Today was pretty much the opposite of yesterday: just lounging by a pool, instead of a long excursion.
We had a buffet breakfast, and I enjoyed the fresh-from-the-comb honey:
We then spent the day lounging by the pool, facing the beach:
An iguana visited us:
And a number of birds:
One of several cocktails:
A gazebo over the water:
Dinner at an open air restaurant:
We reluctantly head home tomorrow. It’s rare to not be ready to go home after several days away, but that’s how we feel now.
Last day in paradise. #dejus365
We had an all-day excursion to Chichén Itzá and a few other places today: about 11 hours round-trip.
Chichén Itzá is a collection of Mayan ruins on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
Here’s the famous wonder of the new world, El Castillo:
The ball court:
Stone carvings of figures:
Inside the ball court:
More of the ball court:
A wall of skulls:
Feathered serpent heads:
The top of the pyramid:
Steps:
Ruins:
Observatory:
Hole:
More ruins:
Iguana:
Pillars:
The pyramid again:
Next we headed to a local village for a tasty lunch (plus sangria and horchata, rice water):
Lunch entertainment dancing:
Then we headed to a cenote (water-filled sinkhole)… with more dancing on the way in:
The cenote has a tunnel path to the water level, so people could go down to jump in to the frigid water:
It was certainly a long day, but definitely interesting.
Another day in paradise!
This morning we went for breakfast at a neighboring resort that is owned by the same company, and had a tour. This one is only a year old, and very nice. Like the one we’re staying at, this is an all-inclusive, adults-only resort. It is divided into three main pool areas:
An overview of the “Preferred” area:
We’re enjoying our vacation so much, we decided to join the club. Like a wine club, we can enjoy their 60ish properties, plus hundreds of affiliated ones, at a discounted rate:
A champagne gift:
After a casual lunch, we sat on the beach for a couple of hours, enjoying the view:
Then had a dip in a pool near our room:
These birds are always hoping someone drops something tasty:
Finally, a mediterraean-style dinner:
Today was the first full day in Cancun, where we started to unwind.
We started the day with room service breakfast on the balcony, overlooking a pool and the Caribbean sea:
Some pelicans flying over:
After sitting by the pool (and having a brief dip), Jenn went for some spa treatments, while I stayed by the pool for a while, then wandered along the beach.
Here are some old buildings next to the resort:
A cabana over the water, and pelicans on a rock:
Closer:
More birds:
The paths are lined with many varieties of hibiscus:
This evening, we had a special romantic dinner on the beach:
Jenn:
Our building:
Some lighted figures lining a path:
Kiwi margarita by the Caribbean. #dejus365
This morning we woke up at 1:30 AM to get to the airport, to fly from Portland to Cancun, via Houston, for a vacation.
We did splurge on flight upgrades, which made them much more pleasant. We got first-class upgrades for the Portland to Houston leg, which included a tasty breakfast (and of course much more comfortable seats):
Plus business class for the Houston to Cancun leg, which included nice lunches:
One of the first views of Mexico:
After almost two hours waiting in the immigration line in Cancun, and half an hour waiting for the hotel transport, we arrived at the resort. (Note to self: Don’t travel on Easter Sunday.)
Our room had some nice celebrations of our anniversary:
The view from the deck:
The resort is all-inclusive, with several restaurants. Appropriately, we opted for Mexican cuisine for dinner:
Tomorrow we’ll explore the resort, do a bit of swimming, and general relaxing.
A fun birthday gift for Jenn from my NZ family: adult sippy cups. Happy birthday to the love of my life! #dejus365
