#now that i have three i think osprey is safe to be a warrior again permanently

[cicadagaze]

king of bringing home giant litters of kits. this is only two litters btw.

[cursivescrawl]

Rescue

Rating: PG-13 Category: Elementals Summary: “Father’s wrath,” Hawk whispers.  “What happened here?”

“Fuck,” snarls Flash as he storms into Jen's room.  “Grace.  You in here?”

Grace jumps from her half-doze, one hand going to her sword hilt, pulse hammering in alarm.  “What is it?”

“I need your permission.”  His hand flutters at his side, tapping his thigh.  Grace glimpses red in the dark irises shaded by Flash's cowl. “To authorize a mission.”

Images flicker into Grace's mind, the viewpoints of her teammates.  They've all been approached by members of Feline Team – Fire to Fire, Water to Water, Wind to Wind, and Earth to Earth.  And all of them are displaying similar signs of nervousness.

Leaden dread adds force to Grace's pounding heart.

“Permission?” she repeats, struggling to stay calm.  “Panther, you're the Second. You don't need my permission.  You outrank-”

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Flash snaps, then lowers his voice, glowering.  “Just listen-”

“It's a search and rescue,” says Zephyr to Vani, his words echoing in Grace's hearing.  “They're under”

“your jurisdiction,” says Flash.  “Courage,”

“Patience,” says Lake to Leah. “Metallic is alive.”

Silence settles thick over the ringing in Grace's ears.  Metallic Team.  Her team's former apprentices.  The four young warriors haven't been seen in over a month, not since that mission to track and burn a Colorado nest of wights.  Even optimistic Elizabeth had started to assume they'd died.

But, and the thought is flavored with Leah's indecision, there haven't been any bodies found.  No proof of Metallic's murder.

Flash – and his team – are speaking again, so deep in their own connection that they trade words and talk in one voice.  Grace listens numbly.  She wishes she could tune out Vani's hope, Leah's anxiety, Elizabeth's determination.

Metallic has been captured, Feline Team is saying.  They are being held by the Winters. The base is quite near to where Metallic burned out those wights.

(Guilt clouds Grace's thoughts.  Why did she override her teammates' objections, why did she push to give Metallic that mission?  Everyone else had known they weren't ready.  Elizabeth reaches out, taking the guilt upon herself – they all should have known.)

“Where did you-” Leah begins, looking at Lake.  But she trails off, and Elizabeth finishes the sentence for Jag.  “-learn this?”

“Rozzo informant,” Zephyr says to Vani.  “It was a bribe. They want us to ignore that, ah,”

“tussle,” supplies Lake.

Zephyr flicks his hand.  “-that they had with Yuugao,”

“which caused the latest tornado,”

“in Oklahoma,” Flash finishes.

Grace's head aches.  Teams showing off their connection are the worst.

But Metallic.  Metallic is alive.  Leah's voice whispers that running chant in the back of Grace's mind, in the back of all of their minds.

“Where are they?” Grace asks.

“Utah,” says Flash.

Zephyr spins over to a detailed map of the continental United States on the wall of the Wind planning room and considers it.  Then he pins a certain location.  “Here.”

“It's a closed ski resort,” says Lake.

It's very near to the site of the old church, Vani realizes after a moment of looking.  She's furious.  Why had they sent Metallic there?  The team connection wavers, frays, and Grace joins her in anger until their minds steady back together.  Her nails bite into her palms.

There were other teams.  Metallic could have been spared this fate.

If the Holders were awake, they would know what to do.

Once again it's Elizabeth who pulls the team from grief.  She examines the chalkboard on her wall that holds the names of the Daytime teams available to take assignments.

“We'll dispatch someone in the morning,” says Grace.  Her voice shakes. “Dimension, or Sin-”

But Jag and Zephyr are shaking their heads, and Lake makes a noise of dissent, and Flash speaks.  “No.  It has to be tonight, because,”

“we don't know what they're doing,” bursts out Zephyr.  “And if they know we know,”

“they'll know we're coming for Metallic, and they'll,”

“probably kill them.”  Jag crosses his arms.  “That's why,”

“we need to dispatch Raptor Team.  Now.”

Raptor Team?  Leah stares at Lake, who spoke last.  “But Raptor is just as young as Metallic.”

“We,” says Flash, “did not shelter our apprentices,” says Jag.

Grace winces.  Had they done Metallic a disservice by not letting them fight earlier?

Maybe they'd been wrong, ventures Leah.  Grace can feel her pulse speeding up to match her anxious teammate's.  Raptor was fighting.  Maybe Metallic could have been useful, if they'd been allowed to be.

But Raptor was a Nighttime team.  They mostly dealt in spies and skirmishes.  Elizabeth's logic cut through the anxiety, calm and collected.  Metallic was Daytime, like Virtue themselves, and they would have been on the front lines.

