Memories of Cancun

The soft white sand beaches and the blue water were just the icing on the cake! I went with my friend, through Apple Tours. We had things planned for everyday! We were going to visit Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Xel Ha and Cozumel.

Quick Tips:

Apple Tours has an orientation as soon as you get to your hotel of the types of day trips and activities to choose from. Have an idea of what you want to do and see before you go so it doesn't take so long!

People are always afraid to "drink the water" in Mexico, I just want to say that the water at the major hotels and resorts are filtered and should be fine to drink. We had no problems with it. Remember what ice cubes are made from!! We ran into some people who wouldn't drink the water, but all their drinks were filled with ice cubes!!

Best Way To Get Around:

We used taxis everywhere we went and they were cheap, only about one dollar US currency. For the longer day trips we took buses. The trips were set up through Apple Tours.

It is located on one of the larger parts of the beaches in Cancun. The white sand beach feels really soft on your feet, the sand felt silky smooth! It's only a few minutes taxi ride to the downtown area, but far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown.

The resort has two large pools both with swim up bars and a children's pool. There's a Hammock Garden with the Hammocks hanging in the Palm trees, four tennis courts, Mini Golf, Fitness Center with Sauna and Steam Room. They even have their own Mayan Ruins, you have to climb up some old steps to get to the top but the view of the ocean, beach and other hotels is nice!

The Sheraton has several restaurants: the Yankin Grill, La Fonola, La Duna. The Breakfast Buffet inside the hotel was very tropical with an entire fruit table from Pineapples, Bananas, apples you name it it was there! Take some fruit along with you if your going on a day trip. It makes a great snack! They make eggs anyway you like them! The food was excellent!!

The rooms have two double beds or one King size. You have a choice of an Ocean view or a Lagoon and pool view.

Bogart's is a very nice restaurant. In the front there's a bronze statue of the farewell scene between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The inside is lush with potted palms in brass planters, velvet foot cushions and Persian carpets.

There are several rooms to choose from to eat, a Piano room where there is a grand piano and a pianist playing soft music. A fountain room has beautiful water fountains. A Chair room filled with large fan back chairs with soft cushions, this is the room we ate in. People go from table to table playing music and singing to you.

The food was very good, it was a bit expensive...but well worth every peso! A great atmosphere and good food, it is a must do!

An International Restaurant and Bar with a casual atmosphere with live music. It has 3 Bars one overlooking the lagoon. When you walk in, there are T-Shirts hanging everywhere from all over the world. This was a great fun-spot with really good food and drinks. I had the Moo, Oink & Peep for dinner. It was Beef, Pork and Chicken barbequed on a grill and it was served with any style of potato you like. It was very tasty!!

After dinner you can dance on the outside patio overlooking the lagoon and boat docks. It is a very fun place to eat, drink and dance! If you go to Cancun try it you'll love it!!

The lagoon is only about 8 feet deep, so it's perfect for just about anything. We started out renting these Aqua Ray boats. We only rented one because they seated two people. They were a lot of fun and ran pretty fast! We drove all over the lagoon and met some people on a water ski boat and they offered to take us Water Skiing! After our hour was up with the Aqua Rays we met them at the dock and they picked us up for some more fun!

This was the first time that I ever had parasailed, me being afraid of heights! I made my friend go first and I waited on the beach as she took off. The ride went smoothly until she wanted to land. I think she had every Mexican on the beach running after her yelling "Pull Harder!!" You have to pull the ropes to steer and to land the parasail, she almost crashed into the hotel! After I got finished laughing at her it was my turn! This was exciting and scary all at once, but it was the best view I could've asked for! You can see for miles when your up there and I even took my camera with me.

Isla Mujeres means "Island of Women". It's a beautiful island off the coast of Cancun. We took a party boat over to the island, they played music and had beverages to drink. The boat ride was really nice and it gave you a chance to meet people. Once we were there we couldn't wait to get in the water. The party boat supplied the snorkeling equipment.

The snorkeling was excellent! There were many kinds of fish from barracuda to parrot fish. They have a large wooden dock built out in the water so if you get tired or just want to relax in the sun just climb up the ladder onto the dock.

If a Barracuda seems to be eyeing you up, just remember to have taken off all your jewelry before getting in the water! I forgot that I left my gold necklace on and it really got aggressive!! After I finally realized it I put on a T-shirt over my bathing suit to hide it, plus it kept my back from getting sunburned...the Barracuda didn't bother me after that!

There is a hatchery on Isla Mujeres where they hatch baby Sea Turtles, it was interesting to see how small they are when they are babies. They had a few full grown turtles in pens that you can get a really close look at. The Hatchery is open from 9am-5pm. The phone number is 987-70595.

You can rent Mopeds for $20 a day, Golf Carts for $50 a day or bikes $4 a day. The rental place is "Gomar" 987-70604. The island is very laid back and there aren't many cars on the island. Locals walk, bike or use golf carts to get around. Shopping is good in the downtown area they have banks and money machines and a pharmacy if you need some extra sunscreen!

We took a bus trip to Xel Ha, Tulum and Chichen Itza. This was our second stop. This was one of the most beautiful of all the Mayan Ruins. It was located on a cliff above the ocean. It was a very hot day when we went there and we were doing a lot of walking and climbing the steps of the ruins. When we reached the top of it and I looked down at the ocean I spotted a great beach! Most of the people on the bus trip had seen us heading for the water and thought it was a great idea. What a refreshing swim, don't forget your bathing suit!!

You can visit Tulum daily from 8am-pm. This is a site to see! Bring your camera!!

It costs $19 Adults and $11.40 ages 4-12. This is a great place to go snorkeling, especially if your a beginner! The lagoon is shelthered from the ocean waves and currents. They have inner tubes and life vests free to use. You can either rent your snorkel gear or bring your own. They are open from 8:30am-6pm.

The lagoon is calm even on windy days, but the coral is dead - no color. The different varieties of fish make up for the color! Xel Ha feeds the fish so there are many looking for a free hand out. For a peso you can also feed the fish, and watch the school grow very fast! For an extra fee you can swim with a trained dolphin. They charge $55 for 1/2 hour.

Xel Ha has a few fresh water cenotes and hidden beaches with hammocks. Near the bridge check out the Mauan Cave. The restaurants and snacks, sodas are reasonably priced so enjoy lunch at the park.

This is an island located 12 miles off the coast of Cancun. We took a small plane ride to get there; it was only about a 10-15 minute flight.

Cozumel is one of the many places that cruise ships visit, it is a very popular dive spot. With a visibility of 200 feet and over 200 species of tropical fish this is a divers paradise!

When we got there we decided to rent mopeds. We rode all over the island stopping at nice beaches to take a swim. The island was really nice and it was fun exploring it on mopeds at our own pace. We were on the other side of the island and one of our mopeds broke down; we were in the middle of nowhere!! The funny part is that there were vultures flying around above us. They wanted to eat the dead frogs and iguanas that were ran over on the road. Luckily, we were with other people who we met on the plane ride over to the island and they decided to ride around the island with us. It started to pour down rain, but we finally got it running and we made it back to the airport just in time to catch our flight back to Cancun!