I am so sorry part 2 of my Mexico travels has taken me so long to get live. I'm actually quite glad I've been able to save another instalment of my Mexico post until now though because it means I can relive it just a little bit longer. On the second part of my trip, I headed to the incredible Isla Mujeres, swam with dolphins in the Caribbean sea and zip lined across the ocean... I really am excited to talk to you about this and share possibly the best trip of my life to date with you...
Another early wake up call, another morning watching the sun rise, we were invited to swim with dolphins at a nearby island and we couldn't say no. I have always wanted to visit Isla Mujeres and I it seriously didn't disappoint...
Part 1 of my Mexico travels (read about that here) was insanely epic but part 2 blew me away. We hopped on a boat in Cancun and took the idyllic 40 minute ride to Isla Mujeres, when we arrived, we saw dolphins swimming in the clear water - the water was like nothing I've ever seen before.
We headed into Dolphin Discovery
and really enjoyed the view from the VIP area (I wore my Triangl bikini again which I love! I noticed the other day too that you can get some nice neon neoprene bandeau bikinis from Missguided here too!)
The Dolphin Discovery venue was so beautiful - I could have lounged there all day!
Swimming with dolphins is something I've always wanted to do, I would like to point out that whilst obviously it's best for dolphins to swim and roam free, I did ask the managers about the welfare of the dolphins before I even thought about getting into the sea with them. I was actually very nervous and wobbly about the whole thing after reading really bad things online about how people don't look after dolphins correctly. I asked for a fact sheet when I left with information about the company and learnt that all of their 'habitats are managed and operated by an expert team of marine mammal experts from Dolphin
Discovery Group, members of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association' also, 'Dolphin Discovery has implemented a marine mammal breeding program called Miracle, ranked among the
most successful in the world and a reason why the company is considered a leader in preservation of the
species.' As well as this, 'the dolphins are cared for by a team that upholds the highest professional standards, including a
resident veterinarian who performs a daily physical evaluation, in order to ensure the well-being
each of the highly socialized dolphins.' One thing that I was really concerned about was if they were over worked or if the area was large enough, I was told that it is the Caribbean sea they swim in, with no chemicals etc as it is fully natural and that this is one of the largest spaces for dolphins to swim in. Obviously, people have their opinions about swimming with dolphins and rightly so but I could see personally first hand that they were very well cared for.
It was a great experience but probably something I wouldn't do again, even though they were clearly very well cared for, I just didn't really feel right touching them so I would say it was more of a surreal experience - if you do do it, make sure you choose someone like Dolphin Discovery. After a morning with the dolphins, we jumped on the boat and headed to Garrafon natural reef park, if you swim with dolphins you get offered this at a discounted rate by Dolphin Discovery, we expected it to just be a little beach club but when we got there we were blown away.
Garrafon Park is just around the corner on a boat from the Dolphin Discovery centre, a stones throw away from Cancun but so different, this place was pure paradise...
We pulled up to the park and could not believe how incredible the water was again.
As soon as we arrived, we grabbed the most delicious cocktails, Garrafon park is an all inclusive park which just screams luxury,
with hot tubs with incredible views of the ocean
I wore my favourite bikini, top online here and bottoms online here. It's so flattering with a tan and so comfortable! Motel have an amazing range of bikinis online (here) at the moment, I literally want their whole swimwear collection.
At Garrafon park there is so much to do, from zip lining (it's incredible), to snorkelling, to trampolining, to lounging around and more.
You go down one zip line over the trees, then switch to one over the ocean and then you do one more and end back on the land.
We didn't spend much time sunbathing as we wanted to get stuck in with al the activities.
I very much enjoyed the calm, adults only section at the park however the whole park was pretty empty anyway which made it even more like paradise.
We could take little peeks at the stunning island from our hot tub
I can't believe how serene and perfect it was.
The zip line was so long, fast and amazing, it fuelled my adventurous side that's for sure!
I got changed into my gorgeous floral trousers (you may remember them from my New York trip) and we headed for some lunch, we had the most delicious sushi and I didn't even like sushi until I ate it properly here!
Then, we hung out on the hammocks and watched the world go by...
After the most relaxing, amazing day, we headed back on the last boat of the day and saw our hotel in the horizon.
The next day, we went on a little walk and grabbed an ice cream
Whilst Cancun is great and it was good to be back, it's very different to Isla Mujeres which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. Cancun isn't really for me in the sense that it's very rowdy and full of tourists, it isn't very authentic so you have to make sure you do day trips and really go out and find Mexico's stunning hidden gems which are actually really close.
We found a beach on our wander home and took in the last hour of sun
I put my new black crop top (similar here and here) over my bikini with my trusty Topshop denim shorts.
We grabbed some cocktails at a local bar and then it was time to get ready for dinner
I wore my favourite deer two-piece (online here) for our final dinner at the Riu hotel - you may remember it from my Almost Famous burger review post!
The next morning, we kissed goodbye to paradise as it was time for our final stop of the trip, a few days in Riviera Maya... now I really can't wait to show you this place! Coming soon!
Have you ever swam with dolphins? Have you ever seen such perfect sea? Would you like to visit Mexico?
Lots of love, Em x
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