Behold our speedboat!

What gets you going in the mornings? A morning jog… a strong cup of coffee… well, how about a speedboat??? This is how we started our day in Cozumel! Our excursion was called Isla Pasion by Twister, which means you are going to a beautiful island by way of a speedboat. We met up with our group and laid eyes on our vessel… a bright yellow boat with rows of black seats. No windshield here, that would just get covered in sea spray and obstruct the driver’s view, so he will get wet along with the rest of us. Upon boarding our gear was stored in a waterproof area and we were immediately strapped into our seats. Yep, you heard me right, we were in our life jackets and harnessed down so we would not go flying out of the boat as it made its quick 180 degree turns. Our family was lucky to be seated at the very back which are the best seats, four of which are elevated above the rest. I let my four guys have these and I took one below. From their position, they would get the most spray from the water… but the best view!

Who’s ready for a speedboat ride…

Doesn’t this look like fun?

We take off at a normal pace until we were out into open waters then Pepe let loose! The wind in your face and the salty water slightly spraying on you starts to get you excited. Then you feel the boat begin to rock back and forth and the first turn comes… it is exhilarating! We love to start out a morning in a theme park with a roller coaster and this was a very similar comparison. If you weren’t wide awake before, you are now! Everyone whoops and hollers and Charlie Brown asks us if we want more… well, of course, we do! So off we go again. After a short distance, you feel to boat begin to rock again and now you can recognize what is about to happen and there it goes into another spin. Yeah, this doesn’t get old. Everyone screams ‘again, again’ and they comply. It is a 30-minute ride to our destination and we get six spine-chilling turns on the Twister! It was a fantastic ride and one we won’t soon forget! When we stop the boys just exclaim over and over again how ‘awesome’ it was!!!

Arriving in paradise…

Beautiful Isla Pasion

We arrive at Isla Pasion on the back side of the island which houses the boat docks. We are the first boat to arrive for the day and the island is pristine and beautiful. The staff is so nice and takes our picture in two spots as we take our first steps on shore. When you think of paradise, this is what you think of. Clear blue water, white sand beach, fluffy white clouds in an azure blue sky, palm trees swaying in the breeze… you get the picture! We walk past local shops and spas (yes they have a fish spa on the island) and see an open expanse of tables & chairs, beach loungers, and hanging hammocks. We choose a table and chairs under a pavilion for our home base for the day and leave our bags and shoes to go put our feet in the water. This place has it all! It is an all-inclusive beach, so there is a lunch buffet and bar that are included.

Who’s ready for some fun???

For fun, there are HUGE water toys floating right offshore in a roped off area on which you can climb and bounce and jump and slide into the water. The kids had a blast playing out here. There are also kayaks, volleyball, and other beach games – water balloon toss and limbo. If you want to just relax, there are hammocks in the water, now that is the ultimate beach experience! Want to sunbathe? There are rows and rows of comfy loungers too. We did a bit of all of it as well as just walking the shoreline and allowing the water to lap over our feet. If you are a shell collector, then you hit a jackpot here. We all wiggled our toes around in the sand and brought up the most beautiful shells and coral.

Lunchtime…

We had woken up at about 6:00 am so we were hungry for lunch early. About 10:45 we head over to the pavilion that holds the buffet. The offerings consist of chicken fajitas with freshly made tortillas, spicy potatoes, rice, pasta salad, cole slaw, fruit and most importantly fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. But beware of the habanero sauce (also know as ay ay ay sauce). We pull two tables together to seat our family of five and enjoy a good meal, with a gorgeous view all the while listening to the best of the 80’s love ballads

Relaxing in the afternoon…

Relaxing in Paradise

With full tummies, we find a grouping of hammocks tied to palm trees that look extremely inviting. So we wiggle our way into them (let me say this is not as easy as you think it would be) and figure out how to swing ever so slightly back in forth while enjoying the shade of the palms and the nice breeze coming off the Caribbean while listening to the island birds sing. Did I mention this place was paradise??? I will have to admit that we stayed in those hammocks for quite a while, they were just too relaxing to get out of. So much so, that we all had the pattern of the hammock on our backs and legs once we decided to get out. The boys became restless before we did and started swinging up. They thought it was fun to see how high one could swing while laying down before falling out.

We enjoyed swinging in the hammocks so much that we found some more swings. These were attached to a bar with unlimited drinks. Umm, YES! I wasn’t crazy about my first drink so Jason went to get me another and I figured out that I could swing back and place a drink on the bar and grab another… I’m talented! We spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the water toys, walking the beach and just enjoying the time being together as a family.

Tequila anyone?

Right before it was time to leave we discovered that there was a tequila tour which was very interesting. We found out that it takes 6-8 years for the agave plant to grow the pineapple which holds the juice that makes the tequila. Our guide took us through the entire process and then showed us the different extracts depending on age. Clear tequila is pure and the darker it is, the longer it was aged and the better it is. We were given samples too. Jason said they were good… I can’t do straight tequila!

All good things must come to an end…

We had three and a half hours in this island paradise but as we were laying on a floating bed below dried palm fronds, they call time to leave. We all reboard the Twister boat for our return adventure. And yes, it was as much fun on the way back! We even had another boat leave at about the same time as us and we could see them spinning too. Covered in salt water – there was a thick layer of salt all over my face from the spray – we arrive back at the port of Cozumel. We do a bit of shopping and then head back on the Carnival Dream. What an amazing day!

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Want to see this story come to life? Here are the videos: Twister & Isla Pasion Part 1 and Twister & Isla Pasion Part 2  Want to see more from this trip?  

Want to see more from this trip?  Here is the full Carnival Dream Playlist. 

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Thanks,
Alisa
EECC Travels

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