Cherry Blossom Candy Leaf

As soon as school got out in June, I was ready for a vacation! And although Ben hates the sun, sand and water, he wanted to see Riviera Maya and stay where my sister and I stayed last year. Olga and Kari joined us as well.

When I was booking the trip, I knew we would have a great time, but when we arrived at the hotel, I started to get worried... What if they wouldn't like it here? What if they felt like it was too expensive and not worth the money we spent?

We arrived in the late afternoon and were greeted with cold washcloths, mimosas and beer. We checked into the room and everyone was super excited and loving it already. I wanted them to see the beach before it got dark because as good as the resort is, it would be nothing special without its beach.

Here they are celebrating our arrival!


We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant and explored what the hotel had to offer. Ben and Olga played pool.

Before going to bed, we checked out the Michael Jackson show.

Olga took this picture of us waiting for the show to start.


Olga also took these two live action shots of MJ in all his glory.



It rained the following morning, so Kari, Olga and I stayed in the pool and took a water aerobics class. That first rain was worrisome because it was a torrential storm. It almost hurt when it would splash off the pool's surface and back into our faces. But we were on vacation and enjoying it. Before we knew it, the rain stopped, the sun came out and it was gorgeous. We walked the entire stretch of the beach just as I had in the year previous.




Kari took a yoga class and asked us to participate. We decided to pass. She volunteered for EVERYTHING!!!


Then we had cocktails by the pool. I think the one Kari is having is called the Chocolate Moose.

Ben eventually joined us. He was still recovering from the "all inclusive" aspect of our first night in Mexico. Hay muchas cervezas!

We decided to try all the fruity concoctions we were noticing around the pool!

Ben tubed in the pool.

And checked out the beach.

We rode tandem on the inner tube.


Kari decided to take salsa and merengue lessons in the afternoon. I could picture Megan saying, "Mom, your weird."


That night, we went back to the beach to see if we could spot any sea turtles coming in to lay their eggs. No sea turtles, but we found these hammocks.


Before this shot was taken, Ben swung us to high heaven.

When we would get up in the morning and leave to eat breakfast, we would return to find towel animals waiting for us. Below are several days of animals. On our return from the beach or a day trip, we were always pleasantly surprised by the towel menagerie!






Here is a picture of Olga in her room. Our room looked just like it. You can see a towel creation on the bed. We would tuck dollars into the animals to encourage the house keeping staff.

Outside, we became friends with the iguanas, or "eggo-wannas" as Kari called them.



I strolled the beach every day. Many times, the girls would come along, but sometimes they'd prefer a good lounge chair.




Check out the color of that warm water!



The sand was powder sugar soft.


It really is paradise!


Ben met up with me during one of my walks and he even brought his perro.



We ended up in the pool.

We practiced rolling each other out of the water.


Believe it or not, we did this on more than one day. Looking back on it now, I didn't remember doing this again, but lo and behold, the proof was in the film sequence on my camera! Ben and I practiced rolling eachother over the edge of the pool. In an infinity pool, the water comes up to the very edge and makes pushing each other out of the pool fairly easy, and more entertaining than it should have been (especially after viewing my series of pictures from this event).


The night after the first "rolling each other out of the pool" photo, we caught the tail end of the Mayan show.

The following morning we got up early to go to Coba, Central America's largest pyramid. We made one pit stop.





The first ruin we set eyes on...



This is a Mayan ball court. At the end of a match, a player or team would be sacrificed.



The following two pictures are from Olga's camera. This was us on the long walk in the extreme heat to get to the large pyramid. Ben and I are standing on the wall of the Mayan ball court.



Coba, here we come! Ben getting ready to climb!



Here is the tip top of the pyramid!

And Ben and I at the top surrounded by trees and clouds that go on forever in every direction.

Looking down!

Afterwards, we stopped at a restaurant where crocodiles sunbathe on the lake's surface. In the past, the local kids would feed them meat for tips. Our guide asked us not to encourage this dangerous job.

After lunch, we visited a Mayan village and home. Our guide kept saying, "These are their circumstances," with a French accent. She didn't want us to judge them and wanted us to know that the Maya are happy no matter how much or how little they have. I wanted to say, "We get it, lady! Just stop saying the word 'circumstances'!"


The mom was making tamales with a dough and black bean filling. Ben thought she was making chocolate chip cookies over an open flame. LOL.

The Maya don't sleep in beds, but hammocks. This man who is connected to the community asked for a volunteer to help demonstrate how a couple would sleep in the hammock. Guess who became his Mayan wife??? Taketers, of course. (When she raised her hand and crawled in bed with him, I was absolutely horrified. I imagined that Kari's daughter would have had the same reaction. But it is a classic Taketa move, "Sure, I'll be your Mayan wife!") He held her in his arms and explained how it was the man's job to keep the hammock swaying back and forth all night as a means of staying cool.

This is a wall of family photos. Mayan people also usually have a photo of western Canada where the monarch butterflies begin their long migration down to Mexico. They believe that each monarch butterfly is the spirit of someone who has died. So next to this photo of Canada, is a photo of someone who has passed away. Although the family who lived in this home has never gone to Canada and will, most likely, never go there, it is a revered place.

