A few random photos of the Orlando Eye project under construction on I-Drive in Orlando.... Home to the tallest wheel on the east coast, the 425 foot Orlando Eye.
After what seems like years of delay and five or six name changes... the Orlando Eye is finally being built, yay
(here's some photos of the complex)
Woo, the Orlando Eye complex!
The idea for the great Orlando Ferris Wheel has been going around since at least 2008 and is now actually being built.
yaayyy
Once finished the wheel should stand 425 feet tall.. but based off the A-Frame needing to be at least half the height.... it doesn't look 200 feet in person...
But I'll be sure to ride it anyways :P
Intamin is believed to be building the wheel itself, although I've not found any info stating this for sure.
Some of the bars / restaurants look almost ready to go.
Parking area and room for more shopping/attractions.
woo, I'll be sure to post some photos once the area opens.. and maybe go for a ride or two
And.... here we go. The fifth and final part of my Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas' update. Cozumel, Mexico was the fourth and final port of our trip, day six of seven (the final day was a full day at sea back to Florida and was covered in my first post here) So Cozumel was our port but because Deka and I had picked an excursion to mainland Mexico (via Playa Del Carmen) we ended up spending maybe 15 minutes in Coz itself... oh well, maybe next time? We had more important things to do, like climb a Mayan Pyramid.
So lets go... Mexico!
The morning started off pretty crappy... Cool and rainy.. so we over ate at FABuffet and headed to the theater for our meetup. We had booked an excursion to Cobá for the day, something Deka had really wanted to do and I was down for an adventure.. But unlike the other days where we would just get off the boat and find our tour, today we had to meet on the ship and get some info and an ID sticker... woo?
Once getting off the ship in Cozumel we made our way onto this high-speed ferry to take us to mainland. The ride over was absolutely amazing... There was a storm off shore and the seas were incredibly rough... The ship rocked and rolled the whole hour even giving you airtime... By the time we reached Playa Del Carmen we'd seen at least 40 people get sick and some even filled their barffbags. I think I was the only one on the ship who truly enjoyed the ride over (Even Deka wasn't feeling it by the time we got off the ferry)
Yaayyy, Playa Del Carmen.
Running the gauntlet to our bus past all the shops... But there was occasional free WiFi I kept trying to get on.
The bus was a nice and we were giving bottled water and a snack as well as a history lesson on our way to Cobá
Puesto de control depolicíapara asegurarse de quenoestán robandoartefactos
(no stealing artifacts)
Ah.... MEXICO
((that's raciest))
:( did.not.see.
But I did see this.....
Cobá! A pretty large Mayan City filled with buildings and pyramids...
(there are some 6,000 structures)
At first I was kinda bummed that it was foggy and raining while we were in the woods hiking down muddy paths and climbing on wet slippy stones... But it kinda added this mystical/adventurous feel.
Cobá was inhabited from 100BC to 1550
Pretty. Cobá has several temple pyramids in the Nohoch Mul group of structures.
(yeah, don't ask me to pronounce any of that...)
Ixmoja is the tallest pyramid in Cobá and on the whole Yucatán peninsula!
There have been very few moments in my life I would say were "jaw-dropping"... but the first time coming into view of Ixmoja was one of them.
((Oh.... and as you can see in the photo... you can climb to the top of it!))
So... I'm in Mexico... and its raining... and I'm about to climb 138 feet (120 steps) on a wet stone pyramid that was built hundreds of years ago.... AWESOME!
Yeah.... it was a work out but 100% worth it
Sadly, maybe due to rain... Only a handful of people from our group made the climb and of the few that did, not all even made it to the top.
The view from the top, nearly 140 feet up. Like I said before, I would have rather had a nice sunny day.... But the mist and haze made for some amazing views (that didn't transfer to photo as well... but in my memory was beautiful)
On top of the world
....Oh, and the stone I'm standing on is where the Mayans would cut the heart out of their living human sacrifices....
= FALL OFF PYRAMID // DEATH!!
So the climb up wasn't so bad... Not the easiest thing... but not hard either
The climb down.... well... it was slow going with a lot of side stepping and the help of the guide rope.
Ixmoja! Trip highlight for sure.
I'm so glad Deka picked this excursion.
At this point the rain had really picked up and most of our tour had run back to the bus leaving us to make our way back on our own... Even the tour guides had bailed (on bikes) as it was some 1.5KM back to the entrance....
Our bus tour guide... riding off on his bike.
He had a Boston Red Sox hat on... and a Walt Disney World poncho
((cant escape it))
Flowering Lilly
While duck-free, still nice.
Back on the bus we headed back to Playa Del Carmen but our tour included a lunch that would end up surprising everyone! And also that super fun ferry ride back to Coz awaited us!
WOOOOO!!! SPRING BREAK!!!!WWOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
So were riding in our massive tour bus down these little streets in Mexico and some are so narrow the bus has to make 3-point turns just to turn the corner.... And then we stop.
At Alux Restaurant.
Yeah.... its located in a cave underground!
Stairs lit by candle take you to the bar area and deeper into the cave a buffet was set up with a "traditional Mexican meal" although it seemed very toned down (I guess they think most tourists don't wanna try new things) so I was kinda let down but it was still really good.
CAVE BUFFET!
Super awesome location for a lunch on a day that was already great.. Mexico was the most expensive port for us but after all we did, it was worth it.
Oh, also...
I pee'd in a cave!
After lunch it was back onto the bus for the short ride over to the Playa Del Carmen Ferry dock for our boat back to Cozumel.
Random beach shot from Playa Del Carmen... and oh look, the suns trying to come out.
The boat back to Coz was still rather rough but not as bad as the way over. This time around the ferry even had free WiFi, yaayyy!
