10th anniversary!

 Cozumel Palace

Quintana Roo

Cozumel, Mexico

One of the reasons we booked this trip,

was to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

George and I were married 10/22/2011.

We spent most of the day out by the pool,

making new friends,

and enjoying ourselves.

The resort has a marvelous spa,

so I booked an 80 minute aromatherapy massage.

Oh, to have one of those every day would be fabulous!

When we went up to our room later that afternoon,

we were surprised by a bottle of sparkling wine.

How nice!

We went downstairs to a lovely sunset,

and were seated on the edge of the property

with a view of the ocean.

How romantic!

Our meal began with some wonderful courses.

This was a zucchini and cucumber roll with goat cheese.

The second course was a cream of carrot soup.

We had a great bottle of red wine,

and our server was magnificent!

I had chosen a salmon dish,

with yummy risotto on the side.

George had a chicken breast stuffed with spinach and rice,

and covered in cheese.

Our courses ended with wonderful dessert of

a white chocolate pouf filled with dark chocolate.

We had front row seats to the evening's performance,

a Michael Jackson impersonator.

He was excellent!

After dinner and show,

we made our way up to our room,

and found this cool surprise..

We were so thrilled and surprised!

What a magnificent place :-)

Cozumel Part 3

 Cozumel Palace

Quintana Roo

Cozumel, Mexico

During our 'membership' talk,

we got a 'gift',

the rental of a Jeep for 2 days.

Driving in Mexico, even if it's a small island,

is not for sissies!

We drove to the shopping district,

stopping to take the typical tourist pics.

It's a beautiful area to walk around and shop..

The dock for the ferry was across the street..

..as well as the cruise dock.

Soon it was time for the excursion we signed up for,

a chocolate tour!

We arrived on time for a lovely presentation.

We were ushered in with a few other couples.

Covid protocols were in place,

including sanitizer, masks, and temp checks.

We felt very safe!

Our guide first talked to us about the cacao bean

and the process used to grind it. 

At this point we got a cup or so

of warm, roasted beans and

some cinnamon as well.

We poured it into a grinder,

and George got to work.

The ground up cacao beans

started turning into a paste.

It smelled heavenly, but it's bitter. 

We put gloves on at this point,

and rolled it into two separate balls.

Our guide sprinkled sugar and vanilla,

which we incorporated into the balls.

As I had gloves on, no pics!

Once everything was mixed in,

they gave us molds which we put our chocolate in.

Our molds were put in a freezer to harden.

While that was happening,

we had a wine and chocolate pairing.

There were several different kinds of chocolate,

and it was so good!

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

After a torrential downpour, 

we made it back to our room

to see more cruise ships passing by.

Our dinner that night was excellent,

at the Italian restaurant.

Forgot pics of the meal, 

but desserts were always so good!

A bit about the membership..

the basics are that we have 30 weeks 

to use in a 15 year span.

Our friends and family can use it,

which is discounted from published rates.

We'll be traveling a lot!

The next day we lounged by the pool

most of the day.

The excellent staff brings food, drinks,

pretty much anything you want.

The guac and chips were the bomb!

That night there was special entertainment,

a break dancing group.

It was held inside due to the rain.

They were so talented!

Such a great place!

Next blog is about our special anniversary dinner!

Cozumel Part 2

 Cozumel Palace

Quintana Roo

Cozumel, Mexico

Day two brought us beautiful weather.

We took in the sights by the pool..

..as well as the many cruise ships that go by.

We had lunch with one of the reps

who sell memberships to the Palace resorts.

These are just a few of the desserts offered.

Our day ended with yet another beautiful sunset

from our balcony.

What a view!

I eluded to the fact that this resort,

unbeknownst to us,

is a membership resort.

Not a 'timeshare' per se,

but more an investment in travel.

Since we had decided that RV travel is no longer

in our future,

this is the next best thing.

The Palace family has 10 resorts

in Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic.

Since we both love travel, and the tropics,

we felt it was a good investment.

Our kids will be happy that they can come

to this part of paradise,

even after we're in another paradise :-)

Next post...a chocolate tour!

Cozumel! Part one..

 Cozumel Palace

Quintana Roo

Cozumel, Mexico

Our long awaited trip finally happened!

Since George and I were married 10 years ago

on October 22nd,

we decided to do it up royally!

We booked a week at the Cozumel Palace.

Our flight left SFO at midnight on Sunday,

getting us into Cozumel (after a stop in Houston)

at around 12:30 Monday afternoon.

The flights were great, and the views from

the window were breathtaking.

We caught the airport shuttle,

and were welcomed by the resort staff

with a drink and cold towel.

It wasn't long before we were talking to 

the concierge about booking a few tours.

More about that later :-)

As it was lunchtime,

we left our bags to be taken to our room

while we checked out the buffet.

Food was excellent,

with a variety of Mexican, American, and

other international foods to dine on.

I took a few pictures of the pool area..

Once we were finished with our lunch,

we were escorted to our room.

What a place!!

King size bed,

in room jacuzzi..

The view from the bed area..

The bathroom with a wonderful shower..

The view from the balcony!

Big smiles!

After getting unpacked,

we went down to check out the outdoors.

George ordered a Pina Colada,

while I had the drink of the day,

a Panama Jack.

So good!

At the end of the day we

decided to eat at the buffet for dinner.

They had set it up with Indian food,

which was very good!

We were very tired,

and went to bed early that first night,

but not before this beautiful sunset from our balcony..

More of our trip next post!