Today, we took the shuttle from Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe Hotel in Riviera Maya to Xel-Ha eco-park in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Xel-Ha is a famous Mexican eco-park with many outdoor activities, including snorkeling, zip-lining, and swimming with dolphins.
When we arrived at 9:00 a.m., Inna and Alex decided to book the 10:30 a.m. session of "Swimming with Dolphins." We put our gear into lockers and walked around, exploring the grounds.
Xel-Ha's "Swimming with Dolphins" program assigns 6 participants to one dolphin and trainer.
The participants pet, kiss, and interact with one of the many dolphins. Near the end of the program, two dolphins push a participant above water - also known as the dolphin push.
Is this the cutest dolphin?
Inna and Alex fed the dolphins and interacted with them in many ways.
Here, Inna is feeding the dolphin some small fish.
I shot a short video of Inna and Alex interacting with dolphins:
After the Dolphin Swim ended at around 11:30 a.m., we decided to try the Lazy River swim. We took the shuttle to the starting point of the river, picked up our snorkeling gear, and headed into the water. Xel-Ha has an excellent system where all the gear that needs to stay dry is transported back to the endpoint.
At Xel-Ha, some people snorkeled, and others rode the round inflatable tubes.
After swimming through the mangroves, we stopped at the Cliff of Courage jump (about 4 meters). Both Alex and I took repeated jumps, and I recorded a video of some of the jumps.
I am about to jump off! It's a lot of fun! It's only a little scary the first time.
After a few jumps, we headed to try out the zip lines. They were a lot of fun! Alex, Inna, and I did multiple runs on zip lines. It was so much fun! We decided to head for lunch at around 2:00 p.m. (and we were all getting a bit peckish).
We stopped by one of the restaurants - La Terraza del Xel-Ha. Mexican food was surprisingly fresh and delicious.
After lunch, we headed to the Mayan Caves and the Tarzan Swing. On the way there, we stopped by a few attractions.
There was a massive chair near the shore.
We finally ran into the Mayan Caves. We decided to swim and explore. The water was icy, but Inna and then Alex got in.
We swam into these caves and explored the insides. The caves are extensive, with small fishes swimming around.
There are numerous sinkholes and drop-offs, so watch out and don't fall in.
After enjoying swimming around the Mayan Caves, we headed for the Tarzan Swing. We saw a few pretty birds and iguanas on the way there.
Not another iguana. They are everywhere.
The vegetation is green and lush.
Finally, we're at the Tarzan Swing. First, Alex, then Inna, and then I take the plunge.
We did not get to see everything at Xel-Ha - we had to rush back to catch our bus back to Barcelo Maya Palace (departing at 5:45 p.m.), but we enjoyed all the activities here.
Xel-Ha is a famous Mexican eco-park with many outdoor activities, including snorkeling, zip-lining, and swimming with dolphins.
When we arrived at 9:00 a.m., Inna and Alex decided to book the 10:30 a.m. session of "Swimming with Dolphins." We put our gear into lockers and walked around, exploring the grounds.
Xel-Ha's "Swimming with Dolphins" program assigns 6 participants to one dolphin and trainer.
The participants pet, kiss, and interact with one of the many dolphins. Near the end of the program, two dolphins push a participant above water - also known as the dolphin push.
Is this the cutest dolphin?
Inna and Alex fed the dolphins and interacted with them in many ways.
Here, Inna is feeding the dolphin some small fish.
I shot a short video of Inna and Alex interacting with dolphins:
After the Dolphin Swim ended at around 11:30 a.m., we decided to try the Lazy River swim. We took the shuttle to the starting point of the river, picked up our snorkeling gear, and headed into the water. Xel-Ha has an excellent system where all the gear that needs to stay dry is transported back to the endpoint.
At Xel-Ha, some people snorkeled, and others rode the round inflatable tubes.
After swimming through the mangroves, we stopped at the Cliff of Courage jump (about 4 meters). Both Alex and I took repeated jumps, and I recorded a video of some of the jumps.
I am about to jump off! It's a lot of fun! It's only a little scary the first time.
After a few jumps, we headed to try out the zip lines. They were a lot of fun! Alex, Inna, and I did multiple runs on zip lines. It was so much fun! We decided to head for lunch at around 2:00 p.m. (and we were all getting a bit peckish).
We stopped by one of the restaurants - La Terraza del Xel-Ha. Mexican food was surprisingly fresh and delicious.
After lunch, we headed to the Mayan Caves and the Tarzan Swing. On the way there, we stopped by a few attractions.
There was a massive chair near the shore.
We finally ran into the Mayan Caves. We decided to swim and explore. The water was icy, but Inna and then Alex got in.
There are numerous sinkholes and drop-offs, so watch out and don't fall in.
After enjoying swimming around the Mayan Caves, we headed for the Tarzan Swing. We saw a few pretty birds and iguanas on the way there.
Not another iguana. They are everywhere.
The vegetation is green and lush.
Finally, we're at the Tarzan Swing. First, Alex, then Inna, and then I take the plunge.
We did not get to see everything at Xel-Ha - we had to rush back to catch our bus back to Barcelo Maya Palace (departing at 5:45 p.m.), but we enjoyed all the activities here.
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