Cancun, México (2016)
Earlier this month my mother and I decided to go to Cancún for a few days for her 50th birthday. It was nice that she decided to share that with me. My mom is an incredible person, and she works very hard - so she needed this trip. She deserved it. Of course, even though it was her trip, she should have known what she was getting into by deciding to travel with me. I absolutely love exploring and learning the culture and the history of the place I am visiting (even if it is within the United States). It's just exciting to me. I feel fulfilled. So, I told my mom, "We'll relax on your actual birthday, and then we have to explore!" At first she was annoyed...but let me tell you...we had a great time.
We stayed at the Royal Solaris Cancun. It's not the most luxurious resort - but it gets the job done. The view, the beach, and the pizza was great.
The sunset over the lagoon our first night in Cancun.
The morning of my mother's 50th birthday...not a bad view to wake up to.
On her actual birthday, March 7th, we had planned for just a beach day. The day before we had promised to listen to a program about a timeshare. We regretted it afterwards because they really pressured us and wouldn't take no for an answer when we kept telling them that we weren't interested. We did get to tour a suite with a great view though. The photos below are from the 7th (click to enlarge).
We were so excited to relax by the beach...it felt so nice. It was extremely hot, but the wind made it okay. Little did we know...we were getting sunburnt. I never in my life have had sunburn. It was AWFUL. We had a trip to Chichén Ítza planned for the next day.
Even though it was 5 am, we were in pain from the burn, we missed our hotel pickup and it was pouring in Cancún - we were excited for the trip. It was one we will never forget. We booked through a company called Amigos Tours. Our tour guide, Freddie, was amazing! He was a Mayan descendant, and he knew his stuff. He was also very funny and nice.
This is the part of traveling that I live for. I love learning about culture and about history. The Mayan culture is always something I have been interested in. I learned so much this day. The most important thing to note is that the pyramid we always see - is not Chichén Ítza. Chichén Ítza is a Mayan city that this castle - El Castillo or Temple of Kukulkan - sits on. The castle is the largest Mayan calendar in the world.
Fun facts about the castle:
There are 4 stairways with 91 steps each plus 1 step at the entrance. Combine these and you get 365 - the number of days in the Mayan calendar.
If you stand at the bottom and clap your hands you will hear a sound coming from the top that mimics the sound of the sacred quetzal bird.
Twice a year - the fall and spring equinoxes at 3:30PM - half of the castle will be in the sun and the other half will be in the shade. This creates the shadow of a snake - Kukulkan - on the ground. The snake comes down to earth to bless the ground for good harvest.
This photo shows the snake. Also pictured is a little door - the only way to the inside of the castle.
Below are photos of the sacred sinkhole. Here they would sacrifice children for good offering when there was a drought.
More from Chichén Ítza...
The next day we took a ferry to Isla Mujeres (photos below).
I was reading up on things to do on the island, and I came across this article about the Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans - Mexico Expedition.
“In 2014 the expedition offered artists the opportunity to swim with and study endangered whale sharks and oceanic manta rays off the coast of the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Inspired by their interactions with these majestic giants in the wild, the artists created a series of large-scale public murals on the island to help educate and raise greatly needed awareness within the local and tourist communities for the plight of these animals and the oceans. The murals highlight the benefits of ecotourism and long-term sustainability of natural resources.”
We went around the island on a little scavenger hunt and found almost all of the murals. It was exhausting, our feet hurt and we were tired - but it was also exciting!
Our last day there we didn't leave until 4 - so we wanted to get some last sight-seeing in. We decided to visit Ruinas El Rey (Mayan ruins close to our hotel).
We were the only people there...except for the iguanas everywhere.
Gorgeous at 50 years old...my amazing mother. Photo taken with her Samsung.
I am so thankful for the time I spent away with my mom. There is no one like her in the world. She's amazing. And I know that even though I made her explore and go on adventures (things she said she didn't want to do) - she had a great time too :)