Every once in awhile something turns out better than you could have ever imagined and our February trip to Cancun was just that...perfect in every way! The best part was being with Mike for 6 days with no interruptions. I will be forever grateful that I married someone I completely enjoy and can't get enough of and that he feels the same way about me.
He is also the best person ever to vacation with, even if you are not his wife! He plans everything perfectly and researches it all. I am always amazed by his confidence and comfort in foreign countries. He just soaks everything in. In fact, he doesn't speak Spanish, but the few words he knows he says with such a great accent everyone assumes he speaks Spanish and starts rattling to him. It always made us giggle, and he always knows where he is...he is the map master.
Traveling a large amount for your job does have some perks...like first class plane flights and a ridiculously gorgeous resort to enjoy. This is the view we woke up to every morning. The infinity pool that goes directly to the beach and ocean. We were all amazed by the perfectly clear, turquoise and navy blue water. Our rooms were fantastic and all the extras were just right like beach cabanas, fire pits, miniature golf, multiple pools, attentive staff, etc.
Another reason it was a perfect week was because of our traveling companions! It was so fun to meet up with Steve and Lyric Payne! Their idea of a beach vacation is just like ours...a little relaxing and a lot of adventure. They don't sleep in much and work out in the morning which is what we love to do, and they eat just like we do...a light breakfast and then a big, awesome early dinner and a late dessert and they are up for everything! We all get along so well, there was hardly any time to read our books because there was so much life to catch up on and so much fun to be had. Steve and Mike together totally crack us up. I miss them! You know it's good when you are planning your next trip only a few days into things.
El Autobus and Church
We arrived Saturday night and had a wonderful time easing into our vacation together with some grub and a walk on the beach. Steve and Lyric's flight was delayed, so we grabbed a little breakfast Sunday morning and headed to church.
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| The bus system in Cancun is awesome. You can get anywhere really quickly for about $1. Mike was the bus master and it was our main mode of transit. |
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| It is still amazing to me that everywhere we go, we can find a church. Such a blessing! |
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| We were so happy our fantastic friends finally made it!! We celebrated the beginning of a great trip with an excessive amount of food at a really great spot on the lagoon. |
Ek-Balam and Chichin-Itza
We took a full day of our trip to explore the ancient Mayan ruins a few hours away from Cancun. It was a really amazing experience to walk through so much history. It was shocking to see how dark the time was and how so much truth had been twisted. We loved our LDS tour guide who gave lots of great perspective into the symbolism and history of the time period and geography.
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| The Mayan civilization had their own game of basketball and there are basketball courts that surround every temple. The winner of the basketball game was sacrificed to the Gods. |
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| An amazingly clear carving of one of the basketball players. |
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| You can no longer hike Chicin Itza, so it was great to be able to stop first at Ek Balam. It is not as fully restored but we were able to climb to the top of the temple and explore the priests homes and other smaller temples around the perimeter. We were constantly amazed by how similar things were to Solomon's temple, just twisted. You can see how high the temple was that we are standing on. Straight across was the Mayan version of the Rameumptun. The whole experience was really breathtaking. |
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| The entrance to the temple grounds. |
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| As we learned more about the civilization, you heart couldn't help but feel heavy. When Christ came to earth and stopped animal sacrifices and asked for a "broken heart and a contrite spirit," instead the Mayan people interpreted that to mean a literal "broken heart," which is why human sacrifice was such a large part of their life and worship. There was just so much to learn...wish I would have written it all down. |
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| When we left Ek-Balam there was a man on a bike selling fresh coconut milk. Mike loved it and I thought it was okay. After you drink the milk, he then scoops out the fresh coconut, seasons it with chili and lime and you eat it. The taste was pretty good, but I could not get over the slimy texture. |
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| After Ek-Balam we visited Chichin-Itza. It is a major tourist attraction and swarming with tour groups. You can't walk into any of the ruins anymore, but just seeing them is a real sight. The village was gigantic with many temples and basketball courts to take in. There were also a million vendors asking you to buy things. I was so glad we stopped at Ek-Balam so we could really see and explore a Mayan temple. That being said, Chichin-Itza was a real sight to behold. |
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| Our tour guide, Helaman. He was so awesome! I would recommend him to anyone. |
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| For lunch we stopped in a tiny town to eat at a Mayan buffet. We were a bit skeptical, but the food was knock your socks off amazing. It also gave us a glimpse of how the native Mayan people live. One of our favorite meals! |
Isla Mujeres
One of the best days was exploring the island of Isla Mujeres. We got to roll around the island in a golf cart, soak in the sun, snorkel and eat amazing food. What could be more perfect?
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| The view of the island as our boat sailed into the dock. |
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| Our mode of transportation and our totally crazy driver. |
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| Lyric looks especially cool here |
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| Huge iguanas roam everywhere...kind of like squirrels in Michigan. He was on our path as we wandered down to snorkel. |
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Trying to catch one for the kids :)
We stopped for lunch at an incredible spot on the water that cooks up the fresh catch of the day which was Red Snapper. We filled our bellies with ceviche, guac, and red snapper....MMMMM! |
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| Lunchtime view |
Birthday!
After a day of massages, soaking in the rays and playing and body surfing in the warm ocean we headed out to our fanciest dinner at Thai Lounge. We were served in our own little hut on the water in a lagoon and the food was fantastic and it had our favorite version of a virgin pina colada. It was the perfect way to celebrate Lyric's birthday!
Last Day!
We spent our final day on the beach then headed into downtown Cancun for dinner and some souvenirs. We once again loved our meal (we had a great concierge), then went to try and barter our way through Mercado 28. I don't think we got completely taken (thanks to us girls) and ended up with some soccer jerseys for the boys and some Mexican vanilla to take home. Lyric and I decided shopping in Mexico, unless it is at the really nice mall across from our hotel, is not our thing, but the guys kind of enjoyed themselves.
When we woke up the next morning to leave and say good-bye it was kind of sad, but we were mostly grateful for the perfect week. Really, nothing could have been better, and I'm always excited to see my kids again! When we landed to 20 degrees and ice covering our car, I wasn't so sure! Thanks to my hubby and the Paynes for a great vacation. Can't wait to do it again!
