Mexico Day 6 - Xel-Ha

Xel-Ha

Today was the best day. Just absolutely amazing and wonderful. Today we went to Xel-Ha, and we almost didn't because of the price. But it was worth every single penny in just the first hour. Xel-Ha is an all inclusive water park and it is actually all inclusive, food, drinks, towels, snorkeling equipment, all you need to bring is your bathing suit. After all our other experiences here I was expecting it to be the same, the sales pressure, the things that are advertised as free but have hidden costs, etc. But even though the park had extra attractions you could pay for, like swimming with dolphins or manatees, there was no pressure to buy and really no mention of it at all. It was so relaxing. 

Christian watches the dolphins

It was the snorkeling in a protected bay that drew us to Xel-Ha, and that was the first thing we did. Well it was actually the second. The first thing was to enjoy a large and delicious breakfast buffet because we had left the house early and immediately after waking up so we could arrive almost as soon as it opened. But right after breakfast we were off to one of the many snorkeling areas. 

Breakfast

The last time James, David, and I were snorkeling was in Hawaii in 2007 and we've been wanting to take the kids for years. The snorkeling system here is wonderfully easy, especially for beginners. They provide all the gear needed and you can take out and return the gear from multiple locations. It took us a couple minutes to sort everyone out but in no time at all the kids were zipping around the bay. I'm glad we had David to help wrangle! 

Xander gets ready to go in

Getting ready to snorkel

Heading into the bay

James and Christian

Snorkeling!

Will under water

There weren't a lot of very colorful fish but there was plenty to see, especially around the rocks. It was so much fun! At one point I looked over at Xander who'd come up for a breath of easy air and he had this huge grin on his face. His joy was overflowing. The other boys had a blast too, but it was hard to get them to come up for air. 

Xander having fun

David's response when I asked him to smile

James

Jon and Xander

Snorkeling through the rocks

We aren't allowed to use regular sunscreen there so the one purchase we made was for some special sunscreen. We knew sunscreen wasn't allowed in cenotes anyway so we had packed rash guards for us all to wear, although poor James left his at home. The rash guards worked wonderfully and we didn't burn, even after 8 hours! 

Christian loved snorkeling

David in the water

It is so hard to get people to pose while swimming!

The view under water

Jon

Snorkeling

Xander and Jon

We snorkeled for over an hour before climbing out of the water. The next thing we wanted to do was to float down the lazy river which was on the opposite side of the park. We didn't realize how big the park actually is so we set off the long way round in order to stop at the light house. The lighthouse has four waterslides circling around it and I joined the boys in their excited rush to the top. They were disappointed though because the pleasant descent wasn't fast enough for them, and Christian and Xander even slowed to a stop halfway down. 

The waterslide

Mexican Painted Parrots

Farther on we crossed a rolling floating bridge, staggering from side to side as we walked across. We passed by a cave, a couple cenotes, and a rope swing as we hurried through the jungle, although we paused at the last one long enough for Will to have a swing. The jungle walk felt long but it was very pleasant and blessedly shaded. And oh! The wildlife! Or perhaps not so wild? There are iguanas here as they are everywhere but Xel-Ha also has macaws and other birds. The macaws were seated on jungle perches in pairs and occasionally we saw them flying. Their colors are so brilliant!

The floating bridge

Iguana

I love their colors! They were chatty too and looking around.

I love this picture of Will!

Finally we arrived at the start of the lazy river. There were two options and Will and Christian went off in one direction for snorkeling and the rest of us opted to float in the tubes. We pushed off down through a tunnel of mangrove trees, but lazy is too kind a word for the water. We barely moved at all unless we pulled ourselves through using the mangrove roots. At the other side of the grove our tunnel joined with the snorkeler's and opened up into a large pool. Here we found Will and Christian already playing, climbing and jumping off a cliff!

On my tube

David on the lazy river

Leaving the grove

Will climbing the cliff

Will jumps off while Jon climbs up

Christian was the only person brave enough to cannonball!

A very deep section of the river allowed a spot for people to jump off a 16 foot cliff. A rope and handhelds cut into the rock provided a way up, although you could also swim out the other side and run across a bridge. All the boys climbed up the rope at least once, although Christian quickly discovered that the bridge was faster. They jumped off over and over again. Christian cannonballed and made a huge splash! At one point Xander and Christian stood back to let someone else go first and a Mexican couple asked if they were chicken.

