I set up the Pirate Ship tour for Eric and me, Paul and Deb, Mom and Alan, Krista, Randy, Kelli, and Ally. Then Mom, Alan, Paul, Deb and I went out in a cab to the mall at Paradise Village, which is the one right across from the Occidental hotel. We did some window shopping and ended up buying a Dr. Pepper and Pepsi Kick (+ caffeine and ginseng) at the grocery store. Then we had lunch at a Mexican McDonald's - which tasted just as good and cost a little less. They have 4 chicken nuggets on their value menu!
We did some walking after that. We visited the pyramid bathrooms and walked by the Occidental, where a security guard shooed us away. Then Alan hailed a cab which was the nicest we've ridden in so far. He gave us a business card and invited us to call him for any tours. This was nice because Mom, Alan, Paul, and Deb have been talking about doing a tour f the cities and cemeteries. This was highlighted by the fact that he would also take you through the jungle and to see waterfalls, all for $30/person for 6 hours.
The beach was calling our name when we got back to Samba, so we headed up to our room to change. This is when I realize my camera is missing. I conclude it was left in the cab and manage not to panic because the man seemed really nice and we had his phone number. This was unreal because we haven't had a cab driver do that before. I took his number to the front desk and asked for help calling and asking about the camera. I hear a blur of Spanish sprinkled with "verde", "camara", and "pesos". The desk clerk nods and speaks some more, keeps nodding, and give me a thumbs up - my green camera is on its way back to the hotel as we speak! While we waited for him to get back, Krista, Randy, Eric and I scheduled our ATV tours for tomorrow afternoon. The van pulls up in the circle drive and I run out - he opens the back door and gestures to the camera...exactly where I'd left it. I give him $150 pesos and thank him profusely!
After this, we are ready to relax. We make our way down to the beach and find that Alan has gotten boogie boards for us. Paul, Deb, Eric and I spent the next hour riding waves in the ocean. Eric was nervous about it at first, but this was quickly outweighed by how fun it was. He started getting ballsy and said we should hold hands as we ride a wave it, because most times we ended up elbow to elbow the whole wave anyway. We waited for a huge wave and took off...but one of the backward waves hit us at the same time and drug our boards under and they hit the sand. This threw both of us off the boards and we simultaneously lost our $5 Wal-Mart sunglasses as we tumbled underneath the salty waves. Luckily, this didn't deter us - we all had a blast riding the waves right up until they had to be turned in at 4:30. Mom and Alan stood knee to waist deep in the water watching and taking pictures, Mom even got a video of our wipeout.
Then everyone showered and met back down at the beach for sunset couples pictures. Mom took pictures of Eric & Me, Krista & Randy, and Paul & Deb, then I took some pictures of Mom and Alan before we went to dinner. Eric and I sat with Krista and Randy, instead of with our families, because we wanted to also sit and talk with Grandma and Grandpa. But when Grandma and Grandpa got back from the buffet, they decided to move to the "grown-up table" and dubbed us the "kiddie table", sad story, but we got to talk more with Krista and Randy. Then Greg, Kelli, and super tired Ally joined us shortly after. There was a cute cat meowing incredibly loudly at dinner - who ended up scratching both Ally and Kelli when they tried to pet it without giving it food.
After dinner we met Paul, Deb, and Kelli in the First Club and taught Kelli how to play Farkle. We said goodbye to Ramon, he'll be off of work until after we leave. Then we finished the game in Paul and Deb's room - Paul won with Eric, Kelli, and Deb close behind...I wasn't even close. Tonight was another early night - straight to bed after we finished the game.
