Xplor - Adventure Day!

8:35am – that was the time we needed to be in the lobby for our trip to Xplor!! And what is Xplor?? It’s the newest park in the Playa Del Carmen area where you pay one price for an all day outing, including lunch and drinks!

I had researched it quite in depth before deciding it was something we all should do and everyone was willing to participate for a day of zip-lining, riding ATV’s through the jungle, rafting through a cave and swimming through another cave!

Our bus was late and had another stop at the hotel right beside us where we waited and waited for a couple who never DID show up – by the time we arrived at the park, it was more than an hour later than what we had expected so we were all quite irritated by the transport to get there (we certainly let the Apple representative know the next day how disappointed we were!!).

Check-in was in a huge underground cave system and we were all given hard hats – we looked like orange ants running around all day! In each helmet was a computer chip (the hats were numbered) and at certain points during all of the activities, you would see a sign that said smile and your picture would be taken – I had already decided that I was going to buy the pictures (yes, they were expensive) because there was just no way you could have carried a camera around all day and captured some of the shots that were taken!!

Zip-lining was first –my oh my – this is something that has been on my bucket list for years and here I was getting the opportunity to finally do it!! I’m scared of heights but was certain I could follow through – and I DID!!! The first set of zip-lines was 9 different stations and the 2nd set was 7 stations! We were all harnessed up and taken through the safety course and soon we were flying through the jungle!! It was exhilarating – it was exciting – and we all loved it!!! Towards the end of the first set, it was time for a water landing which we all expected – you zip right through a waterfall and land in the water!! Quite a shock at first!! And when you finished the next one, the guide told you to lie on your back and go down a water slide!!! That was the LONGEST water slide I have EVER been on and of course when you get to the bottom, it drops you into a deep pool- by the time you surface, you’re laughing so hard because it’s SO unexpected!!

We all wore longer shorts and t-shirts over our swimsuits – but coming out of the water and then climbing the towers again was COLD because the wind was blowing by this time – brrrrrrrr!! If anyone EVER gets a chance to zip-line, JUST DO IT!!!

We were starved by the time we finished that so headed to the buffet – it was a fantastic spread and we not only had a great meal but there was hot coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up!

Next on the agenda was the ATV ride through the jungle – not actually an ATV but a powerful golf cart and it was fun – up and down hills, extremely rough spots, caves and potholes – if you had never been on one before, you would greatly love it!! Because we all own ATV’s, it wasn’t quite the same thrill but we still enjoyed it!! The FUNNIEST part of the day happened right before we climbed in – we were all SO COLD being back on the “outside” after lunch and when the set of ATV’s pulled up in front of us, Glenn backed his butt up to the exhaust as it was warm!! As the driver turned the machine off, it backfired!! Boy did Glenn jump and we all laughed till we cried!! The helper there said it was the best laugh he’d had in months!! Luckily, there were no burns on Glenn that needed attention!

Next it was rafting through a cave – we all chose double rafts and used hand paddles to glide through the caves – talk about low ceilings!! There were stalactites and stalagmites all over the place and it was a relaxing, peaceful journey through the cave – there were blue lights in the water that you just followed and we even had bats flying around us at one point – an awesome experience!!

Unfortunately there wasn’t time to do the cave swimming as we still had to stand in line to buy the pictures – they were all put on jump drives which made it easy to transport!! I think we all fell asleep on the way home! And how did my tailbone survive the day – pretty darn well along with some help from the IB Profren!! We all decided it was ONE FANTASTIC day and I would love to do the entire day again in the future - that's how much fun it was!!

Since it was Valentine’s Day, there were “special” dinners throughout the resort – we decided to eat Mexican again since it was so good the first time!! And it WAS a special dinner – along with our usual 4 course meal, we had special blended tequila drinks, wonderful guacamole made at our table, and some awesome mini pork tacos. All the girls were presented with roses from the restaurant and later Cupid made an appearance and we each received 2 additional roses!!

The Sports Bar was all decked out for the holiday and after enjoying the drinks of the day for a nightcap, we fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean…………