Mexico

I know you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats to hear about our trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. We were gone for 7 days which turned into 8 days after a cancelled flight in Chicago (although Chicago is the best place for us to be stuck as that is where Jesse’s parents live).

We stayed at the Grand Mayan resort and spent most of our days relaxing by the pool and reading. Even Jesse enjoyed a good book!

Two of the days we rented a car and went on different adventures. On Tuesday we traveled to Akumel (a small town on the coast). We looked up the local dive shop for some snorkeling. We hired a guide and headed into the water. We were able to see many sea turtles. They are so cool! They can stay underwater for 20 minutes and then need to surface for 2 breaths of air. We were able to see many of the turtles surface. We also saw a sting ray, and I saw a barracuda.

After about half an hour, we headed further away from shore toward the coral reef. It was at this point that I began to feel ill. Here I am in warm water over my head with waves crashing against me with a life jacket on. Needless to say, I puked. Thankfully, the water quickly washed it away. We ended our snorkeling experience there and sat on the beach for a good 30 minutes before I was ready to do anything else.

Next we decided to go to a place in Akumel called Yal-Ku Lagoon. This is a shallow inlet of water with interesting places to snorkel. Jesse looked at the beautiful fish, I swam a bit but mostly sat on the shore enjoying the sun. We finished the day at a restaurant ON the beach. Breath-taking!

We spent Wednesday recuperating from our adventure but decided to explore again on Thursday. This time we traveled to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Tulum was a trading city right on the coast of Mexico. Again, we hired a personal guide and enjoyed hearing the history and culture of the city.

From there, we visited Dos Ojos, a cenote. This is a sinkhole revealing an underground river that has eroded the surrounding rock into caves. I tried snorkeling again and with the VERY cold water I was okay. The coolest part was the color of the water and the depth of the river. You would swim over these dark holes that went so far down you couldn’t see the bottom-a little freaky.

Our last stop of the day was Playa del Carmen for tacos el pastor and some shopping. I came home with a beautiful silver ring surrounding red coral. It took some bartering but Jesse enjoyed watching me interact with the locals.

We loved our trip and relaxing before the busy school year. Adios verano! Goodbye summer!