Saturday:
We took the girls to Richard and Cherise's and then Michelle dropped us off at the airport for our 12:50 am flight from SLC to Miami. We don't love red eyes but it was the cheapest flight. In Miami we had a 7+ hr layover so we stored our bigger carry on at the airport and took the bus into South Beach. We walked around a small botanical garden and then visited the Holocaust Memorial. If was sad but also beautiful. Then we headed to the beach where G quickly fell asleep on the sand while I enjoyed the sun and a good book. We grabbed a bite to eat and rode the bus back to the airport.
The flight to Cancun was short but then we had to wait a bit for the resort van to fill up with all the riders. We got to the resort around 7pm and quickly checked into our room. Sadly they didn't have an upgrade with a kitchen available but our room is still really nice. It has a comfy king size bed, large flat screen tv, sitting area, huge soaker tub and a steam shower. After we unpacked we were too tired to go explore the resort and opted to go to bed early.
We took the girls to Richard and Cherise's and then Michelle dropped us off at the airport for our 12:50 am flight from SLC to Miami. We don't love red eyes but it was the cheapest flight. In Miami we had a 7+ hr layover so we stored our bigger carry on at the airport and took the bus into South Beach. We walked around a small botanical garden and then visited the Holocaust Memorial. If was sad but also beautiful. Then we headed to the beach where G quickly fell asleep on the sand while I enjoyed the sun and a good book. We grabbed a bite to eat and rode the bus back to the airport.
The flight to Cancun was short but then we had to wait a bit for the resort van to fill up with all the riders. We got to the resort around 7pm and quickly checked into our room. Sadly they didn't have an upgrade with a kitchen available but our room is still really nice. It has a comfy king size bed, large flat screen tv, sitting area, huge soaker tub and a steam shower. After we unpacked we were too tired to go explore the resort and opted to go to bed early.
Sunday:
We slept in and then headed to listen to a "short" presentation- basically their timeshare presentation. It luckily wasn't too bad and they were actually very nice and not pushy when we said we weren't interested. We got a yummy free buffet breakfast, half our $75 resort fee credited back, a taxi ride into church and discounts at the resort.
We got to church in Playa about an hour before sacrament meeting. Three wards met in that building and we were so surprised with how many missionaries we saw. There was at least 6 different companionships if not more. While visiting with the members we met Miguel, one of the main guys for Alma's LDS Tours. We took down his information so that he didn't have to do business on Sunday and later that night we ended up booking a tour for Wednesday to Chitzen Itza and Ek Balam. It'll be fun to hear the LDS history of the ruins.
After church we walked down to the beach and relaxed for a couple hours. We also stopped at Walmart to grab a few non-perishable food items. Then we grabbed a local collectivo (bus) back to the resort. Sooooo much cheaper than a taxi!
We slept in and then headed to listen to a "short" presentation- basically their timeshare presentation. It luckily wasn't too bad and they were actually very nice and not pushy when we said we weren't interested. We got a yummy free buffet breakfast, half our $75 resort fee credited back, a taxi ride into church and discounts at the resort.
We got to church in Playa about an hour before sacrament meeting. Three wards met in that building and we were so surprised with how many missionaries we saw. There was at least 6 different companionships if not more. While visiting with the members we met Miguel, one of the main guys for Alma's LDS Tours. We took down his information so that he didn't have to do business on Sunday and later that night we ended up booking a tour for Wednesday to Chitzen Itza and Ek Balam. It'll be fun to hear the LDS history of the ruins.
After church we walked down to the beach and relaxed for a couple hours. We also stopped at Walmart to grab a few non-perishable food items. Then we grabbed a local collectivo (bus) back to the resort. Sooooo much cheaper than a taxi!
Monday:
Today was a lay by the pool and soak up the sun day! We slept in and then after I worked out (G slept in longer) we met up at the pool. We read books and just relaxed all day. We also walked up and down the beach. The water is very blue but it's a bit rocky with decent-size waves so we couldn't snorkel. The resort restaurants are quite pricey so we grabbed a deli sandwich and salad for dinner and just walked around some of the resort. They have crocodiles in a caged area and flamingos in another area for people to look a, not to mention all the natural wildlife like large iguanas, lizards and birds.
Today was similar to Monday except it was overcast for the majority of the day and rained on and off. We did get a good spot by the infinity pool under an umbrella so when it did rain we weren't bothered and could still enjoy being outside. By about 4pm it started pouring with thunder so we went back to our room to hang out.
Wednesday:
Today was so much fun! We did our ruins tour with Alma's LDS Tours. Our guide's name was Alex and our driver Jorge. They were great. Alex was born in Mexico City but grew up mostly in Arizona. He served his mission close to this area and decided to move to the Yucatan to work after he got home.
The tour was just us and another couple so it felt basically like a private tour. They picked us up at 7am and then headed to Cancun to pick up the other couple. From there we drove 2 hours to the ruins of Ek Balam. These ruins were discovered about 16 years ago and you can still climb on them. The temple is about 10 meters taller than Chichen Itza and was quite the climb to the top. It was beautiful and really nice to be able to climb all the structures. Alex explained what each structure was and pointed out a lot of Mayan similarities to the Book of Mormon and the Nephites and Lamanites. One thing I liked was that he started off by telling us what LDS references the tour guides use and that they don't make any claims to actual places being Book of Mormon sites. They just point out similarities.
After exploring Ek Balam we headed another 40 minutes to Chichen Itza. Before going to that ruin we stopped at a Mayan hacienda for a traditional Mayan buffet lunch. It was super yummy! They even had some dancers perform for us.
After stuffing ourselves to the point of explosion we headed to the ruins of Chichen Itza. This is a massive area full of ruins. We spent several hours learning more about the Mayans and links to our LDS history. Garlan negotiated for an egg made out of obsidian with one of the hundreds of vendors. Our legs were very tired after all that walking and we were quite hot. But it was worth it to experience and see such massive structures.
After Chichen Itza we drove to a large cenote called Ik Kil. It was so fun to jump, dive and swim in this underground water cave. We swam for about 45 minutes and then headed back towards our hotels.
Thursday:
Today was a nice relaxing day at the resort. We read by the pool and enjoyed the sun. Around 5 we walked out to the road and flagged down a collectivo (local bus) into Playa Del Carmen. We walked down 5th street and looked for stuff for the girls. We had dinner at Tacos El Fogon. Alex recommended it and it was definitely worth leaving the resort to eat there. In fact we may just go back tomorrow night!
Friday:
Another relaxing day at the resort followed by a trip into Playa to eat at El Fogon again. It was so cheap and yummy that we had to go one more time!
Saturday:
We were able to fit a few hours in at the pool before we headed to the airport at 1. We ended up catching the collectivo and then a taxi the last couple miles and saved a bunch of money. We flew to Miami, went through customs and then on to Salt Lake. We got to Brian and Janet's after midnight, kissed our sleeping girls and then crawled into bed. It was a wonderful trip but it'll be good to hug and kiss our girls.
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