If they weren't ready now, they certainly wouldn't have been before.

“Do you trust Raptor enough for this?” whispers Vani.

Zephyr makes an impatient movement with his hands.

“Yes,” Flash snaps.  “We wouldn't suggest it otherwise.”

Elizabeth tightens her ponytail.  They're all looking to Grace, offering opinions, waiting for her decision.  She closes her eyes and tries to focus on her own thoughts.

Metallic is captured.

Metallic must be rescued.

Feline Team seems confident that it can happen tonight.

What kind of a mentor, what kind of a Champion is Grace if she lets them suffer one moment longer than necessary?

There's no other option when she thinks of it that way.  Elizabeth supports her; Vani and Leah fall into line.  The disparity of thought and Grace's headache subside.

“Alright,” she says without opening her eyes.  “We give you permission.  Bring back Metallic Team safely.”

The door opens, then closes.  In her mind's eye Grace sees the other members of Feline Team leave her teammates alone.  Grace stumbles over to the chair at Jen's bedside and sinks down again, exhausted, keyed up, nauseous, famished.

Soon, whispers Vani, a single word and multiple sentiments.

Soon, Elizabeth echoes.

“Maybe,” says Leah aloud to a silent room.

“Soon,” says Grace, louder, to her Holder's corpselike figure.

None of them will be sleeping tonight.

There's no future, thinks Alyss, in rushing.

Tori dryly points out that she'd thought it in Flash's sardonic voice.  Raina laughs.  Alyss redirects them both back to their mission.

Nothing's happening, Tori protests.  Her great wings scoop at the air as she circles lazily over the Winter base, an unassuming little lodge perched among ski slopes. Everything's quiet.  We're good to go in.

We are not walking in the front door. Audrey is ridiculously firm about this.  There's at least fifteen traps set up, and I feel footsteps inside.  Hold your horses.

Raina and Alyss exchange nervous thoughts.  Raina patrols around the edge of the base, marking out paces and finding wards in the darkness.  Alyss stands over Audrey, who is kneeling in the powdery snow with her hands pressed to the hard earth underneath, focused on sensing and changing her element.

A cloud passes over the moon.  Alyss shivers.  Her cloak doesn't do this weather justice.

“Um,” murmurs Audrey.  Her connection wavers.  Something else is stealing her concentration.  “There's something- underneath-?”

“Underneath?” repeats Alyss in a whisper.  She relays the words to Raina and Tori.  “Underneath where?”

Audrey doesn't answer immediately.  Then she sits back on her heels, tugs her gloves off, and presses her bare hands to the earth instead, shivering.

Wards. Osprey-?

On it, Raina responds after a moment of searching Audrey's mind.  Alyss half-closes one eye to watch as Raina finds a certain ward marking and carefully, ever so carefully, alters it by degrees until Audrey can get through.

It's a bit of a risky move.  Alyss frowns.  If a Winter Elemental notices that alteration, they'll be found out immediately.  But information is a good thing, so it's probably worth it.

One heartbeat of silence.  Two. Three.  Tori turns for another circle over the lodge, keeping a close watch on Raina as Alyss watches Audrey.

Four. Five.  Six.  Something rustles; Alyss whirls around, her hands going to her knives, before the distinctive thud of Tori's hand-mounted crossbow slams over her head.  A rabbit leaves a bloody skid trail across the powdery snow.

“Ew,” Alyss grumbles.  Its dead eyes stare at her.

Sorry.

Focus, you idiots, hisses Raina. Audrey is too wrapped up in her magic to respond.

An owl hoots somewhere.

Audrey gasps and jerks up, shaking snow from her hands, trembling.  Alyss drops to one knee beside her.

“What is it?”

Audrey's eyes fade from green to brown, focus on Alyss, and she struggles to form words.  Images and sensations flow into Alyss through the team connection.

A familiar power.  Voices she hasn't heard in months.  A scream she has never wanted to hear.

“Metallic,” Audrey breathes.  “They're-”

Alive, says Tori.

“Here,” says Alyss.

Shit, says Raina.  She dives to the side, rolling through the powder just as a silver blade pierces the ground where she was.  Her spear forms in her hand.

The Winter Elemental is a flash of pale fury in the night.  Frost entraps Raina's hand as she tries to get up; she slams it with the butt of her spear, spins the spear, blocks his blade with her shaft as she struggles to her feet.

Here!

It's Tori.  Raina ducks and tilts her spear.  The Winter Elemental overreaches, draws back, spins once more to face Raina, just before Tori drops from the sky and kicks him to the ground.

A gust of wind blows her to a softer landing than the Winter had. Raina lunges forward, burying the point of her spear in the Winter's throat.

Alyss watches through Raina's eyes as he goes into his dying convulsions.

