Last week, I shared my disappointing visit to Belize City with just a few pictures. As promised, this week we pick up at my favourite stop on the trip: Cozumel, Mexico. This post will detail the two most important aspects of this stop:

• Visiting Mayan Ruins
• Snorkelling at Buccano’s Beach

Throughout the Carnival Magic cruise, we made at least two or three stops that included Mayan Ruin expeditions. However, all of them were ridiculously expensive and so I always ended up doing something else.

By the time we got to Mexico, I decided there was no way I could let the opportunity pass me by. I would come to find, however, that Cozumel was a delightful place for far more than its history.

For starters, I’m still trying to figure out how this genie pulled off his levatating trick. I stuck my hand beneath him. Nothing there! He was as fascinated by my confusion as I was by his magical prowess and told me to come closer for a selfie.

Unfortunately, my Pixel had portrait mode on, so he’s a little blurred, but I still love this photo! He’s like a ghost!

Mayan Ruins

After this magical moment, I started looking for trips to take me to the ruins. Once again, I was alone in my pursuit. However, this time, the group realised that not only was I hell-bent on going, but that this might be a bit more dangerous than me riding a cable car.

Because of this, I managed to convince everyone to come along without even trying. For that reason, I have dozens of photos from the Mayan Ruins. Here are my favourites!

Can you spot the iguana on the rocks?

I would love to tell you all about the history behind these specific Mayan Ruins, but unfortunately, there was no time to savour the moment. Because we shared our driver with another family who had stopped at the beach, we only had an hour to breeze through the ruins and then head back to the bus.

Nevertheless, I was beyond excited to walk the paths the Mayans once had. I covered Mayan history and Spanish victory in my history classes from as early as first grade all the way up to college, so I was no clueless tourist. I can’t wait to go back to Cozumel, and when I do, I’ll be sure to return to this site so I can better understand what was built and why.

Snorkelling at Buccano’s Beach

With time ticking away, I worried we wouldn’t make it back to the beach in time to get some bathing and snorkelling in before returning to the ship. However, we managed to make it back with plenty of time to spare, and thankfully, the other family was in no rush to leave.

I heard great things about snorkelling in Mexico and had been looking forward to it all my trip. That  was the reason I bought an action camera with underwater capabilities. I did not regret it. While the water was not as clear as it usually is in Jamaica, it compared favourably.

Aquatic wildlife usually keeps some distance from me in Jamaica, but these fish were curious and friendly. I think they knew they were beautiful and wanted to enjoy their moment in the spotlight. What do you think?

By the time our drivers came to summon us for the drive back to the port, I was walking on air. Our travel group was pretty impressed with my underwater finds and everyone was happy that we all got to do what we wanted to do in the end.

Many of us were already dreading the return to home and work. I was not. As is almost always the case with me, as much as I enjoy travelling, I am always just as excited to return home. As the cliche goes, build a life you love and you won’t need a vacation from it! Even so, holidays are good fun!

We had one more day of rest at sea and then it was time to return to Uncle Sam, who managed not to harass me on my way back in.

For those of you who read this far into the post, I have one final gem for you. Here’s a snippet of the underwater videos I shot in Mexico.

Here endeth my travel posts about my Carnival Magic cruise trip. From accommodation to rental cars, the entire trip for all members of our travel group was booked by 1 View Point, members of the Alexis Chateau PR team. My next planned trip is to the Maldives this summer. Fingers crossed!

Next week, I will either hop back up on my soap box or share some tips on travelling on the Carnival Cruise. We shall see! Feel free to share your preferences in the comments.