Cancun

Though it was no spring break, woo-hoo Cancun trip it was still pretty awesome even though we were not there that long.  The water was still warm in January, I wonder why more people don't come then instead of when it gets really hot? hmm...anyway the water was the prettiest cerulean blue and the beach stretched for miles on end.

There were many beautiful hotels and restaurants, and even some kitchy chain restaurants like Margaritaville, Senor Frogs, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. It was definitely a tourist area but the local cultural flair was not lost in the mix.  If I do go back to Mexico, along with Merida, Cancun is definitely a place to stop and visit.

Not only does it have beautiful beaches, but the sunsets and sunrises are awesome!, and yes being the morning person that I am (sarcasm) it is definitely worth getting up to catch a Cancun sunrise.

Elon in Cancun

Sunset

Sunrise

Random Images

Local Market area in Cacalchen

Beautiful Sunset in Cacalchen

Another Sunset

In the Izamal Convent church

Beautiful wire gates at the church

Local graffiti

our leaders! working at the rodeo

love the pink guitar

awesome cloud action

love in rocky places

see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Luchadore masks

iguanas at the Cenote in Chichen Itza

Future Travel Tips

Bring Bugspray--though there weren't many mosquitos in January it still helps with other bugs and the few mosquitos that are there.
Bring lots of Ibpropheun or Tylenol, because you never know if you get sick or have headaches or whatever.
Bring some tummy trouble medicine to help if you have a sensitive stomach or have trouble adjusting to the cuisine.
Bring some snack bars or something because sometimes there may be food you don't like or if you want a snack.
Bring shower shoes and personally I wish I brought another thin towel because I dropped mine in the shower; and also laundry didn't get done till later in the week. (I also brought a set of sheets for a twin bed).
Personally, if you wear contact lenses, I brought dailys so that I could just throw them away and wear new ones every day to avoid any germs I might have come in contact with.
Bring a WATERBOTTLE, it is certainly easier than just buying ones at the stores.
Currently, $20 is about 200 pesos so if your a big shopper plan accordingly and practice your bargaining skills.
have fun!

Getting Sick

The trip home was certainly a trip I will never forget.  The day we left for home was the day I got sick in Mexico.  Out of now where I immediately had a fever, chills and aches.  Now put that with bumpy, no seatbelt car and 10+hours of flight and travel time and that equals a swell time. 

I think my favorite memory of the flight back was American Airlines from Cancun to Chicago.  The whole flight I was fidgety in my seat trying to get comfortable and just pass out for the flight.  Shivering in my seat from the chills I called the attendant to ask for a “blanket”, for which I would have gladly paid.  She responded with an “Aw I’m sorry but we got rid of those” and went on her way.  After some time of tossing and turning and freezing I felt very sick so I went to the air toilet.  I didn’t get sick but when I came out I asked the attendants in the back for a bag and a ginger ale just for precautionary measures.  The three ladies in the back took off in panic mode for fear that I might erupt at any moment.  Sure enough as they couldn’t find a bag one of the ladies dumped a plastic bag that was full of BLANKETS! Great customer service American Airlines you really are awesome. 

After landing in Chicago, I was greeted with a wonderful message of “Im sorry you can’t make your flight, we have to book you for a later one.”  So I drugged on to the gate to eagerly await our flight. As I cycled in and out of consciousness in Chicago airport, sleeping on the floor, I kept hearing on the loud speaker that our flight kept moving from gate to gate.  I don’t think I would have minded the delay so much if I wasn’t sick, but I just wanted to get in my bed and get warm.  Finally, we were able to get a flight out and I didn’t get back to my apartment till four in the morning.  I’m glad my parents were there to pick me up, though I felt bad that it was so late for them, because I don’t think I could have driven back to my apartment.  Needless to say it will always be a trip to remember.

Culture

I definitely experienced a bit of a culture shock when I went to Mexico.  Everyone was super shy at first meet, but they actually became pretty friendly once they got over their shyness. But sense of personal space is no more once shyness is over. 