Audrey stands up, pulling her gloves back on.  There goes secrecy, she grumbles.

Fuck secrecy, says Alyss, Metallic is here.  She looks around the dark resort, formulating a quick plan.  Are those footsteps? They'd better not be.  She reaches for her knives just in case, scanning the night as she directs her teammates.

There isn't time to argue.  They all know that.  Raina begins breaking wards, shattering the Winter Elementals' protections with carefully careless swipes of power and spear.  Tori kicks into the sky, summoning a wind that bites at Alyss' face and threatens to sweep her hood off, sealing the door of the lodge shut.  Audrey drops to her knees and clears a section in the snow, then begins murmuring under her breath.  And Alyss puts her head down against the wind and sprints.

The lodge didn't seem so far away when Alyss was looking at it through Tori's birds-eye view.  Now twenty meters seems like twenty kilometers.  The wind kicks up snow, driving, howling, as Alyss forges through the cold as quickly as she can.  Tori can't really shield Alyss without draining more of her power than she needs to use here.

Finally Alyss can see the lodge.  It's hardwood, she thinks, squinting – definitely not concrete or cinderblock, which is absolutely fine with her.

Putting the wind to her back, she circles around until she's in the lee of the lodge.  Fire scorches her skin.  The feeling of Winter Elementals is close – like the freezing wind on her face, cutting open her chest, striking deep into her heart.

She reaches out and calls fire to her fingers.

Warmth courses through her veins, shutting out the pain in Alyss' chest. She stares hard at the lodge and imagines it in flames.

She huffs a sharp exhale.

Pure crimson power leaps from her fingers to the wood.

A Winter Elemental shrieks from inside.  Alyss steps back and raises her hands, concentrating on the tiny flame, feeding it power so it will catch and burn brighter.  Edged with black, it begins to spread.

The wind redoubles, blocking off exits, forcing Alyss to drain more of her power.  A stitch pierces her side.  The reserves of her strength are depleting quickly – but it doesn't matter, not now, because the flames found pine sap and in a satisfying whoosh they catch light and burn alone.

Alyss steps back.

Impulse through the connection.  Here.  Now. Audrey ducks into the tunnel she's made, scrambling down into the earth.  Tori folds her wings and dives for it.  Raina yanks herself through the connection to Alyss' side, her cowl blown back from her face, her cheeks chapped.

“C'mon,” she yells.

They sprint together.  The Winter Elementals scream from inside the burning lodge.  Alyss tries her best not to hear.

The tunnel, where is the tunnel.  Here.  Raina nearly trips into it. Alyss lunges, seizes her upper arm, helps her teammate descend before jumping in herself.

Audrey steadies them both.  Tori's wings are gone; dissolved back into air, too large for this cramped little crawlspace.  With a gesture of Audrey's hand, the tunnel seals.

“That won't last long,” she gasps aloud.

Alyss flicks fire to her fingers.  Raina uses the light to straighten her cloak and pull up her hood again.  Tori looks paler than usual.

“Let's go,” Alyss whispers.

Audrey leads the way.  Tori reloads her crossbow with another bolt, relying on Raina's touch to guide her.  And Alyss brings up the rear.  This isn't one of Audrey's better tunnels – it's rough, unfinished, there is dirt falling everywhere and certain places where they have to squeeze through narrow passageways in rock.  But it's better than trying to fight their way through an entire base of Winter Elementals.

Minutes pass in silence.

Alyss feels it when the fire dies aboveground.  It's like an absence of warmth in her core, a deep exhaustion reaching to her bones.  She stumbles.  Raina reaches back to steady her.

Audrey pauses.

“Just a little further,” she whispers.

“Good,” hisses Tori, claustrophobic and antsy.  Alyss grits her teeth and draws on Audrey's strength to ease the exhaustion.

“Go.” She pushes Audrey lightly.

A few more steps, and the tunnel widens into a stone-cut hallway. Alyss stumbles out after her teammates.  Tori turns one way; Raina steps out and turns the other; aiming crossbow bolt and spear point at opposite ends of the hall, watching, waiting.  

Audrey unsheathes a dagger.  Alyss fits the hilts of her knives into her hands.

Footsteps pound down stairs, echoing in the stone corridor.  Tori closes one eye.

“Osprey. Your side,” she says after a moment.

Raina's grip tightens on her spear.  Shouts of panic, of rage, echo from Alyss' right.  She and Audrey turn together to flank Raina.

The first Winter Elemental appears – a woman with fluffy white hair and a wicked-looking crystal battleaxe.

Audrey draws one foot back and throws her dagger.

The Winter deflects it easily.  It spins away and sinks into the stone wall.  The ground trembles.   Alyss can feel it as Audrey draws power from them all, from the team connection.

