Thursday, June 30, 2011

Mexico

Coba Mayan pyramid that we climbed
Rappelling into a cenote (underground lake) in the Yucatan jungle
Final kiss before we plunged
Climbing up a rope ladder out of the cave- I was sore by the end
Floating in the dark cenote- I was scared fish were going to bite my rear
Down we go!
Standing with the Mayan shaman
Our Coba exploration group
Nate ziplining across the crocodile infested lake
My turn- I was flying!
This is where our guide said, "Don't touch any trees b/c some are poisonous and will give you a 2nd degree burn." Say what?!
The beginning of our trek- we were still dry
My wary expression- "What exactly am I sniffing here?"
Mmm- ice cream whenever you want
Swim-up bar
Walking to the beach bar. It was a tough life- sit, swim, eat and repeat.
I blend in really well
Lots of good conversations with friends. Hanging out with Lisa.
Dave, Kate and Nate chilling in the shade
Toes to the sky
Doug and Nate got roped into an "Iron Man" competition- quite funny!
The open air lobby
Tanya, Pete, Lisa and Doug strolling down the beach


We are back! We had a AWESOME trip to the Riviera Maya, Mexico. We were about an hour south of Cancun at the Grand Palladium. We went with 3 other couples that are friends from college. We had a rough beginning to our trip. We were supposed to fly out at 6 am from GR. Our friends called at midnight b/c our flight was cancelled and we all had to get to O'Hare for our flight to Cancun. So we left our house at 4 am to make the drive. O'Hare was nuts and it took us forever to get checked in. Thankfully we got on our flight!

We had never been to an all-inclusive resort before, I can say we really enjoyed it! We spent most of our time swimming, eating, reading, chatting, and eating. One day we rented catamarans. Nate, Doug and I were on a boat together. The guys did a great job sailing and we had a fun hour on the ocean. One wave almost washed us over. We also caught a HUGE wave on the way into shore and rode the wave for a long time. It was slightly scary.

We also went on a day trip to Coba which has Mayan ruins. We climbed up a Mayan pyramid which was very steep. It was an amazing view from the top, but scary climbing down. We then went to a Mayan village in the jungle. We hiked thru the jungle in the pouring rain. I have never been in such a downpour. The rain slowed down and we ziplined across a lake. It was alot of fun. We then rappelled down a hole in the ground about 100 feet into a cenote. It was a dark cave and the water was slightly chilly. I thought rappelling would be scary, but it wasn't! To get out of the cave we climbed up a rope ladder. We did have a rope attached to our harness, but it was hard work getting to the top. After rappelling we had lunch in the Mayan village. The village shaman also did a special ceremony for our group. He did alot of chanting and burned tree sap, I think. He then walked around the group, waved smoke in our face and used a branch to make a cross on our chests. I don't think the cross means the same thing. Our guide told us the shaman was giving us a blessing. We viewed the experience as an act of hospitality, but I kept thinking, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," when it was my turn to sniff the smoke, I was a little wary. The day trip was a great learning and adventure experience.

One afternoon Nate, Pete, Tanya and I went into Playa del Carmen. Pete speaks excellent Spanish and that was a huge bonus. We took the local bus into town and walked the shopping district. We did some haggling (with Pete's help) and bought souvenirs. It was fun just to be outside of the resort in "real" Mexico.

The resort had shows every night. The productions were slightly amateur, but still entertaining. We had great weather the first few days. It rained for two days and the last couple of days were overcast, but still warm. The resort had a separate spa area with a nice pool, hot tubs, etc. We enjoyed spending time there b/c kids were not allowed and it was less noisy. Ah, relaxation.

While we were relaxing, Nate's parents were taking care of the kids. They were tired by the end of the week, but everything went great! It was so good to see the kids again. They kept hugging and snuggling with us. We enjoyed our week away, but were glad to come home again. Happy early 10 year anniversary honey!!

4 comments:

Stephanie said...

I'm so glad you posted in such a timely manner =) I had a comment in my head for like every picture but now I can't remember.
But you guys look great, you totally got tan and I can't believe you ziplined over crocodiles! I think I would have skipped haha. And I love your sarcastic comments about yourself- you crack me up =) I expect a post about the cottage with pictures next week!

Janna said...

It looks like you had a great time! Hopefully next time we can join you!

Barry/ Amy said...

So glad you had a great time and had time to relax :) Happy Anniversary :)

Beth said...

Oh wow. And I passed that up for a week "vacation" with my kids AND inlaws?!? I'm crazy for sure! :) Glad you had a great time.