Cancun Mexico - Nick's trip with AdvancedMD

I got home from San Francisco on Sunday, packed and did laundry Monday, worked on Tuesday and then dropped our kids off with Rylee (they went from Rylee to Kathy and running around while we were gone).  We then got on a plane Wednesday morning early and headed to Cancun for an incentive trip Nick won at AdvandedMD.  It was a fun fun trip.  The first day, we were there by ourselves so we enjoyed the property and the beach on one of the only sunny days we had there.  We stayed at the Paradisus La Esmerelda in Playa del Carmen area.  Each couple had a different room at various places around the resort.  Nick and I were lucky enough to have  swim-up suite.  We could step outside our room and straight to a swim-up pool.  It was an all-inclusive resort with some yummy restaurants we enjoyed!!   

 

The next day, a few more couples came so we headed over to Isla Mujeres with the Jake & Tarah Berry.  We took the ferry over to the island.  We first went snorkeling.  We took a boat over to a BEAUTIFUL beach (white powder sugar sand with blue blue Caribbean water).  We then went snorkeling near a shipwreck area and along a reef and saw some pretty fish.  Fun Snorkel!  Then we went to have some lunch and held this shark before being served lunch.  Afterwards, we rented a golf cart and toured the island.  

Nick and I holding a shark

Jake & Tarah Berry / Nick & Kesha

 

 

 

 

The next day, we went to XPlor with Andy & Michelle Rowell and Deboro Svay.  (Alana stayed behind with their cute baby).  It was so fun.  It rained all day but we were wet anyway so it didn't matter.  We first did a zipline (incredible - 14 towers you zipline through and end up in water falls, head down water slides, and over a beautiful jungle).  We also rode on some cars (almost like a golf cart collided with a side-by-side / razor type machine) through sand and jungle.  Next we went swimming in an underground cavern with stalactites and stalagmites.  It was about a 30 minute swim through this cave (reminded us of the inside of Timp Cave add water).  We had a great day with our friends there.  Another great day in Mexico!!

 

 

The next day there was a group of us that went on a tour with "Alma's LDS Tours" and went to three separate places:  1) Chicken Itza, 2) Ek Balam and 3) Cenote Ik Kil.  Our tour guide was Miguel Rodriguez Jr.  He did an amazing job of telling us about each site and similarities between the sites and references in the scriptures, particularly in the Book of Mormon.  We loved the tour and all the information we received from it.  Fun day!  Afterwards, we went and had the best lunch ever.  It was a traditional Mexican lunch and the best meal I think we had there. 

 

Chichen Itza (at the mouth of the well of the Itza). It is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. At the ruins of Chichen Itza, you can visit magnificent temples such as the Kukulcan Pyramid and the Ball Game. Chichen Itza is an ancient city built by the Mayan civilization. Dominating the center of Chichen Itza is the pyramid commonly known as El Castillo (the castle).

This step pyramid was dedicated to Kukulkan (the Mayan name for Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican deity whose name means feathered serpent). It is a square-based pyramid that has stairs going up each of the four sides, leading to Kukulkan’s temple on the top. It was designed so that at the equinoxes, the rising and setting sun casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent that slithers down the northern side of the pyramid to the serpent’s head at the base.

 

Chichen Itza was founded in the year 525 AD and experienced several stages in its development as a result of cultural fusion with other Mexican groups that conquered the city during its existence. Although its architecture presents variations, its style is unique and impressive.

The archaeological site of Chichen Itza features many stone buildings which exhibit very fine architectural styles and some brightly colored interior frescoes. At the end of the Late Classic period (between the years 600 and 900 AD), Chichen Itza became one of the major political centers of the Mayan region and rose to regional prominence as one of the most powerful Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Maya extended their domain through a unified culture and made Chichen Itza their capital. However, by the year 1,250 AD, the city was mysteriously abandoned for reasons unknown. In 1988, the archaeological site of Chichen Itza was declared World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After a worldwide vote in 2007, it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Ek’ Balam shares characteristics common to the most important ancient Mayan cities, including monuments, architecture, walls, steles (beautiful sculptures carved of blocks of stone), a ball court, a network of roads as well as texts written in glyphs.

 

 

 

 

 

Ek’ Balam shares characteristics common to the most important ancient Mayan cities, including monuments, architecture, walls, steles (beautiful sculptures carved of blocks of stone), a ball court, a network of roads as well as texts written in glyphs. Many buildings feature extraordinary sculptures carved in stone or modeled stucco, either polychromatic or a mixture. Visitors today are astonished by the craftsmanship of the ancient artists (shown in objects of luxury marks) and the large number of people necessary to produce projects of this magnitude.

The Acropolis with its truly extraordinary façade is worth a special mention. Measuring 160 meters long by almost 70 wide and 31 high, it is listed among the largest edifices in Yucatan. The most important discovery on the site was the discovery of the tomb of the ruler UkitKanLekTok. Here was found the only glyphic emblem found to date in the northern area of this state, giving the name of the ruler for whom the tomb was built. It dates back to 300 BC, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.