Beach Wedding

Today is wedding day eve. Although we didn't have a crazy late night out, I slept in.  One of the benefit of traveling without Drake.  I rolled into breakfast just before ten.  Watermelon, Gallo Pinto (rice and beans), and eggs with hot sauce - breakfast of champions.  The bride and I hung out on the beach for a little while before heading into town for her manicure, hair, and makeup trial.

The salon was located in the new strip mall according to directions.  We nearly miss it.  It was a very tiny strip with about 5 store front.  Two were occupied.  The salon shared the space with a very cute clothing boutique.  Its owner was French who has fabulous taste. As I waited for the Bride to do her thing with the hairdresser, the other bridesmaid and I browsed the racks.  I was very lucky everything sold there only came in XS and S.  The other bridesmaid was not so lucky.  She did some damage to her wallet.

During our first hour in the salon the electricity went out.  By hour two we were getting a little delirious from the heat.  Thank God, by hour three the AC came back on.  By the time we returned to Villas Hermosa, Greg had arrived from Vancouver.  The groom and his boys were on their bachelor party in Jaco came back too.  It seemed like they had a great time.  Hmm... I felt even more guilty.

We did a quick rehearsal on the beach around 4PM.  Then we were off to rehearsal dinner at Brisas del Mar.  This restaurant was located high above everything in area with an unobstructed view of the ocean.  The road leading up to it was steep when the taxi backed up I thought we were rolling backwards and let out a high pitch squeal.  Not my finest moment.  We sat down on the patio just before the spectacular sunset.  The menu of cerviche and seared tuna were delicious and the company was even more delicious.  This was going to be an awesome wedding.

We all went to bed early tonight.

The wedding day! The ladies got up early to get ready, but nothing was frantic.  We took our time.  It was all relaxing until it was show time.  The bride and groom took their wedding photos before the ceremony.  As the maid of honour, I followed the bride around holding her dress.  Actually, most of the time I was hiding behind trees to make sure I didn't photobomb their romantic wedding photos.

The bride looked truly ravishing, like a movie star.  The groom looked very handsome in his custom made linen suit.  A pair to be envied for sure.

I have been to many weddings before but this was my first beach wedding.  I walked out to 20 some wedding guests in bare feet decked out in foot jewelry.

 
Held on the beach under a small bamboo arch and performed by bride and groom's friends, the ceremony was short, sweet, and witty.  The stunning ocean backdrop was exactly how one would imagine a beach wedding would look like. 

  

Cocktail hour was followed by the ceremony which coincided with sunset.  As night fall hit, the lights and candles illuminated the beach. Yes, the reception was on the beach too. 

I survived the speech portion of the night and ate my way through the midnight table full of coconut mango cake and empanadas.  Maybe this was really cliche to say but I felt I was in a movie. Next to a massive bonfire, we danced the night away.  My only complain was I was really hot.  All the dancing didn't help.  I had occasionally go into the villas to get some AC and the first chance I got I changed into my shorts and tank top.

Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef) - Day 1

This morning we caught the 8:50AM Virgin flight to Gladstone. The flight took just over an hour from Brisbane. Drake was an angle and slept through it. When we arrived, we were put on a bus for a quick ride to the marina where we were checked in for our 2 hour boat ride to Heron Island. This island is very small, it only has one resort and it is very famous for great snorkeling just off the shore.

We were told the sea was very rough today and were given ginger extract sea sickness pills. I also wore sea sickness wristbands. I felt covered. I was wrong. I should've known from the stash of barf bags on the table. The sea was so rough that it felt like a roller coaster ride that lasted 2 hours. Half of the boat had the barf bag attached to their faces. I lasted about 1.5 hours, then I up-chucked my morning salad. The boat crew was very experienced, they helped everyone switch out bags and handed out cold towels. Drake again slept through the entire ride.

I guess one has to ride through hell before arriving in paradise. We were greeted by the warm sea breeze as we stepped off the boat. The nausea disappeared instantly.

We grabbed a welcome drink and set our watch one hour ahead and then we were off to a late lunch at the restaurant. I was hungry since I left all my stomach content on the boat. The buffet style food was excellent. Lamb curry with rice, fresh arugula salad, antipasti and orange chocolate cake.

After lunch we found and settled into our room. The room was very roomy with full amenities. There were only a couple hours left before our preset dinner reservation (which was only done on the first night, after that we made our own). We decided to go walk around and get ourselves oriented. It was also happy hour at the bar. Greg grabbed a draft beer to go for 6 AUD (regular price 6.50 to 7 AUD).

There were a lot of different birds nesting in the trees. Good potion of the resort pathways were covered in bird dropping which smelled "great". Our room also came with ear plugs. Apparently these birds can be really disturbingly loud.

Dinner was again awesome. It was a seafood feast - raw oysters, smoked salmon, mussels, and really big prawns to start. I had dhal and rice for main and red velvet cake for the big finale.

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Location: Heron Island, Australia

Finally, Hola Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico was our last port call on this cruise. We were again not too ambitious and took our time getting off the ship. The pier we docked at was full of shops and restaurants. Almost felt like we didn't even need to leave it to have access to everything.




But we did anyways. When we made it to the street people shouted at us for tours and scooter rentals, but they weren't as persistent or annoying as the hustlers in Jamaica. A friend recommended to us a beach park called Chankanaab. We caught a taxi for $10 USD (for 1 to 4 passengers) for the five minute ride to the park.




The standard entrance fee was $21 USD. For extra $2 USD, you can get a souvenir T-shirt and free drink or extra $27 for a 30 minute massage.
The park is a beach resort with different sea animal shows but to swim with the dolphins was extra.




We caught the sea lion show. They were cute and impressive, good for a few giggles.




We hit the beach after the show. The sand wasn't as white and soft and the water wasn't as calm or blue as the 7 Mile Beach in Grand Cayman but we could snorkel right off the beach. There were reefs, a lot of fishes, even a statue and tombstone.




We ordered lunch (pollo tacos, of course) and drinks right from our beach chairs.




On our way out of the park, we walk through its lagoon and the archeological garden. With everyone on the beach the garden was deserted, which was a shame. The path was full of tropical greenery, Mayan artifact replicas, and a small waterfall with three turtles just hanging out.




















I was a little disappointed that we had no time to check out rest of Cozumel. We picked up a few sample tequilas from the pier duty free shop which had to be checked when we re-broad the ship. They will be returned to us the night before we disembark.

The ship left the dock promptly at 5PM and we started our 7 hours of non-stop eating. Sushi bar first, followed by the dinner buffet, then our actual dinner (with dessert) and finished with a Mexican buffet at midnight!!! In between we took a break to watch a comedy show and 6 lap walk on the jogging track.

Can someone tell me what in the world this thing is?




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Location:Cozumel, Mexico