{"id":81251,"date":"2024-07-15T21:37:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T04:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81251"},"modified":"2024-07-16T08:05:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T15:05:58","slug":"day-3-cozumel-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81251","title":{"rendered":"Day 3 – Cozumel Mexico!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today is the big day for our first adventure in a far-off land, and we are psyched! We sprang out of bed at the crack of dawn, suited up in our exploration gear, and dashed out the door to grab a quick pre-departure breakfast. I even sported my fanciest cooking shirt to blend in with the locals. Let’s hope I don’t get mistaken for the chef!<\/p>\n

The kids are off to play with the dolphins.<\/p>\n

Mary had spearmint tea and scrambled eggs; I went for the lox and bagle.\u00a0 After all, we are going to eat again soon.<\/p>\n

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Hot tea starts the day!<\/p><\/div>\n

We got off the ship after struggling to find the right elevator to the 4th floor.\u00a0 We were off and walking to our meeting site, identified as “#3 at the end of the pier.”\u00a0 Arriving, we were challenged because there were two restaurants close by.\u00a0 We selected Three Amigos and had a table within 25 feet of the meeting point, which we could not miss.<\/p>\n

I did the street tacos and a margarita while Dr. Mary had a diet Coke.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Diet Coke, you are going to ruin your reputation!<\/p><\/div>\n

The day was magnificent, albeit a tad on the warm side.\u00a0 It was in the low 90s, and so was the humidity.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The cameraman looked at my waistline and decided I could be two amigos today!<\/p><\/div>\n

We “dined” for about thirty minutes before the guide came and took us to a series of taxis for our journey to the cooking school!<\/p>\n

\"\"

BTW, the food was excellent!<\/p><\/div>\n

After a harrowing three-mile ride in the Tijiuna Taxi (sans music), we arrived at the cooking school.\u00a0 The school was above the dolphin swimming area, and little did we know Mark and Colleen could see us with our little chef’s hats on!<\/p>\n

\"\"

It looked like a lot of fun for the people and the dolphins.<\/p><\/div>\n

We donned our chef’s hats and were ready to cook up a storm.<\/p>\n

Cook, drink, and have fun with the guidance of a professional Mexican chef. Learn how to craft a delicious 3-course authentic meal \u2013 don\u2019t forget the margarita, of course \u2013 guided and led by Chef Luis, a natural entertainer and innovative chef. You\u2019ll prepare the meal at a double workstation, equipped with everything you need to complete your Mexican gastronomy dish and cocktail. Tabasco Chef is located on the second floor of the prestigious Blu by Dolphinaris facility with a breathtaking view of the Caribbean Ocean.<\/p>\n

\"\"

That is us; Paul is on the left.<\/p><\/div>\n

The ingredients were on the stovetop, and everything was explained.\u00a0 The chef had perfect English and was easy to follow.\u00a0 Today, we had 46 people in the class.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The chef explained all the ingredients and what to substitute if needed.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mary did most of the cooking, but I popped in and did the pork, ensuring every side got some serious heat.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Usually, I slice and dice, but that part of the lesson was already done for us.<\/p><\/div>\n

We saw the dolphin pool when we made a 180-degree turn from our cooking station.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Collen and Mark were down there somewhere!<\/p><\/div>\n

We were upstairs from the pool.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Colleen said she saw “Crazy people with funny hats on!”<\/p><\/div>\n

Oh dear, I wonder if Mark knows?<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kiss me, sponge gums; my tonsils itch!<\/p><\/div>\n

Chef Mary was diligently cooking, and as I approached to take a picture of her intense focus, she was completely absorbed in the cooking process and didn’t even glance up!<\/p>\n

\"\"

You go girl.<\/p><\/div>\n

Then it happened; after my fourth margarita, I accidentally breathed toward the stove, and woooooof, flames shot into the air.\u00a0 The fire alarm went off, and all heck broke loose.\u00a0 We ducked under the stove and waited for the panic to die down.<\/p>\n

Alright, so the real story is that we were trying to make dessert, and when we poured in the liquor, it turned into a “flambeau.”\u00a0 Tequila burns!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Oh my! What did she do??<\/p><\/div>\n

After all the cooking, we wandered next door to the alfresco dining area, where margaritas flowed while we ate our creations. The meal was pretty good!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Great fun but where is our taxi?<\/p><\/div>\n

The Tijuana Taxi didn’t hold back as it bippity-bopped through the town, hitting every rain puddle along the way and giving the pedestrians an unexpected shower!\u00a0 One could smell burnt rubber for miles when he slammed on the brakes.<\/p>\n

We made it to the pier just in the nick of time, thanks to the taxi’s wild ride!<\/p>\n

Sure enough, they did not leave without us.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The bicycle cab was a lifesaver! We got to the gangplank within two minutes!<\/p><\/div>\n

We got onboard and headed to the 14th floor for some relaxation before dinner with the kids.\u00a0 Today, we are dining at Sabatini’s Italian restaurant on the 7th floor.<\/p>\n

On our way to the show, we stopped for some pictures.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Looking good!<\/p><\/div>\n

There was dancing underway, but we were too tired and decided to hit the bunks early as we had to go snorkeling tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Waltz anyone?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is the big day for our first adventure in a far-off land, and we are psyched! We sprang out of bed at the crack of dawn, suited up in our exploration gear, and dashed out the door to grab … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81251"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81289,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81251\/revisions\/81289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}