Hey, ya'll! Just stopping in to share part #2 of our Riviera Maya vacation! Part #1 can be found here!
I was eager to get our day started on our third day in Riviera Maya because it was my birthday and we had plans to go swim with dolphins! We woke up bright and early and kicked off the morning with some coffee as we walked along the beach on our way to breakfast.
We decided to try out a new breakfast spot called Cocotal and it was amazing. They had a great breakfast buffet with so many different options. I was very surprised at all the healthy options they had as well. They had an entire oatmeal and yogurt bar with about a dozen different toppings to choose from. As well as an omelet station with a ton of fresh veggies. I opted for french toast, a mimosa and some chocolate covered strawberries and marshmallows, naturally!
After we gobbled up our food, we headed out to one of the many shuttle stops that the resort offers.
Because the resort is so large, there are a ton of different shuttle stops throughout the resort grounds. I can easily say that I walked well over 2 miles a day going to and from our room and the different pools and restaurants. So it was nice to give my feet a break and take a golf cart back to the room a few times.
We went back up to the room to get changed so we could head back to the lobby for a 8:55 pick up to head to
Dolphin Discovery which is located on Maroma Beach. Dolphins were my absolute favorite animal when I was little and I was constantly drawing them and researching them. I was able to swim with them on a family vacation in Hawaii when I was much younger, so I was pretty pumped to get to do it again.
After a short 10 minute car ride, we arrived at Dolphin Discovery and about 30 minutes later we were checked in, fitted with our life jackets and in the water. It was hands down the best experience ever. Here are a few pictures from our time there:
The smile one my face in the last set of pictures really shows how happy I was. It was the best birthday present ever!
After our time with the dolphins was over we toweled off and headed to the bar for a few beers and walked along the beach.
Maroma beach was absolute gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better weather! After spending some time on the beach we headed back in to catch a ride back to our hotel. As soon as we got back to the resort we headed straight to JoJo's for lunch.
JoJo's is their beach side restaurant and we heard that their seafood was amazing so we both opted for dishes that had some fish in them.
I got fettucini with prawns and chili's and Schoen got the mahi mahi. Both were incredibly delicious!
After lunch we headed back to the main pool for drinks with a couple we met the day before. After chatting for a while we all ended up playing a few games of pool volleyball and had an absolute blast. We all decided to meet up for dinner later on that evening at Kampai, which ended up being our absolute favorite restaurant.
On our way back to the room to get ready for dinner, we stopped at the bar near our suite and had a few more drinks with some fellow vacationers.
I had to snap a picture with our favorite bartender, Jorge! He was so much fun!
We headed to Kampai for our 7pm dinner reservation and sadly, I didn't really take any pictures of our food that evening but our dinner was outrageously delicious. I had chicken curry and two tempura california rolls and I can easily say that it was the best sushi I've ever had. After dinner we headed down to catch one of the nightly shows the resort puts on. That night was called Star Night and acts by Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and numerous other music celebrities were reenacted. Schoen and I danced our feet off and had so much fun!
When we got back to the room, our concierge had put up a few decorations for me!
There was a birthday banner on our door, two cute towel elephants on our bed, a chocolate birthday cake and a bottle of champagne for us to share. It was such a sweet surprise and a perfect end to an amazing 29th birthday!
I'll post the third and final recap of our amazing vacation tomorrow! Hope your Tuesday has been awesome!
Labels: Dinner, Food, Lunch, Vacation, Weekend