She gasps with effort.  Cracks web out from her dagger.  The Winter is almost upon them, and Raina steps out once more, leveling her spear. More Winter Elementals are rounding the corner.

“Owl!” Tori hisses.

Audrey convulses and drops to one knee, slamming the heel of her palm into the ground.  The stone ceiling caves in with a shattering, dusty sound, rock crashing and Winter Elementals screaming and bones breaking with awful crunch sounds.

The charging Winter falters.  Alyss hesitates only a moment before she leaps forward with her knives drawn.

The Winter crumples in her own blood.

Tori lowers her crossbow hand and kneels by Audrey.  The Earth is panting and pale.  Sweat beads on her forehead.

“Come on,” she gasps.  “Gotta-”

“Hold up,” Tori murmurs, pressing her hand to Audrey's forehead.  Alyss waits.  The connection wavers, then stabilizes as Tori gives up some of her power to keep Audrey going.

“New ability?” Raina asks as Tori helps Audrey up.

“Wanna sleep for a week,” Audrey replies, grimacing.  “C'mon.  Metallic should be close.”

They walk.  Part of Alyss wants to run, but she forces herself to keep to a steady, though brisk pace.  She can't leave Audrey behind.  Her teammates are too important to take chances.

Feline Team didn't tell them who they'd be rescuing.  Alyss isn't sure where the thought starts, but within moments, everyone is focused on it. Why?  Does Feline not trust them to keep their cool?

“Maybe they're trying to lead Astral-style,” Tori says aloud.  Her thoughts clarify the statement, showing incidents in which the Holders gave different information to different teams.

“Astral is in a freakin' coma,” Audrey mumbles.  “If Feline goes and lands themselves in one, I'm gonna kill Ocelot – you guys take your mentors.”

Alyss laughs.

Raina covers a jaw-cracking yawn with her hand.

An earsplitting scream drives all thoughts of yawning from Alyss' mind.

Urgency gives them all new life, panic blazing through the connection and Alyss' veins.  She breaks into a dead sprint.  Her teammates' steps pound in unison with hers.

There is a door at the end of the hallway.  Flimsy wood.  Five meters. Four.  Three.  Tori flings out her hand; a blast of wind slams it open, an armored Winter Elemental turns, Tori's crossbow discharges with a wicked thrum-hiss. The Winter staggers backward.

Tori breaks stride to reload.  Alyss pulls ahead, leaping over the dead Winter's body, drawing her knives as she enters the unknown room.

The door leads into a small raised area.  The floor drops off to tile about half a meter ahead..  The room's scent hits Alyss a moment after she registers this; dark, despair, damp, blood.

Raina is beside her, spear gleaming.  Audrey fans her position out so Tori can enter.

A girl hangs in manacles on the wall.  Her golden hair is matted with blood, her clothes tattered.  Webs of horrible gleaming scars glint dully on her body, on her face.

Two Winter Elementals stand before her.  One is young; holding a (familiar?) spear too big for her; the other snarls as she sees Raptor Team, arrows of ice forming in the air around him.

“Eliana!” he snaps.  “Do it!”

The arrows fly.  Alyss throws up her hand.  A wall of fire flares from nothing, a stitch curving beneath Alyss' ribs.  The icy arrows melt and fail.  Black spots dance in Alyss' vision.  She staggers, feeling her power desert her and curl back into the center of her chest, stretched far too thin for the moment.

Raina has to reach out to steady her.

A man screams, gurgling, choking.  Alyss catches a flash of horror and color from Audrey's sight.  The other Winter's spear is buried in the first one's body, his blood gushing over her hands and splattering over her face and chest.

She releases the spear and stumbles back.  The male Winter collapses to the ground.  His blood drips from her fingers.

Alyss straightens up as Tori switches her aim, her bolt pointing for the bloody Winter's chest.  The air shimmers and coalesces.

“Stop it,” Bellamy's disembodied voice chokes out.  “Just stop.”

She takes form in the air, then drops to the ground, stumbling, weak, long hair tangled and in her face.  Shaking hands push it back as she positions herself in front of the murderer.

The girl in the chains takes a rattling breath.  “Eliana...”

“I'm sorry,” the silver-haired one whispers.  She wavers forward, staring at her bloodsoaked hands, then trips and falls to her knees in front of the chained Clare.  “I failed you.”

Eliana? Surely Alyss can't have heard that right.  Eliana is loud, sarcastic, caustic, dark-haired and cheerful.  This Winter girl is too thin and too pale to be Eliana.

But that is Eliana's spear, Audrey points out, numb with shock.  It is. In the dead Winter.  Eliana's silver spear.  The silver spear of Silver of Metallic Team.

Bellamy grits her teeth, tears collecting at her lashes as she stares Tori down.  Raina silently draws Alyss' attention to a cell in the back before she picks her way down the stairs, across the bloody floor, and over to an imprisoned Aly, breaking the wards with a word and the lock with the heel of her hand.