After our visit to the Mayan village, we went to take a dip in an open cenote. A cenote is an underground opening that contains a fresh water pool. These pools are created by the underground river systems. An open cenote is one where the the roof of the cave has collapsed and has become a large pool exposed to the elements. On the way, we saw a demonstration of how gum is collected from the tree, and we even got to try some. The Mayans used the gum as a natural toothbrush. Olga got a kick out of the demonstration because the man in the tree did not actually hit the tree with the machete, but pretended to in slow motion for us to see.

They lit incense at an altar along the way and prayed for our protection on our journey to the open cenote and on our travels in Mexico.



Finally... the open cenote!


After a long hot day, we returned to the hotel. We ate at one of the many restaurants at the resort. In the photo below, Olga and Kari enjoy a drink at the tapas restaurant as we waited for a table. There is something really wonderful about tapas. For those who don't know, tapas are small portions of food that allow you to eat a greater variety of things rather than one big meal. It is genius.


Below, Olga shows off her dessert plate.

They had this one dessert called the black bear which was a cone of chocolate alongside a cheesecake tart. That was the main reason I wanted to go for tapas every night. Unfortunately it's blurry - it made even my eyes water, it was so good!


Because of the long, hot day we had at the ruins and in the Mayan village, we decided to relax back at the hotel. We knew it was going to be a good day when we finally captured "junk" on film. Kari was convinced that whenever he saw us, he would sit right next to us and pose for our cameras. I guess the picture below is the proof.

Ben snorkeled at our beach.



Olga painted a ceramic box poolside. This became one of her souveniers.

Ben and I joined her there.


That night, we took the hotel bus to Playa del Carmen. This is a bustling town of shops, restaurants, street performers and artists. We came across this band on one of the streets. The cheetah girl on the big drum rocked it.







Here we are on the beach in Playa del Carmen.

We stopped to have margaritas and guacamole.



The following morning, Ben and I went to Akumal to snorkel. We saw sea turtles and huge barracuda along with colorful fish, coral and reef. Kari and Olga stayed behind. We played in the water and snorkeled for hours. It was really surprising that despite the tourist and local crowds and boats that float and bob on the surface, there is a different world just under the sea: lots of protected sea life!


We also came across one of my favorite stores.

I didn't buy one of these paper mache munecas, but I should have. I did not bring a lot of money with me because I knew Ben and I would be in the water and our stuff would be on the beach. So unfortunately, in this consumer paradise, I had to sacrifice so many things, but I bought the coolest skeleton lady. Even though I carried her like a baby on the long journey to the airport, and throughout the airport (along with hauling all my luggage), she did not come home unscathed. When I had to slide her under the x-ray machine, they made me put her in a plastic tub that flipped over as soon as those "car wash" strips touched the plastic bin. Ugh! I was so annoyed since she had not left my hands the entire time, and the second I let her go, she lost three ceramic fingers.



When we returned, we strolled along the beach.

We often returned to the pool at night, or maybe, we never left. One night they had a pool party where one of the activities directors wore nothing but a speedo, pink inner tube and snorkel and walked around the pool yelling, "Pool Party!" in his French accent. I think I was laughing too hard to photograph it.

Pool Party!!! (say like Frenchman)

A common sight heading to and from the beach... I think they are in love!


The following day, Olga, Ben and I headed to the ruins at Tulum.

We opted to walk toward the entrance and were able to see this...

Just as we we were making our way to the inside walkway, a snake flew down from the roof after this poor little gecko. Olga was able to capture the slaughter. Creepy! Maybe this was a sign not go further...


The ruins at Tulum are amazing, but more than the ruins themselves, the location is the best part. Sitting on cliffs overlooking that beautiful water, I can't help but think that I should have been born a Mayan.





While the stifling heat got to Ben, Olga and I took a dip in that water. On the stretch of beach where you can swim, the waves are really powerful. Supposedly, the water there has healing powers. It certainly was what we needed considering the temperature outside. If it wasn't for the heat, Riviera Maya, Mexico would have to be heaven on earth.










In the collectivo, heading back to the hotel.

When we got back, Olga and I chilled in the lobby with a beer. Writing this now, I am jealous of us.




On our last full day, we stayed at the hotel, enjoyed the beach and did some last minute shopping at my favorite store. I told the lady, who I bought things from on my last trip to Mexico that I would be back for a third trip next year. I think I need to keep my word to her.

He does like sand, water and the sun!

He also likes dogs.

That night we had tapas for dinner, of course. We dressed up for the occasion.



On our last morning, we got up to see the sun rise and to really enjoy every moment that we had left in Mexico. We were told to be out there by 5 a.m., but the sun didn't really appear until about 6. We had fun anyway.











Olga and Kari on the last day.

Olga, Kari and wild beach dog...

We took our last series of dips in the water. Check out those fish swimming at their feet.



We talked to the guy who made and sold necklaces on the beach. Olga bought one. Maybe you can see her wearing it later in the post.

On our way back to pack and shower (and not leaving us enough time to do so, considering Ben and I had to pack up our room and check out before Kari and Olga), we saw an iguana brawl. And although I tried to let nature take its course, I eventually tried to intervene, but that guy just would not let go!



We made it to the lobby just in time to have a few beers for the long drive to the airport.


Adios Riviera Maya, te amo.