Cancun FUN!!!

After a short stay in Vancouver, we flew straight to Cancun. I had booked a condo in a resort near the ferry to Isla Mujeres and it was lovely. We decided to do the "all inclusive" and enjoyed the food, shows, and activities. Shannon and Christopher had a blast! One of the highlights was meeting new friends, Rae and Human and their children from Vancouver. We all went together for the day to swim with the dolphins (kids only) on Isla Mujeres. Shannon drove us all around the island on the golf cart! We also went on a boat in the bay to go snorkeling and Shanon and Rae saw two octopus! The rest of our time was spent enjoying the water park, swimming, sunning, or enjoying the activities at the resort. It was a great start to our holiday!

Chris trying out archery



Shannon taking part in water balloon toss!

Sea Adventure Resort (Our room was to the left under thedome)

Chris relaxing in the room

Sand castle contest in the shade

The kids spend 6 hours a day in the pool!

Chris playing table tennis

Chris other children from the audience and the cast of the Michael Jackson Show

Nice view from our balcony

Out on a boat to go snorkeling

Shannon and Rae snorkeling

Brenda and her friend at the kitchen

Brenda sun bathing

Shannon in the room

Shannon held a baby lion

Shannon and her friends in the front foyer of the resort

Brenda and Christopher at the hotel front foyer

Chris enjoying the swim up bar

The water park

Shannon and her new friends

Chris a.k.a. Joe Cool at the bar



Shannon and friends driving around Isla Mujeres

Rae, Human, and Chris on the ferry back to the Cancun side

Brenda in repose

All together at the show and dinner

Pirates of the Carribean show

Shannon and her new dolphin friend

Chris and a cute dolphin

Dolphin fun!

What a great place for a holiday!

Brenda and Chris enjoying the pool

Good-byes and a day in Vancouver

It was with mixed feelings, that we left Whitehorse. We were excited to go on the trip but sad to leave family and friends. A few days before we left, we had a wonderful good-bye dinner at Bev and Mike's house with a group of friends.  Then on January 31st, we flew off to Vancouver to start our three month adventure.  The kids loved taking the skytrain around Vancouver and we spent a lot of time at the Metrotown Mall picking out bathing suits and playing games at an arcade (so much for walking on the sea wall).  We capped off our visit with a supper out with our friend, Laurie in a wonderful Italian restaurant. 

Ben, Shannon, Alex, and  Jessica



Good bye feast with friends

Chris and Shannon on flight #1!

Metrotown Arcade

Dining out

Swimming with whale sharks!!!

I had an amazing day swimming wth whale sharks in the La Paz Bay!  Diane and I went off on a boat tour looking for whale sharks and we were not disappointed.  We saw three very large ones and had the added bonus of observing sting rays at close range too since they feed on krill at the same time! With the hand (literally) of Arthur, the guide, I snorkeled near the whale sharks and are they ever big...the lenght of a pick up truck....and they suck the krill on the surface of the water with an oval-shaped mouth.  We also met a cool guy named, John from LA who took some great pictures!  It was a bit scary to be next to such large animals but they just ignored us and gulped up the krill....when you swim near them the krill hits your body like mosquitos hitting a moving car!!!  The rays feed near the whale sharks so it was wonderfull to see them swooping around with their shiny metalic under-wings...they are so graceful.  It was also interesting to note that the whale sharks have 3-4 other fish with fins a bit like wings that are constantly grooming them. On the boat ride back we saw three dolphins who played around the boat and followed us for awhile. What an experience!!!!

After that, Diane and I went of snokeling in a nearby coral reef and saw such beautiful fish.  In the La Paz area, all you have to do to swim in a coral reef is go to a nearby beach, walk out the the rocky point and jump in, there is so much to see. We finished off this magical day by going for my final visit to Tecolote Beach to enjoy a special drink while watching the tide come in.  We drove back home in the large vintage car as the sun set...I will never forget that day as long as I live!

What a beautiful animal1

Feeding time for whale shark and ray!

Here I am looking at the beast!

Our captain on the boat.

We all sat for over an hour enjoying the show...this is John taking some great pictures.

A ray swimming right over a whale shark.

A view of the underside of the ray's "wings".

That is one big whale shark...I was just mustering the courage for another close up look.

What a perfect end to an amazing day!

Digging for clams gets me a sting from a ray!

This is our clam stash....it was worth the pain in my foot!

Soaking in hot water admiring the clams.

Right after the sting...a bit painful, I must say!

View of the mangrove trees near the beach.

I'm cured!

On a lovely Saturday, I headed off with friends to my favorite beach, Bahia Balandra.  This was my last chance to go to this beach before heading home and I enjoyed the day....watching the tide go out and chatting with my friends Pam, Rob and Benjamin.  We got the idea to go digging for clams and it was hard work...it was a lot of walking and not a lot of clams until the end.  We dug up about 10 altogether and were happily walking back when I was stung by a ray. Ouch!  It really hurt and boy did it bleed!  I limped back to the beach where my Mexican friend, Benjamin, boiled water and soaked my sore foot. The ray sting is painful but not deadly and it is really an enzyme that is injected into your foot...the hot water dillutes the toxins.  I had a few asprins, a stiff drink offered by some neighbours on the beach and I was good as new in 45 minutes thanks to the help of my friend!