She has to support Aly across the dungeon floor.

Alyss descends as well, reaching for Clare's chains.  They come apart with a touch of fire.  Clare falls limply down into Alyss' arms, too light for her muscle mass and height, eyes fluttering shut.  Her wrists are rubbed raw.  The frost burns across half of her entire body are worse than Alyss thought.

A sob tears itself from Bellamy's throat.  She collapses onto the hard, bloody floor, hiding her face as tears rack her frame.

Tori lowers her crossbow in slow horror.

“Father's wrath,” Alyss whispers, voicing the sentiment of her entire team. “What happened here?”

[byshesmiles-blog]

MY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE: MEXICO

Seven months later, here I am, sharing my travel experience in Mexico with you!

This post is full of good tips that you would never think, good places where to eat delish food, the best places where to stay on the beach at reasonable price and must dos. Are you ready? :)

As many of you might know already I spent three weeks in Mexico in October and it has been the most amazing time ever! We were in Quintana Roo and we spent our time between Xpu-Ha, between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, and Tulum. We divided our holiday in super relaxing time, just chilling on the beach, eating a lot of food, reading under the sun and drinking Coronas and adventure time, when we visited everything we wanted to, from the ruins of Tulum to Chichen Itza, from doing zip lines in the jungle to swim in the cenotes.

If you go for 10 days or a month, this list includes everything you need to know to enjoy your holiday smoothly and experience most of the wonder this area has to offer.

Just one thing before to go on: we went to Mexico on off-season, so my experience could be really different from yours depending on which time you go!

The order of the list is random and not by importance, as every each one of this thing, places, adventures made this holiday unforgettable!

WHERE TO STAY

- El Secreto Xpu-Ha (Carretera Federal Chetumal Puerto Juarez Km 382Xpu Ha, Quintana Roo) – it’s the first place where we stayed and we loved it so much we made our stay longer and ended up here for 13 days! It’s a lovely cabana on the beach, I mean, literally 10 seconds from the water. It has two floors and we had the chance to stay in both. I warmly suggest the top floor as it’s more private and even though they’re quite similar, I liked it more.

It’s a small room but it has all the essential: a lovely bathroom with a perfectly working shower, a little kitchen where to make morning smoothies or cook your own dinner, a comfy enough bed and a really big, lovely terrace, where you can admire the incredible view on the ocean, do some yoga or playing some card at the table. The beach is this rare, clean, almost empty gem, with water so warm and clear you never want to get out! Seriously!

There are a few beach clubs and restaurants along this stretch, where you can take drinks, a good lunch or if you walk a bit further, a fancy dinner. I will talk about these places later in this post.

In short this place is the most wonderful cabana on the beach ever!!

We booked it through Airbnb but you can find it on their main website or on Booking.

- Ahau Tulum (Tulum, Quintana Roo) – wonderful, environmentally conscious resort on the beach. They have different cabanas, with different views, but the place is on the beach and trust me, it doesn’t matter too much which one you’ll choose because you’re in paradise and they treat you like a king, or a queen :)

The staff is truly incredible, the rooms are super clean and really cosy, they all have an hammock either inside the room or outside on the terrace. Their restaurant does delicious food, healthy, fresh and original and their list of juices is mouth-watering! On top of the restaurant they have a open studio with sea view were they’re doing daily yoga. Definitely worth it!

As a super plus, Ahau Tulum has a couple of dogs and a couple of cats wondering around. They’re friendly and safe and only downside is…you fall in love with them and then it’s hard to say goodbye! Especially to sweet-eyes Bandit!

We booked it through their website, but you can find them on Expedia and Booking as well.

WHERE TO EAT

- Hotel Esencia, is located 15 minutes walk on the beach from our first place in Xpu-Ha. It’s actually a beautiful hotel (it’s a Mr and Mrs Smith, which for me it’s always a guarantee!) but you can go there just to take some drinks and dinner. They’re menu is mostly seafood with some vegetarian options. The staff is lovely and they take good care of you. On plus you also have a band of mariachi to sing while you dine! We went twice here and I give it 5 stars!! Only one thing to bare in mind, it’s a bit expensive.

- Restaurare (vegan) – even if you’re not vegan you MUST try this restaurant. It serves the most original, incredibly tasty food that you can’t miss it. It’s located on the hotel road in Tulum, but as soon as you walk few steps and pass the stone bridge you’ll find yourself immerse in a jungly corner where you can taste some mushroom ceviche and lettuce tacos, away from the busy road.

- Posada Margherita – Italian restaurant so YES to this! J jokes a part this was one delicious dinner! Lots of seafood and pasta so good to make you melt! They also have a lovely entrance where you walk in the middle of a candle path and green plants.

