Tales of the Friendly Lizards

I returned from my vacation around 5pm last night. It was a great trip. I got tons of relaxing time, I got to run whenever I wanted, I swam in the ocean, I ate a ton of sushi, had one of the best steaks I've ever eaten and was surrounded by wonderful company. I even said to myself at one point during the trip how lucky I am to be in a situation where this kind of thing is available to a person like me. I am a very, very lucky person. I fully get that. There was one specific thing that I wanted to point out from this vacation, and it is kind of out there.

Each morning after getting dressed and sun screened, and then heading down to the cafe to get a pastry and coffee, I'd see iguanas or lizards or some kind of small dinosaur looking animal. I'd also see them on my way to the beach from the pool. And when I'd walk to the gym. I'd see them when walking back with my fellow travelers to our room. We would see them on our way to dinner. I was scared at first, but after a while I was fascinated with these animals. They were coexisting with us like there was no threat or problem at all. They never scurried away. I only rarely saw them take on the color of the palm trees and other brush near the walkways. They would just kind of stand there, give you a look and either stay or slowly walk into the brush next to the beach or the sidewalk. It was wild. I started to talk to them on my way to places. They would get a lot of "good morning" or "hey there big guy" or "oh, you are blending in with your surroundings now". The fear quickly dissipated and we were all just hanging out together. One day one of these lizards was hanging out at a lunch spot by the relaxing pool. No one was worried. We were all chatting like nothing weird was going on. One day I got up from my lawn chair to get in the pool and one of the bigger lizards crawled from underneath my chair to another shaded spot. I didn't jump or make a face, I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture. One day I saw a big lizard with a smaller lizard and I made up a whole story for them like they were a mom and child on an adventure. I snapped a few pictures of these lizards, but my best was of one of these dudes just hanging on a bridge walkway to the main pool. I got the full thing in the photo, it let me get close enough to snap the photo, and almost as if it was sensing that I was done, it looked at me and jumped off. I fully believe that this lizard is so used to getting pictures taken that it knows when a person is starting the shoot, and when they are done. I was astonished at how well they blended in and how easily we all got used to these animals. Seeing an animal like this back at home would terrify me. But in Mexico, at the beach, hanging at a pool and just relaxing, these animals were part of the experience. And it ruled.

I am so on board for stuff like this. I wish we were more welcoming in the states so animals like this could coexist without all of us living in fear. If you find yourself heading to Mexico anytime soon, look out for these awesome lizards. They will quickly become your friend. Trust me. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Let's Talk About My Great Vacation

Hello all, I am back from my week long vacation. It was a glorious, and much needed, week away from all my work and priorities. For this week I am going to touch on some of the things I did while I was on vacation, unless some wild stuff happens in the sports or music or movie or TV world. Today I want to take the time to talk about the wonderful resort my wife booked for us for this vacation.

I live in a world where I am comfortable. We have the means and ability to stay in all inclusive resorts when we go on a vacation like this. No, I am not a rich man, far, far from it, but my family is fine. This is not a brag either. We are just in a solid place financially. I felt like that needed to be said.

For this trip my wife and I decided we wanted to go to Mexico again. We went there on our honeymoon, for our 5 year anniversary, and last Thursday, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. Mexico seems to be our place for these celebrations. We have stayed in a different spot each time. This time we stayed in Secrets Capri in Cancun, near Riviera Maya.

This resort was top notch. First off, it was adults only, and not in a perverted way. We did not go to Hedonism. This wasn't an "Eye's Wide Shut" scenario. The adults only simply meant that you had to be, at least, 21 years old. This was great. I love, love, love my kids. But, I am with them all day everyday. There is only so much Pokémon or "My Little Pony" I can take though. So, to go to a resort where you have to be 21, it was paradise. Everyone at this resort seemed to be either newlyweds or people celebrating an anniversary. There was a lot in common with the other guests. That made it so easy to talk to people. I am not one for "vacation friends". But, I do like to talk to people while eating at an open buffet, and it is much easier when you have stuff in common with those people. That is how Secrets Capri was. It was tremendous. The staff was outstanding. I cannot say enough good things about the employees. They were on the ball with everything. From the moment we stepped off the shuttle, the workers were there with a cold towel that smelled great. It was such a tremendous personal touch. The help we got to get our room was excellent. The restaurants, which I will go very in depth on more later this week, had some of the greatest waiters and hostesses I have ever had a personal encounter with. The room we had was super comfy, and the staff was there to clean everyday at 2pm. I could set my watch to it. We did an excursion, got back at 2, the room wasn't quite ready, so we went to the beach for awhile, and after an hour, our room was spotless. The access to the beach was so easy. I went everyday, swam in the ocean and ran on the beach with almost too much ease. Also, they had people there everyday to clean out the seaweed that was coming in from deeper in the water. The beach was spotless by our final day. The pool was perfect. They had umbrellas everywhere for those of us that didn't want to get sunburned. For those that wanted to get tan, the pool was totally uncovered. They did water aerobics and played games and had some kind of activity in the pool that was super fun. The pool bar was great. I would swim up, get my wife a drink and myself a bottle of water, and the bartender was on the money. His name was Juan, and he was amazing. By the end of the week he knew I wanted water and my wife wanted Malibu and pineapple juice. That impressed the hell out of me. The shows, and nighttime entertainment was fantastic. They did a whole show on the Mayan history on Friday night, and it ruled. They also had an awesome Beatles cover band that included a Cirque de Soleil show. They also had an Il Divo cover band that was good. It was nice.

I was super impressed with pretty much everything that Secrets Capri had to offer. My wife and I have even said that when we go back, and we will most definitely be going back, Secrets Capri will be hard to beat. I highly recommend, if you are going the all inclusive route for your next trip, book a Secrets trip. It was an amazing experience that I will not soon forget. It was awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Next time Ty heads down to Mexico he is going to the Pacific Coast. There is nothing he likes more than the smell of tequila and the smell of others puking that tequila up.

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