So after lunch at the dolphin venue on Isla Mujeres we jumped back on board our catamaran for a short 20-25min cruise to the far end of Isla Mujeres to the amazing Garrafen Park. Garrafen Park is an absolutely beautiful place again with crystal clear waters and a natural coral reef packed with tropical fish making it amazing for snorkeling.
As soon as we arrived at the pier at Garrafen we quickly made our way to the lockers to drop all of our gear off so that we could head over to the zip lines. Yes we had 3 zip lines that zig zagged across the coral reef and sea for an amazing experience. Unfortunately Joshua didn't want to do this so there are only pictures of me, Tina, Holly and Brandon. Luckily these pictures were included in the extortionate price we paid for the dolphin snaps earlier in the day.
Once the zip wire experience was over we got fitted out for a life jacket and some snorkel gear to have a look at the coral reef. During our snorkel we saw an abundant array of colourful fish and went all the way around the reef and back to the pier where the kids had the opportunity to leap off in to the sea. Me and Brandon then snorkeled back whilst the others walked back via the land route to get ready for another all inclusive lunch. During mine and Brandon's snorkel back we were stopped in our tracks at one point at the sight of a 3ft long barracuda which looked pretty scary! We sat watching it for a bit as a shoal of fish contemplated getting close until the barracuda started to open its mouth - at which point me and Brandon also backed off.
Anyway after our snorkel we went for a lunch and some drinks in one of the 2 or 3 restaurants on-site. If you thought we had lots of lizards on resort, it wasn't a scratch on this place. The lizards literally sat under the lunch tables waiting for any scraps. As we were leaving the island we noticed a load of lizards all camped outside one of the shops, we counted at least 10 or 11 just sitting there. The boys both brought some really nice Hawaiian shirts as a souvenir from Garrafen, Brandon's one featured parrots and Joshua's had turtles.
Anyway Garrafen is an incredibly beautiful part of Isla Mujeres and the pictures again just do not capture the natural beauty of this place. If anything we would have liked longer there to go for a walk along the coast to see some ruins as well.
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| Back on the sea's heading to the end of the island. |
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| The colour of the water is a little different to the sargasm sea by our hotel. |
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| Joshua and Brandon sitting on the edge of the catamaran. |
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| Just look at those waters. |
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| A little chill time on the catamaran before the exciting zip lines at Garrafen. |
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| Holly using the opportunity to catch some rays. |
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| Nearly at Garrafen. |
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| The pier / jetty where we were dropped off for our afternoon activities. |
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| And you can see the coral reef which sits right inside the pier / jetty and has a swimming pool overlooking it. |
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| Ready to start part II of our Isla Mujeres excursion. |
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| Off we go to find the zip wires. |
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| Snorkel time in the crystal clear waters. |
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| I suppose it was around 2-3m deep here and you can see the star fish clearly. |
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| Some of the reef and fish. |
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| Holly jumping off the pier. |
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| Then Brandon. |
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| More fish on the snorkel back. |
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| Brandon spots something in the distance. |
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| Just a few fish there. |
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| Then we see the big one. |
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| Behind this shoal of fish was lurking............. |
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| ......the barracuda. Trust me it was bigger than the picture gives it credit for. |
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| It opens its mouth and it is time to scarper. |
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| Very brave lizards camping out in the restaurant for any scraps. |
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| Exploring Garrafen on an extremely, extremely hot day. |
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| Some artistic wall paintings. |
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| Tropical paradise. |
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| More pictures of some of the settings at Garrafen. |
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| An army of lizards camped up outside one of the shops. |
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| More sea / pirate themed art at Garrafen. |
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| Brandon sporting his hat from Chichin Itza and his new shirts from Garrafen. |
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| Us 5 at Garrafen. |
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| All good things come to an end as we head back to our catamaran to head back to Cancun. |
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| A beautiful moment of all 3 kids getting along nicely and talking about what a fab day they had experienced. Joshua also wearing his new Hawaiian turtle shirt. |
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| Holly ready for the zip lining. |
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| And Tina. |
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| 3 zip wires meandered you down the cliffs and over the sea/reef. |
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| Holly loved it. |
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| Brandon ready for his zip wire experience. |
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| Off Tina goes. |
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| Last but not least was my turn as Joshua decided not to do this. |
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| Brandon on the 3rd and final zip line. |
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| And then me. |
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