Christian has no fear

Jon begins the climb

Jon jumps

Jon leaps while Will snorkels

Xander climbs the cliff

Xander leaps!

Eventually we dragged the unwilling boys away and set off down the river towards food. But the current, while slightly faster, was still incredibly slow and we had to go back to pick up our snorkeling equipment so we made little progress. And then around another bend in the river was a second cliff and zip lines! We wouldn't let the boys stay for long but all of them, including David, tried the zip lines at least once. And here is where we got out of the water in order to make faster progress towards food.

Xander on the zip line

Xander in his snorkeling gear

Swimming down the river

Zip lines over the water

It was still almost 3 before we were eating lunch. There are five or six buffet restaurants here all serving different food so we split up. James, Christian, and I went to an American styled restaurant while David and the older boys ate at a Mexican themed restaurant. The food at our places was fine and plentiful, similar in quality to good college dining hall food. But Jon said that the food at their restaurant was fantastic and they heaped their plates multiple times. We ate our fill and then met up at the lockers. 

Relaxing on a hammock

David enjoying a break

The Hammock forest

View from a hammock

Xander "relaxes" in his hammock

It was hot and we only had a short time for more adventures before the park closed. David was done with swimming and went to relax in one of the hammock groves. Jon also said he was done but changed his mind when the rest of us said we wanted to explore the cave. 

Back across the floating bridge we went, fast this time and more sure footed. The sea cave was right on the other side and it was easy to swim into the shallow cave. Scattered holes in the limestone opened up to the sky letting in a little light. It was really cool! We had to be careful though that we didn't bang our feet against rocks on the cave floor. 

Xander at Xel-Ha

A sea cave!!!

Xander in the cave

After the cave we went back to the rope swing area and to what was called the Adventure Cenote. This really was a small pool against a cliff wall which wasn't that impressive until we looked down. Below the water line the cliff was eroded away and it looked as if there was a huge underwater cave. This creeped us out and Xander just flatly refused to even look. 

The life guards had left the rope swing and people were taking the opportunity to climb it and touch the branch at the top. Xander was the only one of us brave enough to try and he made it all the way! He was so impressive and made it look so easy that we were sure he'd done that sort of thing before but he said it was his first time. 

Xander reaches the top

Then we swam through a narrow ravine with tall walls on both sides. Jon warned us not to try and look into this water, it was pitch black which was even more creepy than the underwater cave. But the experience of swimming through was amazing. 

Swimming through the ravine

The view in the ravine

Now it was 5, almost time for the park to close. The crowds at this end were gone and there were only a few people here and there. We came to the cliff again and the boys each took a turn jumping off. And now the question of how to get back, swim or walk? Swimming was the most direct way so unencumbered by floats or crowds we set out. We came to the zip lines and the boys got to cross a rope bridge and take the very last ride on the zip lines. Then we set off again into more open water.

Me and Xander

James and I swimming down the river

Xander crossing the robe bridge

Last zip line of the day

I wish I knew how long the river really was, probably it was not as big as it felt. Lifejackets were provided and required anytime anyone went in the water so I wasn't worried about the boys. Will and Jon just raced through the water and were always so far ahead of the rest of us I could rarely see them. The rest of us followed at a slower pace and soon found ourselves alone in the bay. I don't think I've ever been alone so far out in such a large body of water before. We were all so tired when we finally reached the shore.

But now the park was closing. I grabbed a last drink right as the station was closing and then we were off to change and gather our stuff at the lockers. Thankfully the drive home wasn't long, although I had a hard time staying awake for even a short time. Will and Xander though were still full of energy and chatted happily the whole drive. 

I'd told the kids that our 3pm "lunch" was our main meal of the day and no one felt up to cooking. Anyone who was hungry snacked on bread and pastries at home but mostly we all just lay around the house for a couple of hours. After a while though Jon, David, Xander, and I went to play some board games. Xander is turning out to be quite a formidable opponent but David and Jon won our games. 

Today was absolutely wonderful. We had such a great time in Xel-Ha and I would go back again in a heartbeat. It was adventurous and safe and so much fun. And I'm so glad we finally got to introduce the boys to snorkeling!

Xander and the macaws