Sunny Cancun

We started the day with a flight to Cancun which was pretty good. We landed and headed over to our hotel at Playa Del Carmen. It was an all-inclusive so our hotel was right on the beach and we didn't have to go far. They seemingly didn't believe in air conditioning as everything was outdoors and the buffet area just had windows and wimpy fans. Our room was our only salvation from the heat. I adapted quickly as it was quite close to the misery and humidity of Ecuador. Everyone else was pretty sweaty. I also had a visit with some old Ecuadorian friends on the bus - invisible mosquitoes. They got me good too. Compare my legs from Ecuador:

And Cancun:

The next day Dallin and I tried out the gym. I ran on a moldy treadmill that shook so hard it was making me sick. Half way in to my run I was so hot and drenched that I thought I was going to die. The gym also didn't have a/c, so I called it good. We spent the day at the beach and went parasailing! I was surprised at how unscared I was, especially since I'm afraid of heights. It just gently lifts you off the boat and you just float. I went with my brother Brian. Most people got super burned that day and were miserable the rest of the time. I know me and sun don't mix to I spent most of my time in the shade and slathering on sunscreen.

The day after we tried to stay out of the sun and went over to the island of Cozumel. I got a little boat sick on the way over but we had a fun time. We even found my favorite ice creams from Ecuador - Magnums! And I ate one every day. (Not good for the diet but so worth it). We went snorkeling and it was fun because it was Dallin's first time.

We decided to be bums on the beach one more day and spent a lot of time in the ocean and pool. It on the Caribbean side of Mexico so the water was crystal blue and warm.

Sunday we hopped on a bus to Tulum and Ek-Balam. Tulum was beautiful, set on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico but was packed with people. Ek-Balam was cool because it's a candidate for the ancient city of Bountiful in the Book of Mormon. We climbed up some wicked stairs to the top of one of the temples and it was beautiful at the top to see all the trees.

We checked into our hotel (which was a bungalow) and memories of Ecuador flooded me. By this time, I had been missing it until we got to our room with virtually no air conditioning and a bug net full of bugs, and I didn't miss it anymore. We'd wake up in the morning and there would be beetles covering our porch. Ick. The only nice thing about camping (oh sorry, the hotel) was that it was right at Chichen Itza. We went and learned a lot of things there and it was quite fascinating. The Mayans may have been more primitive in their methods, but were brilliant in medicine, astronomy and mathmatics. It's a shame we didn't get to learn more from them (The Spaniards came in and destroyed everything).

We also got a special treat to go swim in a cenote (not a sacrificial one) and it was really cool and was a nice escape from the heat. We also got to see the cheesy light show on the temple of Chichen Itza that night. :)

We stopped at various places on the way back to the airport. It was a long travelling day but we're home and it was great to spend time with my family and make such fun memories. Thanks mom and dad!