- Ahau Tulum – if you’re not staying here, you have to come to eat though! As I was saying before they do really tasty and healthy dishes (that I often shared with Bandit ;))

- Ukami – it’s a sushi restaurant like you might have guessed from the name J a lot of choice of fresh and yummy rolls! And, you know, I’m always in the mood for good sushi!

- Mezzanine – this one and the place below are part of the same chain, Colibrí Hotel. They’re quite fancy and they each one of them has different cuisine. Mezzanine focuses on Thai cuisine and believe me, they’re doing the best dumplings and chicken sate I’ve ever eaten!

- La Zebra – We spent two days on the beach here and ate lunch. They’re doing authentic Mexican cooking that is so lush you wanna keep eating J my favourite was the tuna burger!

Just to remind you once again that it was off-season while I was there, so I didn’t have any trouble finding a table. But if you were going in high season I would recommend booking the restaurants with notice!

MUST DO’S

- Xplor Park – this is an adventure park in Playa del Carmen. It offers zip lines, driving through the jungle with amphibious vehicles, underground rafts, stalactite rivers and hammock splash. It’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever did! It takes one full day so I would suggest go there relatively early.

- Swim with the turtles in Akumal Beach - I absolutely LOVE turtles! They're such wonderful creatures and have had the chance to swim with them, filled my heart with joy! An experience I warmly suggest to do, but also be aware: this beach is quite touristy and crowded. You can't go swim by yourself but you need a guide - we found one there and even though we thought it was a scam at the beginning, we really appreciated having one. PLEASE, don't try to touch the turtles or to get too close to them. Observe them and let them enjoy their habitat without invading it too much! 

- Chichen Itza - well I don't need to say too much here as it's one of the Wonders of the World and it truly is something wonderful to see and visit. Again I would suggest to take a guide, someone who can even come and pick you up at the hotel and bring you back, considering it's two hours drive from Tulum. The place is soaked with so much history and so many tales, it's gonna leave you with goosebumps!

- Tulum Ruins - another historical place worth to see for the stories it has to tell. The Mayan culture was something beyond incredible!

- Sian Ka’an Biosphere - on this day we got to see dolphins, turtles, alligators and many different species of birds. I don't want to sound repetitive but it was AMAZING! We booked our tour with Osprey and we booked the Punta Allen one. They do offer many different tours so just have a look at their website and choose the one that fits you more! You can find different companies but I highly recommend them as they are really prepared and incredible guides.  

- Cenotes - these are natural sinkholes and it's incredibly refreshing and nice to swim in them. There are a lot all around so it's your choice because they're all worth it a visit! Remember to bring your snorkeling gear!

- Snorkeling and Relax on the beach - a must as I've never been on a better beach. The pink sand and the clear and warm water, the colours of the sky, really make you feel you're in heaven! :) 

Just one tip, that I hope you'll not need ever: while I was snorkeling not far from the shore I put my foot down in what I thought it was a rock - nah ah - it was a scorpion fish! Now, not to be a drama queen but I consider myself lucky to be here to tell you this as this kind of fish is deadly poisonous!! Fortunately I barely touch it and moved away as quick as I could. Fortunately again, Simon saw it, realised what it was and knew what to do. It hurt like a mother-fu***r, sorry for the language. I wanted someone to cut my foot off. Just saying. What you need to do is to put your foot in water as hot as you can bare and take a pain-killer. A strong one! That's it! You can't do much. Obviously if your conditions are getting worst then hurry to the hospital! For me it lasted for about two hours and I avoided the hospital. It hurt for a couple of days after then it was like it was never happened. I think about it now and I like to remember myself like a strong warrior but the truth is that...well, THANK GOD TO SIMON, because without him I would have been lost. 

 TIPS & WARNINGS

- go off-season - once again, we went in October and I'm so happy for that. It was still super warm, no rain, less humidity and, most importantly, less people! If you can, do go in low season!

- take probiotic - especially if you're a bit weak of stomach or not used to different cuisines I would recommend taking probiotic from a few weeks before the trip and while you're on holiday. It's a great help and you don't risk to spend a couple of days in bed.

- buy eco mosquito repellent THERE - Simon and me noticed that even if it's the same brand, the mosquito repellents that work best are the one bought on the place as it seems to be more specific for their type. 

- pay in pesos - they can accept also dollars and we had some left as we were coming from Albuquerque but after a little while we noticed it was actually a rip off :-/ so try always to pay in pesos! 

- don’t drink tap water - they're gonna tell you everywhere you go but do not drink tap water. Not even the probiotic could save you then.

- rent a car - we're used to always rent a car during our holiday and to be honest it's a real commodity to have your own vehicle. I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary but from my point of view it's always best to have one!

- sun cream protection - let me play the part of the mum and tell you: the sun there is HOT! Protect your skin, preferably with a natural cream.

