Voted: Sauciest Couple!

During our cruise last week, we indulged in a couple of shore excursions.

Our favorite one, by far, was called Salsa and Salsa. When we read about it, we knew it was perfect for us.

You see – Chris rocks making salsas and guacamoles. And I rock dancing.  This was an opportunity for each of us to both further our passions and learn more about each other’s.

Here’s what the excursion included:

• Learning how to make 7 different authentic Mexican salsas (and eating them!)
• Drinking unlimited free margaritas
• Salsa dancing lessons
• Beach siesta time afterwards

Not only was the description perfect for us, the whole experience was perfectly put together. Upon arriving in Cozumel, we were escorted to a hotel resort on the water with a view of our ship. We were handed a frozen margarita even before putting on our adorable chef’s hats.

And by the time we started making our first salsa, we were on round 2 (or was it 3?) of margaritas.  And just as your margarita started to melt, a new one was brought to you.

Did I mention they served us lots of margaritas?  Yeah. Perfecto.

They provided us all sort of fresh salsa ingredients, and were walked through making 7 different salsas – from ones made of roasted veggies, fresh salsas, guacamole and the most decadent fruity salsa served over homemade vanilla bean ice cream (OMG.. yum!!).

The whole food experience was absolutely divine – especially since we were in serious salsa withdrawal by now. On the cruise ship, we couldn’t find even a splash of Mexican inspired food, which is a regular staple in our diet.

After a few margaritas and dipping taquitos into our salsas, it was time for the dance lessons!

Now, we’re both pretty freeform dancers who are passionate about it. I’ve had a tiny bit of formal dance lessons – just enough to improvise off of to form my own style. Chris however has about two distinct dance moves, that both involve bouncing.

I think by the end of the lesson he mostly had the steps down without stepping on my feet.

A Lesson from Dancing

So here’s our lesson of the day.

So often we hear of folks who are intimidated to do what they want to do. Whether it be pursuing a hobby, traveling, cooking, blogging, embarking on a new career… or dancing.

‘I so want to dance, but I have three left feet!’

Our cruising companions, Sterling and Melissa, are actually quite accomplished ballroom dancers. They generally wait for the ideal beat and conditions to dance.. and when they do, they’re absolutely esquisite.

But you don’t have to be a trained dancer, or have absolutely ideal conditions, to be a dancer.

One evening in the atrium of the ship, ideal conditions presented themselves. Sterling & Melissa went to the side and danced beautifully.

Chris and I however stepped right into the middle of the atrium and just improvised some coupled dance (as we often do). We had fun and we don’t care what others think. We don’t care if we have the steps right, are in time with the music or wearing the right shoes.

We inspired a few other couples to join us and we soon had a dance party going on in the atrium!

The next day we were hanging out in the spa, and a gentleman came up to us and told us:

‘Wow,  you two really can dance! I so enjoyed watching you and always wished I had learned how to dance like you two!’

The trick isn’t learning how to dance. Neither of us we following any schooled dance steps.

It’s learning to let go and just have fun with it.

Don’t skip out on amazing experiences because you don’t feel you’re up to expert levels.

Sure, there are things where you really should get proper training (oh, say – skydiving, piloting a plane, performing surgery). But fun stuff like dancing? You don’t have to be at a pro level to let lose and have fun.. and even be admired.

It’s the passion, not the steps.

At Salsa and Salsa, these two dance clutz’s were voted ‘Sauciest Couple’. The night before, we had a total stranger tell us we are great dancers. And we didn’t dance a single smooth formal dance step.