Oh hey, and look... we were in Cozumel at some point.. kinda.
I say I'd like to see Coz if I ever came back... But I'm sure I'd end up back on the mainland checking out more pyramids (Chichen Itza? Tulum?)
So yeah, that's it... We got back on the boat pretty much as soon as we got off the ferry and shortly after left Mexico. The next day was spent at sea heading back to the US and full of buffet's, rock climbing, ice skating, and unfunny comedians but soon enough I'd be back to having a working cellphone and an internet connection.
Woo, all five parts of my cruise are now up and maybe now I can get to posting some of the fairs I've gone to since. :D
Of our four ports we'd be making, George Town, Grand Cayman seemed the least exciting. Nothing offered by the cruise interested us. Most of it was SCUBA, snorkeling, boating, or just a "relaxing beach day" (But hey, I'd get my first British Overseas Territories credit) George Town was also the first (and only) stop requiring a tender, a small boat that docks onto the ship to bring you ashore. Not really knowing how it was gonna work, Deka and I got up early to overeat at FABuffet and made sure we'd be on the first tender of the day. Once on land we ended up walking around the little mall area across the street from the cruise terminal and with hours to kill and nothing to really do, we ended up signing up for a locals tour showcasing a sort of 'best of' for the island.
So, um..... The grand tour of Grand Cayman. Our third port and fifth day on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.
So the day started off with our tender ride over to island itself, you can see two other tenders linked up to the ship (we were on the first one of the day)
We walked across the street to the tourist mall area... where of course people were doing the Cupid Shuffle (now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick) ugh
After hanging around the mall area for a bit (the first time in days I was able to get on free WiFi!) we signed up for a local tour and were off via a fun van ride around the entire west side of Grand Cayman. woo
Cayman Islands Governor's Official Residence.
West Bay Pink House, the Old Homestead... The most photographed house in Grand Cayman?
Oh, and Hell!
Hell, along with the Turtle Farm were the only real things of interest of us when looking for things to do and the tour we picked ended up bring us to both, woo.
Hell is a tacky roadside tourist trap, Cayman style
(Don't worry, there's still a gift shop!)
Hell, yup... A bunch of neat looking black limestone formations carved out by the sea over time.
It's rather pretty.
The shop keeper told me they used to have red flood lights shine on it at night and use smoke machines but no longer do it... But don't worry, there's still tack to be found :)
See?
Yeah..........
Also.... 4U2P
Oh, and I was pretty happy I wasn't driving....
damn
Ugh, the tour also made a stop at one of the many Tortuga Rum Stores...
uh..
People were getting drunk off the rum cakes....
I passed on the tainted cakes and went outside to look at the ocean until it was time to head to our next stop.
The next stop featured two options the Cayman Turtle Farm and Dolphin Discovery but due to time you had to pick one or the other. Deka went with the dolphins and I opted for the Turtle Farm because I saw you got to hold some!
Cayman Turtle Farm Island Wildlife Encounter! yaayyy, animals!
It turned out to be much larger than I thought... Kinda sucked that I only had about 15 minutes to run around and see the most I could without being left behind.
Gulls! I hadn't seen many birds up until this point...
Also, massive Cayman Blue Iguanas (native) were everywhere!
Caiman Crocodile
Oh... and turtles.... lots and lots of turtles!
Turtle.... yup
They farm them here to release them into the wild
(but also to eat! gross)
Ooh, ooh, ooooh! But they let you hold them too!
I'd never held or even touched a turtle in my life until this point.
And if the touch tanks aren't enough for you... they have a massive lagoon filled with turtles you can swim, snorkel, and even SCUBA in...
And also a water slide! (Can you bring the turtles on?)
Due to time and lack of swimsuit I didn't get to experience the whole area but if I ever come back, I'd be sure to try it all out. After a quick pass of the gift shop I made my way across the street to the Dolphin Discovery where most of the group was still hanging out waiting for our next stop on the tour... but it gave me a few minutes to see the dolphins. (we ended up having to wait on this lady we had named the Turtle Lady but it worked in my favor, I guess)
Dolphin Discovery
Dolphin snack time?
You can swim with the dolphins here or just get photos feeding/kissing them and stuff... I just looked at them from afar.
The famous Seven Mile Beach was out next stop. I'd never heard of it... but I guess its famous or something (it was rather pretty I guess) in the distant haze you could see our ship and one of Carnival's as well.
Beach time was promptly ruined.....
EWWW, COCONUTS!
After getting back to the port in George Town we still had a couple of hours before the boat left, so we walked along the shoreline and went to your typical tacky beach shops selling all the same crap we'd seen everywhere else.. or that you would see at any giving American beach town.
We ended up walking past the National Museum, I'd have done the tour... but we both wanted food more than a history lesson.
Mmmm, pizza!
(uh, my first time eating pizza from the Caribbean // Cayman Islands??)
Mmmmmm.....
Also, also.....
They had a Treasure Chest of toys!
Hell yeah we got some PARACHUTE MEN!
(and for the rest of our trip I was tempted to drop one down the 100 foot atrium on the ship)
With time running low, we headed back to the tender to get back to the ship... Just remember NO SMOKNG
So Grand Cayman ended up being pretty cool and what I had pretty much assumed would be the boring day turned out rather fun and I got to try some new things along the way, mostly being a master Turtle Holder.
Video proof!
So that's it for Grand Cayman, British Overseas Territories. Cozumel, Mexico is up next.... but we ended up spending less than 10 minutes in Cozumel itself... Also that will be the final installment of this trip... And maybe then I can get to all the back logged fair trips I've taken since (five, as of now....)