 It’s rare that I feel to go back to the same place because I always think that there so much to see and explore that would be a waste. But I’m actually looking forward to go back to Mexico, stay again at the Ahau Tulum and also visit some more of the Yucatan as well.

[pamagrimes-blog]

Chicken Mom and The Big Eddy

“The River can kill you in a thousand ways.” ~ Paul Serone, Anaconda

As I stood on the banks of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon staring into the jaws of what I assumed would be certain death, it was Jon Voight’s voice I heard above the roar of the rapids. His infamous line from one of the worst horror flicks of all time, Anaconda, kept repeating over and in my head. There were other voices in my head that day, too, voices that screamed: “Run fool, run!”

Let me start by explaining that I’m a bit phobic when it comes to the water. I get nervous if the bathtub’s too full. But my desire to be a “fun mom” to our three sons forced me to set aside my phobia and book our family’s first white water rafting trip. So there I was, facing Class III rapids that made my heart beat faster than Trump can tap a tweet.

Our family had never been white water rafting, but our boys were anxious to try it. After some exhaustive internet research, I found Sun Country Tours in Sunriver, Oregon. They offered an entry level three hour excursion known as The Big Eddy Thriller. Sun Country’s website boasted rave reviews and photos of happy families giggling like fools as they plunged into the frothy white torrent. We, too, could be happy giggling fools, and all for the low, low price of only $60 each!

On the morning of the excursion, we arrived at the Sun Country offices in high spirits. Our boys spilled out of the van like happy puppies, anxious for the adventure ahead. At that moment it felt great to be the “fun mom.” The moment wouldn’t last long.

At the front desk, an athletic-looking young man greeted us with a stack of legal forms. “What is all this?” I asked my husband as we leafed through the paperwork. “We’re signing away our rights to sue them if anything goes hideously wrong,” he said.

Oh, snap! Shit just got real.

As I watched each of my boys sign away their rights on the dotted line, I felt my first tingling of trepidation. What kind of mother lets her kids do this? The fun kind, of course!

Once the paperwork was complete, we boarded a rickety school bus that would drive us 45 minutes north to the Deschutes National Forest. There we’d be paired with a guide and dropped into the Upper Deschutes River.

I watched the other passengers for signs of fear or concern. If anyone was nervous, they were covering it well. People chatted and laughed, seemingly unconcerned about what was to come. The sunny weather slowly gave way to overcast skies, and a light rain began to fall. I took this as an ominous sign.

I turned anxiously to my husband and asked, “Are you looking forward to this?” He pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “It’ll be a blast.” I found this of little comfort as the closest my husband had been to rafting was riding Splash Mountain at Disneyland.

After bumping our way through the forest for a few miles, the bus finally came to a halt. The driver pointed to a path and told us in broken English that we were to follow it down to the river.

Dutifully we tromped down the switchbacks to a clearing where a team of professional guides and six large yellow rafts awaited us. One young man was handing out life jackets, and I lunged at him as if we were about to board the Titanic.

We were assigned a tour guide and a raft. Our guide, Patrick, was a small, wiry guy who looked barely old enough to shave. I’d pictured someone more like Thor steering us down the river, someone who possessed the upper body strength to pull a hysterical woman from the swirling rapids. I gulped but said nothing, afraid to expose my chicken heart and lose my fun mom cred.

Our raft had a few seats left, so Patrick assigned two additional passengers to our group; Ava and her 19-year-old daughter Tiffany, or as I dubbed them; Sporty Spice and Baby Spice.

Dripping in Nike athleisure wear Sporty Spice was nothing short of an Amazon, complete with rippling biceps, perfect white teeth and a thick blonde mane. Sporty introduced herself locking my hand in a vice-grip. I tried not to wince as she crushed most of the 27 bones in my hand.

You know those buddy comedies where they match two physical opposites? That was Sporty Spice and me. I was the Jonah Hill to her Channing Tatum. Sporty was the alpha-female, a blond Xena Warrior Princess, while I was the poser in cheap aqua shoes and a tattered baseball cap.

Sporty Spice offered to take the bow position as she was an “experienced power rower.”

Of course, she was.

“These Class III Rapids are child’s play,” Sporty scoffed. “I’ve been down class V rapids; you wear a helmet for those.”

Our guide Patrick seemed overly impressed, confessing he’d never even seen Class V rapids. This exchange did nothing to boost my confidence in him. It looked as though our lives would be in the hands of Sporty Spice. I prayed she was as tough as she looked.

Before climbing into our raft, Patrick announced the middle seat was open. It was the safest spot in the boat and came with a panic strap. My hand shot up. “I’ll take it if no one else wants it!” I offered a little too quickly. My boys shook their heads.

Uncool.

