The Nolden Family

We got to celebrate our 5 years of marital bliss on the shores of beautiful CANCUN, Mexico!! It was a fabulous trip…just WAY too short. We only had a few days there, but we fit in as much as we could.

These pictures are from our tour of Xel-Ha (pronounced Shell-ha).  According to their website:

“Xel-Ha, one of the amazing attractions in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Mexico, a natural aquarium park considered the largest aquarium in the world, the perfect place to perform activities in Riviera Maya.  If you love nature, there is no better place than Xel-Ha to practice snorkeling and water activities like swimming with dolphins, Snuba® (combination of snorkeling and diving) or Sea Trek® (walking under water).”

“Xel-Ha” is actually the Mayan word for the point where a river meets and ocean…which is what this is.  The activities take place at the mouth of the river…just as it is meeting the ocean.  It is SO strange to see the mixture of the salty water and the non-salty water….it looks like an oil mixture at times.

I can’t even tell you how much we enjoyed our visit there!  I think we were wise to visit in January.  I am sure it gets VERY packed during the summer months.  It was actually close to 80 degrees the day we went and it was perfect.  One of the best things about the place is that food is all inclusive with admission.  There were multiple buffets and you could walk in and eat any time.  Plus there were free sodas to be had.  During lunch at one of the buffets, we had a large iguana scrounging for food at our feet…scary but cool all at the same time.  They also provide free lockers to keep all of your stuff in so you don’t have to worry about it.

Important Note:  They don’t let you wear sunscreens with chemicals in it (to preserve the natural balance and not destroy things).  I knew this before but forgot…so I ended up spending $9 for a natural sunscreen from our guide on the bus.  He said it would be cheaper than at the facility…forgot to check on that.  It seemed to work fine…I don’t have any lines .

XEL-HA!!!!!

Beautiful Parrots at Xel-Ha...one of them kept saying, "hola!"

This is a boat in the river where you can go down below and sit and watch the large fish swimming by. They must feed them right there because there were MANY!

There were tons of places to just lay in the sun and relax...not a TON of people in January though...perfect time to go!

This was THE best part of the tour and definitely the highlight of Xel-Ha. This is the first time I have been snorkeling...and it was a blast. This is where you get in the water and then you swim out to the open river. It takes about an hour to go from there down to where all of the buildings and restaurants are...they take you to this point by bus...or you can ride bikes or walk. We recommend the bus so you can have more time in the river! Along the way there are fun things to do like: ziplining into the water, walking across the river on a rope (holding onto a rope above), jumping off of a cliff into the river, etc. We didn't do any of those things...we were having fun looking at the fish in the water...which are most plentiful up against the rocks. When I say fish I mean Nemo-type tropical fish...very beautiful. They become more plentiful as you near where the ocean and the river meet.

This is the open area near the main buildings where you end up and do a lot of snorkeling as well. This was taken at the end of the day as it was getting cloudy...but most of the day was sunny and clear...we just didn't carry a camera around most of the day.

Close-up of the buildings...the large one is a buffet restaurant. Some of the food was interesting...not stuff you are used to...but there was still lots of good stuff and a lot of yummy fruit.

Frank at the end of the day with the bulk of Xel-Ha behind him...

This is the point where the river empties into the sea (Xel-Ha). The little hut on the left is where we donned scuba-type gear and went under water for a SeaTrek (see picture below).

That's me doing the SeaTrek. You step onto a ladder going into the water and they put this 60 lb. helmet on you and you decend into the depths. There is no seal or anything...just the constant pumping of air that keeps you from filling up with water. You have to be careful to stand straight up (don't tilt) or you will start filling up with water. But this can quickly be corrected by standing up straight again. We were able to touch Sting Rays and touch tropical fish that were swimming in our faces. The Sting Rays know that the guides have the food and they are actually all over them...they won't leave the guides alone. It was such an intense feeling being under there...I've never been scuba diving before and don't think that I would especially like it. I had to keep popping my ears and you feel like you are in a little world of your own. I'm glad I experienced it once...but not sure I would do it again :-). I am claustrophobic and Frank is not. But he actually was really uncomfortable with the situation and ended up going up early.

Frank at the end of a FUN day!

Shayne at the end of a FUN day!

More River...

Two iguana checking out the tourists...I think they were hoping for food...

Hahaha...so this is Frank at the little restaurant where we had breakfast BEFORE we went to Xel-Ha that morning. We were taken there two mornings in a row as we did our tours with the same tour company (http://www.allcancuntours.com/). They collect you from the hotels, drop you here (it's actually in a mall in the Hotel Zone) for about 45 minutes and then put everyone on the appropriate bus for their tour. We had fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast...but it tasted watered down. So we started worrying about Montezuma's Revenge! I am happy to say that we returned to the states having NOT been affected by the water of Mexico. Our hotel swore their water was filtered and safe...and we did have ice in our drinks...so I guess they were right :-).

Living it up in Mexico....hahaha...just fun and games...no drinking going on..

Hahaha...yeah, NOT! Gotta love the Burger King right across from the Mexican restaurant...

Frank and a little Mexican beauty with a gun...just killin' time waiting to leave for our tour.

Frank and Shayne in Mexico!

Above: This is a 360 (almost) of the Xel-Ha complex. It was taken from the opposite side of the river from where most of the activities take place. At the first of the video you can see the actual Xel-Ha…where the river and the ocean meet.

Above: The iguana that greeted us as we first got to the park.

Above: Swimming with the dolphins at Xel-Ha. We didn’t actually swim with the dolphins, but it was fun to watch others do it.

Above: More swimming with the dolphins…

Be sure to check out the other two posts from our trip: THE RESORT & CHICHEN ITZA