This post is a long time in coming, but I had to wait for Matt to get around to downloading all of his pictures so that I didn't have to do this twice. Mom and Dad came out to help us celebrate our 10th anniversary (10.6 years by the time we actually were able to leave Avery and take the trip...but never mind the details). They were gracious enough to watch the kids for 6 days while I headed off to Cancun for our first solo getaway since we had Isabel. If you look closely you can see the little bird in the picture above. We already started seeing wildlife in the airport of Denver!
Despite it being a 7 am flight (meaning we woke up at 3:30 to get to the airport and park and walk in time...) we had an enjoyable flight down, watching movies on our phones and eating breakfast.
We grabbed our rental car and took off to see the ruins (and iguanas) of Tulum.
I'm glad Tulum was our first visit because we had heard (rightly so) that they were the lamest ruins in the area, so it was nice that they were our first taste and therefore we had nothing else to compare them to so we were not disappointed. In preparation we had both read an LDS and non-LDS guide to the Yucatan peninsula so we had a decent amount of historical background before getting anywhere.
Our first taste of "real" Mexican food. We were both blown away by how amazingly delicious this particular restaurant was and we enjoyed trying new things the entire trip. It's really hard to mess up tortillas, cheese, beans, meat, and guacamole!
Here's a random picture, but there was a photo shoot going on across the street from our restaurant in Tulum and so it was fun watching all the new outfits the models switched between as well as some of the awkwardly contrived situations they put them in (fake running, fake sweat, fake jumping in excitement...) but I'm sure looked totally normal for a catalog or whatever they were using it for.
The next day was Sunday and we went to all 3 hours of church (which really surprised the local ward members because tons of tourists just come to Sacrament meeting and take off) and then headed to the ruins of Coba and then Playa Paraiso beach. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate for getting wet. Normally it's in the 80s and sunny during Feb., but we got highs of 70-72 most days and a lot of clouds, so it wasn't very hot. But it was perfect for exploring the ruins because we never got too hot.
That evening we watched the Broncos win the Super Bowl from the same restaurant as the night before. We got there early and got a perfect table right in front of the television and then took our time eating multiple courses while we watched the game. We had a really great time and could hear all the other fans in all the neighboring restaurants as well as ours cheering and clapping along with us.
Coba was fun because we got to actually climb around on most of the ruins which just made them that much cooler. We also got to ride bikes through the forest from each temple to temple.
The next day was the "hottest" day so we tried out our first cenote. It was so amazing to see all the cave formations with such clarity underwater, but we just got soooo cold!
We then headed to the beach at Akumal to do some snorkeling but the "best" beach area was going to cost $15, so we decided to grab some lunch first. While eating at a little cantina we started a conversation with a man who then proceeded to show us the path to the local's snorkeling reef for free! We took a nap in the sun, trying to warm up and get the courage to get wet and cold again, and then went snorkeling. It was Matt's first time snorkeling and we both loved seeing the fish.
After getting cleaned up we ate at a restaurant right next to our B&B (where we were hosted by a lovely woman named Jacqueline who made delicious breakfasts for us every day and otherwise stayed out of our business...perfect!) and walked up and down the rocky coast where our B&B was located.
The next day we headed to Xel-Ha, a tourist snorkeling attraction with all you can eat restaurants and just a really nice little bay to snorkel in. There was also a mangrove covered river and some ropes course activities to do. We could have paid to swim with dolphins, but instead we watched others do that and it looked really fun. The place was totally touristy and the food wasn't great, but we still had a really fun time and saw some great fish. We ended up renting wet suits and that really helped keep us warmer as we went from the water to the windy day and back in.
We then visited the famous Chichen Itza ruins, a new 7th wonder of the world. They ruins were pretty amazing, but we were bummed that you can't touch or climb anything. You used to until about 10 years ago, so it's not nearly as cool now. However, the huge temple of Chichen Itza is so impressive and once again, we were grateful that it wasn't too hot while we were walking around because lots of people had told us how miserable visiting Chichen Itza can be when it's 85 degrees and hardly any shade around.
We also decided to check out the ruins of Ek Balam and we are glad we did. It had the most amazingly preserved tomb entrance we've ever seen. Completely covered in plaster and carved and some paint still surviving. It really helped us picture what these ruins might have looked like in their glory days. And although none of these structures are compatible with Book of Mormon time periods, it also just helps understanding the world the Nephites and Lamanites lived in...these dense jungles and towers of stone rising up above the trees and different Mayan tribes constantly at warfare.
A big thing for cenotes is to photograph wedding photos in them. Since the water is so clear, you can get some amazing shots with cool backgrounds of the bride and groom. However, in this case the photographer's underwater lens broke RIGHT as they got in the water...so then they got to sit and shiver while he tried to fix it for an hour.
Starting over with Matt's photos...Tulum
Coba
If you look closely you can see I'm copying the pose of the king inscribed on this particular stella.
Playa Paraiso
Cenote Dos Ojos
Right across the street from our B&B.
View from the glass bottomed boat at Xel-Ha.
Floating down the mangrove river.
A sting ray we saw at Xel-Ha.
Chichen Itza.
The largest surviving Mayan ball court in the world, at Chichen Itza.
Ek Balam
The amazingly preserved tomb entrance...that isn't restored, that is original plaster and paint!
A view from a cenote. We definitely got our usage out of the snorkeling gear we bought.
All in all, it was an amazing trip and we loved every second of it. We loved being able to travel on our schedule and not work around naps and bedtimes and snacks and all of it. We loved being able to use Spanish all day and we actually made a goal to only speak Spanish with each other so that we remained in the Spanish mindset while we were there. While I could have used a good beach day with nice hot weather, if that's the only thing I feel we missed out on, then I can't complain because we had an amazing time exploring a new culture and history and seeing beautiful panoramas every where we went. Everything went off without a hitch and we were so excited to see the kids, but didn't miss them while we were gone. It helped that we had cell phone coverage so we could text and call Mom and Dad and the kids every day and check in. Avery didn't even care we were gone and Mom and Dad did a great job of getting them around to all their activities and responsibilities. We definitely want to go back again and take the kids with us in 5-6 years when Avery is old enough to hike around and have fun and naps are things of the past! But until that happens, we will have to be content with our memories of our epic trip to Cancun!