I’d outed myself as the chicken of the group. I wanted to be the brave mom but let’s face it; Sporty Spice had that job locked down. “You’ll be fine,” Sporty said slapping me on the back so hard that I gagged on my gum.

We shoved off and eased downriver toward the first group of Class I Rapids. They were a snap. I began to relax and unclenched a little. Next up were the Class II Rapids. These were a little wilder but thrilling, and our team navigated them with ease.

Between rapids, Patrick pointed out various lava rock formations, Osprey nests and other local points of interest. My boys were having a blast, smiles all around. Fun mom comes through again! I was beginning to think this white water rafting thing was a piece of cake. But that feeling would be fleeting.

As we rounded the bend, Patrick announced we’d be going ashore to scout the upcoming Class III Rapids so that he could explain some necessary maneuvers. Securing our raft, we trudged through the water and hiked uphill into the forest to get a better view of the rapids below.

When I first laid eyes on those rapids, I froze. I was unable to conceive that my entire family, would momentarily be careening down them on what amounted to a flimsy rubber sheet.

These were nothing like the rapids we’d experienced. What lay before us was a churning, roaring torrent of water, a river wild, thunderous and dangerous with sheer drops at every turn. My stomach began to percolate.

As everyone eagerly gathered to view the river, I hung back reviewing my options. I could walk back to Sunriver, sure it was a 30-mile trek, and I was in the middle of the freaking Deschutes Forest but what was my alternative? Panic set in. I was trapped. There was only one way out, and it was over those churning rapids.

Suddenly I didn’t give a rat’s ass about being fun or cool or brave. I was the chicken mom and would embrace it wholeheartedly!

While I kvetched, Patrick explained how to stay afloat on the rapids if thrown from the raft. My mouth went dry, and I clutched Patrick’s arm. “Do you mean we might go down the rapids….without the raft?” Patrick patted my hand and assured me that many people claim it’s the best part of their trip.

What???

Nowhere on Sun Country’s website did it claim “You’ll have a jolly old time when you’re tossed from the raft and sail down the rapids on your ass.” To add to my anxiety, Patrick began checking our life jackets, because as he put it, “If not tightly cinched, the river could rip them from our bodies.”

Was this guy messing with us?

Suddenly our happy family rafting trip had turned into The River Wild, Anaconda and Deliverance all rolled into one. I could almost hear the strains of banjo music wafting through the breeze.

“The river can kill you in a thousand ways.”

“You seem a little nervous, Pam,” Patrick said cinching my life jacket. I nodded vigorously, unable to contain my mounting fear. “Did the profuse sweating, dilated pupils, and dry heaving tip you off?” I asked. Patrick merely smiled and reassured me we’d be okay.

Having no other option, I hoisted myself back into the raft, grabbed ahold of the panic strap, and put on a brave face. “Okay, let’s do this thing!” I barked.

As we shoved off the embankment, Patrick threw out one last warning. “Whatever happens — stay away from the jagged lava rocks, they’ll shred our raft.”

I threw up in my mouth. Just a little.

Oars poised we headed downriver and into the gaping maw of the rapids. Our group navigated the first two sets of rapids with precision, dodging and weaving through the heavy water. The last of the Class III Rapids lay before us. Every muscle in my body was clenched and ready for the drops and turns we were about to face.

We took the first drop and found ourselves heading directly into a solid wall of water. The wave crashed over us, drenching us and sending our boat directly toward the jagged rocks. The jagged rocks Patrick had just warned would “shred our raft.”

There was a moment of quiet panic as, collectively, we realized we were about to get deeply screwed. In a split second, Patrick was yelling commands. “Back, back, row back! NOW!”

Without an oar, I felt helpless and having nothing else constructive to do I repeated Patrick’s directives. “Back! Back! Back!” I shrieked. Sporty Spice sprang into action, rowing backward with the strength of ten Amazons, plus two!

Thanks to teamwork we narrowly avoided the jagged rocks. Once out of harm’s way we could relax and enjoy the rest of our tour. We bounced through the final group of Class II Rapids and pulled ashore where our bus awaited us. The trip was over. We’d made it.

Once ashore Sporty Spice asked me how I liked my first white water rafting experience. I had to be honest, as phobic as I am, it was unforgettable. And now that I was safely on dry land I could admit that it had been thrilling.

That day on the Deschutes I came face to face with my worst fear. I had no way out, no way back and no choice but to forge ahead. Fear is part of being human, but sacrifice is part of being a mom. In the end, my desire to create an unforgettable memory for my boys outweighed my chicken heart. I’m not saying I managed it with any amount of dignity or aplomb. But at least I DID it.

Now that they’ve had a taste, my boys can’t wait to go white water rafting again. They’re busy planning next year’s trip; a half day excursion down Class IV Rapids. Will I go? Of course! What else would a fun mom do?