Cancun:
When we first arrived in Mexico, sunday afternoon, we were frantic trying to find our transfer shuttle. Well... at least I was. We booked our shuttle through Best Day and also one of our excursions. Let me just say Best Day wasn't very travel friendly to us and we probably wont be using them in the future.
On monday we spent our time taking the local bus to WalMart to get groceries for the week. Of course we had no idea where we were going but we found our way and made it there and back with little difficulty. It's so crazy to see something so american and familiar but yet so different. They had fish piled in a big crate of ice, all their pastries and bread lying out in the open, and the flies were everywhere. Just for this reason I couldn't live in Mexico. Or anywhere out of the U.S. for that matter.
Once we had returned Chase and I spent the rest of the day out on the beach in front of our hotel and rented jet skis. Chase almost threw me off twice, he definitely handles me with care. That night I had my first lobster tail dinner! It was very delicious and fun to try...however I still prefer beef.
On tuesday we embarked on our first excursion to the Coba mayan ruins. We were picked up from our hotel in a van with about ten other travelers and on our way. We first made a stop in the jungle where we hiked in to a cenote that we actually repelled down into. But not before being blessed through an ancient mayan ritual. Afterwards we zip lined across a crocodile infested swamp (yes we did actually see crocodiles) and hiked to a little lake that we were able to canoe around in before enjoying a tasty lunch that the locals of a near mayan village prepared for us. We ended the trip by visiting the ancient mayan ruins of Coba, which contains the tallest temple of their civilization.
On wednesday we booked an excursion to Chitzen Itza, the capital of the ancient mayan empire. Our day started out by first visiting the ruins of Chitzen Itza, known for the Kukulcan pyramid and the massive Ball Court. Afterwards we visited another cenote, which was quite different from the first. This one was much more open, bright. and had steps and platforms built in the site to make it more tourist and swimmer friendly. There was a 15' ledge you could jump off of and yes, jump I did! There were also many catfish in the cenote, swimming at the surface. That evening we returned to Chitzen Itza for a light show, sharing the story of Chitzen Itza and the culture of the people that lived there. It was pretty incredible.
The following day Chase and I ferried over to Isla Mujeres, an island just off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. We were able to walk to and snorkel just off of the north point of the island. It was a shallow area with a small reef so it was pretty light, relaxed snorkeling but we were still able to see a variety of fish and get within inches of them!
Friday we found ourselves relaxing on the beach. You always need one of those days. We layed out, eating mangos and spent time in the ocean and in the pools of our hotel.
By saturday we were ready for yet another excursion! Time to see Tulum and do some more snorkeling at Xel Ha! Funny enough, on this tour we were the only americans. Everyone else was local. We were very surprised. Tulum was beautiful though! Each of the three ruins we visited were all so different. Tulum sits right on the coast, overlooking the Caribbean Sea, making it one of the main ports of the mayan civilizaion. It's such a beautiful view! Following the ruins we made our way over to Xel Ha, a water park with many inlets and coves perfect for snorkeling. And snorkel we did! The fish were beautiful and there were so many of them! Chase and I swam with them for hours. We were even lucky enough to encounter a sea turtle and swam right above it for about fifteen minutes. We were literally only six feet above it! It was incredible!
Sunday brought us to the end of our adventure. Our flight home was unavoidable. I definitely could have stayed another week but it's always nice to come back home. Upon arrival at the SLC airport, Chase scouted out Paul Millsap and after about ten minutes of stalking stalking and making sure it was really him, asked him for a picture which he was generous enough to do.
I made Chase drive home. I had to be to work the next morning at 7:45 am. Back to reality. Oh well, at least I can say it was a wonderful trip filled with many activities, learning and fun! Where to go next.....
