MEXICO!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Travis’ parents we got to go on a fun filled trip to Mexico.  His parents, two brothers, sister and spouses along with six of the grandkids all came along.

 MEXICO – Day 1

We started out our trip to Mexico on the 15^th, arriving at the airport in Cancun at about 8:15 at night.  My first impression of Mexico was Jungle EVERYWHERE and how flat the land was.  My second impression of Mexico was the fact that their airport tower was a huge Corona advertisement and that the minute we stepped out of the airplane you could feel the mugginess and smell the cigarette smoke.  After a death defying trip from the airport to our resort, thanks to the cab driver “muy rapido” is now a bad word in my mind, we safely arrived at a clean and beautiful resort  where we could see the ocean a few steps out the back door.   That night we went to dinner and got settled into our room.  The resort was all inclusive, meaning there were five restaurants on sight all of which were included, and endless drinks (non-alcoholic of course ;)) from any of the four bars, AND included room service 24 hours a day.   

MEXICO – Day 2

The next day we hung out on the beach enjoying the relaxation and all of the free fruity drinks we could want.  They had free snorkeling equipment for rent, so we did that for a little while and then we took the short five minute walk to a dolphin encounter place that had free shows, with manatees, seals, dolphins etc…    It was a much needed break, and very, very relaxing!

MEXICO – Day 3

        The third day all fifteen of us went on an excursion to the ancient ruins of Tulum in the morning, and snorkeling at Akumal in the afternoon.  Tulum was my first true experience with a third world country, the toilets had no seats or rims, and the toilet paper goes in the trash (stinky!), try squatting that low while you pee without touching the toilet, that was an adventure in and of itself!  We had an LDS tour guide from Heleman tours, and it was really interesting to have him point out the similarities between King Solomon’s temple layout and Tulum.  As well as the many symbols of the descending God.  And even spaces on the main temple where there are three niches, in the three niches are carvings, one is the descending God, one is the descending God’s father and the third one is empty.  It is a beautiful ruin site right on the ocean, with spectacular views.  We ate at a restaurant at Tulum that had authentic Mexican food, it was to die for, and I could have eaten an entire bowl of beans by myself YUM!  Akumal is a snorkeling place that is known for its sea turtles and stingrays, we saw about four different turtles and a stingray as well as some beautiful tropical fish.  It was a very fun adventure.  

MEXICO – Day 4

On the fourth day we hung out at the beach again, and enjoyed the relaxing ocean, Travis and I tried out the free kayaks, and enjoyed just having the two of us around, that night we went restaurant hoping and stuffed ourselves to the brim.  We tried going to a show that night but the girls were less than appropriately dressed so we just went back to our room and played card games.

MEXICO – Day 5

On the fifth day we spent the morning on the beach and then in the afternoon we went to Playa Del Carmen, a city that is known for its tourist shops and night life.  It was quit the experience and not one I would choose to repeat.  Wall to wall people, loud music, and then in the middle of it all here would come an army truck full of men with guns, we even saw a guy getting arrested, lots and lots of drunk people, people running around in costumes, and drag queens, and then a church in the middle of it all were there was a wedding going on!  Wow, it was interesting, but definitely not my cup of tea; I am not a fan of chaos.  We made it back to the resort and I was ready for my own space in my own room and thanked my lucky stars that I live in a town of 943 people, naïve- maybe, happy with what I have – most definitely!

MEXICO – Day 6

    On the sixth day Travis and I, his parents, and his brother Ryan all went on another tour to one of the more famous ruins, Chichen-itza and then to a lesser known ruin called Ek’balam.  It was about a two hour car ride from our hotel to the ruins site, and we got a taste of how people live outside of the tourist belt.  Grass huts, and crumbling stone houses seemed to be the staple on the jungle road, and the living conditions seemed very poor.  Chichen-Itza was amazing, and such a huge place.  We had a tour guide from the same LDS tour guide service and he did an amazing job.  You could tell that he had a real passion for archeology and what he is doing; I would highly recommend him to anyone who goes there.  Anyway I was impressed with the size of the ball court, it was about the size of a football field, and I was also amazed with the death and destruction that took place.  There was a wall where they would put the head of their enemies and cover it in honey so the bugs would come and eat them, as well as human sacrifices because they had corrupted the belief of God wanting a broken heart and a contrite spirit, into thinking that they could kill someone else for THEIR broken heart.  The corruption was everywhere and truly disgusting, but their buildings where impressive.  

After that we went to Ek’Balam, they only discovered the ruins of Ek’balam fourteen years ago and opened it to tourists nine years ago.  It is still being excavated but the buildings that they do have uncovered are very impressive.  They still allow you to climb on the main temple, and there is a very impressively preserved tomb about half way up.  This site was built earlier in time, it isn’t as extravagant, but there is also no sign of human sacrifice, and felt like a very peaceful place.  The tomb has four statues that have very interesting hand placements if you have ever been through the temple.  This was by far Travis and I’s favorite part of the vacation, Ek’balam was beautiful and very peaceful.

MEXICO –Day 7

   Unfortunately this is the day that we went home.  The ride to the airport wasn’t nearly as scary, and we had such a great time we were wishing for one more day.  I was a little nervous about airport security, and I actually did get pulled aside for the full body scanner in Houston, but I just told them that I was pregnant and that I would rather have the pat down, they looked uncomfortable and ushered me through the regular metal detector.  We were excited to come home and see Malana, but work the next day for Travis was a bit of a slap back to reality.