The kids were eager to learn and were very curious (especially when it came to my iPod and my video camera).  I was a little nervous because I was a little bit rusty with my Spanish but stuff started to come back toward the end of the week.  From all my Spanish I took in high school and college I forgot that girls kissed on the cheek when saying hi so I was surprised at first when all of the little girls did that but it was quickly picked up. 

Family and community are very important values to the people and the culture.  I really enjoyed that because family is a good value to have and it is important to me.

            A final random thought was how many dogs there were! They were everywhere.  I thought I would have seen more cats but I guess its because all the dogs chased them away.

Chichen Itza

One down seven to go! I can now say that I have been to one of the eight wonders of the world, and lets face it that is pretty cool!  Though it was probably the hottest day that we were in Mexico, visiting Chechen Itza was my favorite part of the trip.  I wish it was still available to climb on and explore, but since it is a wonder of the world I understand its preservation needs. 

Our tour guide was awesome and made the tour fun and entertaining.  He told good stories and had a sweet binder full of images to look at. The Mayans and the Aztecs were always some of my favorite cultures to learn about in world history class so being able to get an opportunity to see it in person made my day.

After the tour, all I could think of was how much I wanted to watch The Road to El Dorado, especially after seeing the hoop and ball game thing.  I think they should set up a replica ball field where tourists can give the game a try. 

After the tour we wandered around amongst the vendors for a while before we had to leave for Cancun.  The paths were filled with vendors selling statues, colorful blankets and shirts and jewelry.  Sounds of jaguars and people shouting filled the air.  It was funny but at the same time annoying to hear hey “almost free, almost free for you”, “Hey Blondie”, “You want for your boyfriend?” shouted multiple times when I just wanted to browse.  At one point I ended up getting lost in the endless string of vendors but the sights were pretty and I ended up finding some good deals so it wasn’t too bad getting lost.  Through all of that, I learned that I definitely need to work on my haggling skills

Merida Market

            Though visiting the local markets of Cacalchen and Izamal were cool to see and experience the culture, both had a lot more meat and vegetables to sell where I was expecting to see more handmade crafts.  The market in Merida, however, was a very cool market! There were street performers, balloons, toys, maracas, jewelry, woven tops, hats and on and on.  It was like a festival and a market combined which made it pretty awesome.  There were also food vendors. I ended up buying some maracas and some earrings and other knick-knacky things, I wish I had gotten more pesos so I could have bought one of those beautiful flower tops.

After walking around the market and making some purchases, Daniel and John and I decided to explore the town.  Though I didn’t think John was as in to exploring as much as we were, I thought it was cool to see all of the history of the streets.  There were beautiful hotels and restaurants, and many squares with statues in them. My favorite restaurant that we passed was this one called Vida Catrina.  Vida Catrina looked like it was a very good place to get some good wine with a lovely dinner.  It was dressed and ready to celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) decorated in bright pinks and oranges and royal blues with skeletons scattered about the space.  If I ever go back to Merida, it is definitely one stop on my list!

Izamal

              YELLOW!!!!! It was pretty cool that the whole town was painted yellow!  Yellow is my favorite color because it is bright and cheery, and so it was cool to see a city all in yellow.  Though I do suppose it could be easy to get lost there because everything looks the same, however it is still a cool idea.

            Again while wandering the streets of the yellow city, I noticed that several houses had sharp pieces of broken glass atop their stonewalls.  I wondered why someone would put such a dangerous item out but then someone mentioned that it is similar to a person putting up a barbed wire fence.  Even still, it seemed rather dangerous.
            There, we also visited a convent and got to climb a Mayan ruin.  The convent had beautiful archways and architecture.  I was a little taken by surprise when I had to go to bathroom and a lady at the door asked me for three pesos to use it; I wasn’t expecting to pay to go, even though it was a nominal fee.
             After seeing the convent, we went to go climb some ruins.  I am glad that I got over my fear of heights and climbed to the top to see some sweet views of the city.  Later, on our own time, I found myself back at the ruins, just as they were closing, and met a lady from Boston.  We talked for a bit about how she was a teacher and had heard about our iMedia program.  She then proceeded to give her business card and another card for the B&B that her and her husband run up in Massachusetts; just goes to show you never know who you will meet.

Mayan Ruins

The Convent