Cozumel

After a day at sea we arrived in Cozumel.  Now before I go on…I have to say that I am not a fan of animals being held captive for human entertainment….especially intelligent animals like dolphins.  “J” desperately wanted to “swim” with dolphins and after much discussion I let her decide and she still wanted the experience.   “T” opted for another experience.  He is a much more sensitive soul and seemed to understand the dolphins plight.   I know “J” had a good time but those poor dolphins lives are a constant assembly line of people…on the other hand the kids also got to swim with manatees.  While manatees are mammals…they seem generally happy to eat lettuce and hang out.  I didn’t feel the same sense of sorrow for the manatees.  “T” also got to have a Sea Lion experience.  The sea lions seemed a lot like dogs.  They got a lot of treats for their performance and they seemed to have a decent home with no threat of being dinner for a shark…

We took a cab from the ship to Chankanaab National Park in Cozumel.  It was a beautiful place and I highly recommend it for the beautiful beach and clear blue water. 

While we were here the kids got to swim and snorkel…I would have liked to stay longer.

I don’t have photos of “T” with the manatees or sea lions.  They have quite a racket going with the photos.  You can’t have a camera anywhere near the animals.  I wasn’t even allowed to watch.  Then they want to charge you 250.00 for the photos.  They finally dropped the price to 130.00 but we opted not to purchase them.  “J’s” photos were included and I wish I had bought “T’s” photos now…but I just wasn’t willing to pay more for a photo than for the entire day of activities. 

"D" snuck and took this photo...apparently the Sea Lions just aren't a big draw.   It was just "T" and this lady-which is pretty cool for him and not that awful for the sea lion.

There was a nice pool with the obligatory swim up bar. 

This was the only section of the beach with walk-in water.  It was a small lagoon and very nice for younger kids.  

The sea lion "show"

 

We could have opted for a tequila tasting.

The beach area was just beautiful.

But unlike many beaches the shore is lines with sharp rock so you need to go over a wall to get to the crystal blue water.  You could see really cool stuff in the water just a few feet out. 

I would return here any time...it was so beautiful.

In the distance you can see several cruise ships from the Carnival Line.  Cozumel is a very popular and very busy port of call.

  

We made it back to the ship with just a little time to spare. 

This was the view off the balcony-two Carnival ships