The Sawinskis

There are times (quite frequently I would imagine) when pictures don’t capture the energy of a moment, the beauty of a spark, or the intensity of life. While the  fullness of energy, beauty, and intensity aren’t entirely captured, I hope along with a few stories and imagination, one can get a glimpse into this Mexican wedding extravaganza! I once read a book called The Art of Traveling— after this trip, I would definitely agree that, indeed, traveling is an art. It isn’t something that happens, but something that is created, over time.

After making the flight from MSP to PV, we finagled a van to take the group (12 or so) of us to the first stop, Villa del Palmar. Here is a view from one of the rooms. It is funny to me the shock on local’s faces when I converse with them in Spanish. After all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Mexico = Spanish, not English to me!

A true traveling experience typically leads to new friendships. This trip was rich with the beauty of new (and renewed) friendships!

Adventure! A day long sail/motoring adventure on the high seas.

 

Pictures don’t do it justice. We swam under this cave with the waves bringing up close to the top of the cave. We came out into the beauty of a hidden cove.

Cheese in the super amazing hidden cove! THIS is living!

This was back at Villa del Palmar.

The red girls out for the grooms dinner on New Years. I was beat so came back with Jenny and Jenna while Martin enjoyed a crazy night out on the town. Jenny went to bed to prepare for the next day (her wedding!) and Jenna and I hung out and had a mini dance party. Welcome 2012, it is going to be a great year!

Who is that lady? The bride to be. Jenny the morning of her wedding!

Dolphin sightings on the way to Yalapa for the wedding.

The magical views continued…

All brides are beautiful, but not all brides glow and radiant like Jenny did.

One of the views from Yalapa

Heading to the waterfall…

Still heading to the waterfall…

I think we are close to the waterfall…

River crossing number 3. Pause to put shoes back on, trudge on…

Eventually we conceded that we weren’t going to the waterfall we initially thought we were going to. We hadn’t eaten breakfast, we didn’t have water or food, and we were exhausted. Choice one, turn back. Choice two, carry on. What did we do? CARRY ON! We ran into some people from London with a map, massive pack with food and water, and experience. We posed in our classy hiking gear for a picture.

After thinking we were going to turn back to thinking we find it to really finding it, we did indeed find the waterfall. The journey was magical and worth every drop of sweat!

The palapa in Yalapa. The waves crash so hard against the sand at night- what a soothing sound.

Our bunk mates and me with my 8th papaya of the trip. It was also passion fruit season— I think I consumed like 25 of them. To.Die.For!

On a trek for lunch- too bad the place wasn’t open yet. It was still a great walk and got my hunger revved up for a chicken burrito back on the beach.

Yo.

Big shift in space- Yalapa to Garza. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

Martin working hard

Enjoying the beach (a lot)

Enjoying the hot tub, food, and beer (a lot)

Enjoying the view (a lot)

Enjoying the pool (a lot)

Cuteness overload. Love you J and J!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Erickson.

Passion fruit margaritas and guacamole with some beautiful ladies– a winning combination!

There were so many types of Christmas trees in all the hotels and restaurants we stayed at. Here is one example.

 

 

An example of the nativity scene as well.

Somewhere along the way we changed hotels again and people started going back to real life. Tear. What an amazing connection with such deeply inspiring people. Even between the Borat interpretations and horrible song references, it was a trip of a lifetime.

View from Grand Miramar.

After a wild taxi ride we came upon the local approved seafood restaurant inaptly named La Longosta Feliz (The Happy Lobster). The food ceviche, lobster, shrimp, and craw fish were amazing. We savored some Coralejo and said cheers for everything under the sun.

The new couple being serenaded to while eating flan.

Mojitos and live Cuban music. Yes!

Fireworks— and lots of them.

Delicious street food. Mixing of meets and toppings.

This cart had pork and pineapple. I didn’t brush my teeth that night to keep the flavor in my mouth just a little longer.

Simple and fresh- a great combination.

Martin and I remained one extra night. We hung around the Malecon and eat more pineapple and papaya and hung out with Joanna and James. It was a sweet night as we started to come down from our travel high. Martin and I caught a taxi to head to the airport. We only had 113 pesos left with a cab ride costing 120. Meh, close enough, right? Sunday morning church in session.

One goal of the trip was to take lots of pictures of Martin and I. Did I succeed?