Hello warm early morning light in Mexico!
Hello blue skies and sunshine!
Hello tile stairs up to our hotel rooms!
Hello random hunk in the lobby bathroom.
Hello first unusual animal sighting- it's an agouti and it was about the size of Laney!
Emma is the master of the toad in the hole, and she found them at our resort! It felt so good to sit outside and enjoy our breakfast in the warmth of Mexico.
We had a long day ahead of us- first up, and hour drive west to Daddy's pick of the trip- Chichen Itza.
Emma makes Daddy's field hat look good.
Rather than join an 80-person tour bus, we opted for a private van and tour guide for this day. It was so nice having our own schedule, our own space, and our own dedicated picture taker for the day. He and our driver - Miguel and Carlos- also took care of the parking, tickets, lines, and all around chaos that we didn't want to have to deal with. It was fantastic!
Chichen Itza was fascinating, and hot, and the perfect activity for our first day in Mexico.
What an amazing glimpse into an entirely different civilization.
We were happy to stand in the shade for a bit, and even happier to realize that the jaguar calls we were hearing were coming from a souvenir trinket!
This might be my favorite view of the experience.
We had about an hour with our guide and a little less than an hour to ourselves to check out the different areas, including the Kukuclan Pyramid, the Thousand Columns, the Temple of the Warriors, the Ball Game court, Tzompantli, the Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars, the Venus Platform, the Marketplace, and the massive Temple of the Warriors.
Just an entire civilization crumbling around us.
Ahh shade and water. We all did pretty well in the heat but this might have been our favorite resting place.
Great big black iguana!
While Daddy and Emma tracked down her souvenir of choice, the rest of us took silly pictures by the pyramid.
A clear shot of the restored and crumbling sides of the temple.
Locals always love learning that Jason speaks Spanish. It makes it easier for all of us! Our tour guide Miguel taught us all about the Mayan calendar and number system and the historical and religious significance of the area. It was fascinating.
There were so many vendors and stray dogs and children all around the grounds. And so many tourists speaking in so many different languages. We were just ahead of the crush of people all day long, which was perfect.
I love the sight of flowers in January!
After a bit of a rest in the van, we were off to the second half of our adventure.
The drive to and from Chichen Itza was fascinating- walls of jungle, huts popping up, people who live on dusty dirt roads and make their living off of the tourists who may or may not stop by. In general this trip was very curated for tourists- we didn't really have any options for seeing much of the local life- but the drive gave us a very tiny glimpse of life outside of the tourism in Mexico.
Our tour guide recommended a less traveled cenote and restaurant, and we were so glad he did. The cenote Selva Maya was incredible!
The grounds were gorgeous- lush jungle and beautiful arches and flowing pools and fountains.
And really, we had no idea what we were getting into. There is nothing quite like experiencing something for the very first time, and we were all excited and nervous about what might be waiting for us in this huge hole in the earth.
These drumming painted men didn't to much to calm our nerves.
Locker room selfie!
Wow- the cenote was absolutely incredible!
We all had to wear life jackets- there was a sign that said even Michael Phelps would have to wear a life jacked here- and that was good news because Miguel told us the cenote was 90 feet deep.
We all tried not to think too hard about the grindylows that might be waiting for us down there!!
The water was in the mid 70s, so not exactly freezing cold but it took a nice bit of guilt from Emma to get me in the water ("Do you really want to look back in 10 years and say that you didn't do this?!").
Adam, Emma, Leah and Daddy were extra brave and jumped off of the platform. The whole crowd joined in on the chanting when a little boy named Carlos needed a little extra encouragement to jump.
Noah and I really enjoyed the straight up view. What an incredible place!
All smiles on the way out!
This was such a fun experience, perfect for cooling off after our sunny Chichen Itza tour, and a great way to work up an appetite for the best meal of our trip. But first, I worked up the courage to take a picture with the locals! I made Daddy go with me.
Lunch was hands down the best meal we had all week.
We knew it would be, and the chochinita pibil did not disappoint. As Leah said after we got home, those were some 'bussin' pork tacos'!
This was such a beautiful place. Definitely a top three moment of the trip.
Back in the van we went!
It makes me happy that we know how to entertain ourselves in cars without screens.
Our drive home took us through Valladolid, but really we were all tired enough and the van windows were high enough that we didn't get much out of it. We didn't stop, just passed by lots of incredible buildings that I told myself I would Google later. Ta-da!
And then we headed back to the resort. This was originally going to be our second day excursion, but because of the storm it ended up being our first day and that was actually perfect. Chichen Itza was interesting, the cenote was the very best part, and we were definitely feeling really for something even more memorable the next day!
No comments:
Post a Comment