After our awesome girl's ski trip last year, I opted for somewhere warmer for this year's girl trip. Luckily Theresa was on board for something new and we decided to go on a cruise! I have only been on one cruise, but it was fun enough that I was up for doing it again - though with a change on the room choice this time. (Accidentally booked four of us in a tiny interior room - not the best choice...)
We were trying to fit in a cruise between multiple events and managed to find a Carnival one that fit perfectly for both of our schedules. It left out of Galveston, so we even got a short road trip from San Antonio complete with road trip snacks! Once it departed Galveston, we had a fun day at sea, a day in Cozumel (see the port above), a day in Yucatan and another fun day at sea before returning home. As a side note - our room at the back of the ship had a decent sized balcony and it was awesome!
The best part of a balcony on the back of the ship was getting a nice view of the Pilot (or Piloto if you weren't in the US) boats escorting the ship through shallower waters. Also the views in general, but I really liked the Piloto!
We didn't have anything planned in Cozumel, so we just walked through a bunch of shops and got a snack once we got hungry. Also, we had to get the Mexico cokes - while in Mexico...! Once we got tired of shopping, we found a spot on the beach in the shade to hang out. I was trying very hard not to turn lobster red on this trip!
On a related note, we found the perfect deck for us to hang out on the fun days at sea. The Lido deck is where the party is happening, so we avoided that one. And the other upper decks were generally super crowded and not a lick of shade for this poor Alaskan. But the lower deck off of the ballroom was perfect - breezy, shady, close to food and restrooms. It was pretty much all the senior citizens and us. Perfect!
We did book a tour on the Yucatan spot. There were a ton to chose from, but we were both sold on the Foodie & Photography one. It pretty much is perfect for the two of us! It had several food and historical stops in the old town of Merida. First stop was the Mexican bakery with a few tasty treats for us to try - yum!
The bakery was next to a large traffic circle where they are working on a monument to their Mayan roots. Our tour bus did several circles so we could all get photos, though it didn't help the people on the right side of the bus very much... we chose our seats well! :)
We did a short walk down one of the main streets that has the historical mansions. There were two equally impressive "houses" next to each other than belonged to sisters. Apparently their dad was smart enough to know that they better be equally grand. I thought it was interesting that the historical society in charge of the houses is very strict on what repairs can be done (no painting!), but the were ok with stabilizing this large sculpture at the top that was in danger of falling.
I didn't get many photos of the food after the bakery because I was slowly starting to melt. It was over 95 degrees and I was dying. The air conditioner on the bus wasn't quite up to the task of keeping the bus cool, so I just decided to survive by napping. Luckily we got back to the ship safely and we could retreat back to the safety of our old people deck - ha!
Overall, it was a great trip and I had a blast hanging out with Theresa. A week with the bestie in the sun was just what the doctor ordered! :)