the freezing water number one and number two the general weirdness of snorkeling in a cave lit only by some halogen lights. BUT, once in (brrrr) I quickly adjusted and was dumb founded at the beauty lurking underneath.
It was like viewing a whole different world. Just amazing and were so lucky to have experienced it!
We then headed out to snorkel with the turtles, here
at Akumal Bay. Yeah, that didn’t suck either. Great excursion from start to finish!
We made the most out of our brief visit to this wonderful resort. We snorkeled and relaxed,
talked to a lot of young honeymooners from all over the world
and dressed up every night for a gourmet meal at swanky restaurants.
On our final night, we had drinks with some new found friends, took some pictures and headed out to one of these at the far end of the beach
(please picture one of these at night, nestled amongst the palm trees, under an almost full moon and no one…and I mean no one, around.) We were far enough away to be alone but still hear the music coming from the outdoor bar. We spent that last evening in the sky bed, gazing at the moon and enjoying each other, as it should be. Doesn’t that sound romantic? Yeah, the real story is at some point we both fell asleep and Joe woke me up snoring so we reluctantly headed to our room and our comfortable, unsandy bed. Old farts. It happens.
Morning came and I cried through breakfast and felt extreme guilt for doing so. What kind of Mother would do that? I had not had enough of the service, the relaxation, the romance and the lack of some little person needing me 24 hours a day. But reality always has a way of bringing me clarity. So I dried up my tears and we headed back to the airport and back to our boys. I did, however, make a vow that we wouldn’t wait another 10 years before escaping for a little grown-up getaway.
I couldn’t have been happier with this resort. Joe was happy, but somewhat bored because it was mostly honeymooners who kept to themselves pretty much. I think he was quite restless with so much down time and not many folks to talk to. I’m not sure if he would repeat this resort but me…I’d go again in a nano second!
So Happy Anniversary to us…10 Years… it doesn’t seem possible but apparently it is. I wonder what the next 10 will be like?
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