Cancun, Mexico 04/26/2017 - 04/30/2017
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Cancun 04/26/2017 - 04/30/2017
My Check-ins:
Barceló Tucancun Hotel.
April 29 at 7:41pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Occidental Tucancún.
April 29 at 6:30pm ·
Cenote Ik kil Oficial.
April 29 at 2:13pm · Yucatán, Mexico ·
eating Mexican food at Pueblo MAYA.
April 29 at 1:31pm · Pisté, Mexico · .
Chichen Itza.
April 29 at 12:40pm · Chichén-Itzá, Mexico ·
Pueblo MAYA.
April 29 at 9:23am · Pisté, Mexico ·
Pit stop on the way to Chichen itza
eating club house sandwich with Smitha Srinath and Jessie Sun at Mc Donalds, Cancun.
April 28 at 4:14pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Xenotes Oasis Maya.
April 28 at 3:36pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Hyatt Ziva Cancun.
April 27 at 4:56pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Occidental Tucancún.
April 27 at 11:18am ·
iStrid SelfieStation
Barceló Tucancun Hotel.
April 27 at 3:28am · Cancún, Mexico ·
My Iternary:
No itineraery, shocking I know!
Hola mis amigos. ¿Pueden escucharme? Hi familia, can you hear me? Muy bien caballeros vamos a cancún! We are going to Cancun! This is how the guides speak in Cancun Mexico. First in Spanish and then in English, sometimes first in Spanish then in English. I see why they do it and it is nice of them to speak so everyone understands them but it gets quite confusing when listening to them because you don't know when they are going to switch so you don't know when you should start paying attention to the guide or not. The English accent isn't the best and they try to speak very fast in both languages by the time you figure out that they are now speaking in English, you get lost because you've missed out on half the conversation. It would be easier to understand if the guide slows down and says Ok, we are switching to English now, is everyone listening? And go on speaking fast if they want in English. Good thing I can understand a good amount of Spanish so I picked up what I have missed. Excuse me as I have jumped ahead into the trip, as always, let's start at the beginning.
My good friends Cindy and Alex are having a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. I am not only excited for them but excited to go to Cancun as I have never been there! Their stay and wedding reception was at the Hyatt Ziva Hotel. I didn't know what to expect and what they had planned so I didn't create any itinerary this time around and decided to just go with the flow. However, I needed to find a place to stay. I looked into the Hyatt hotel but the rooms that were left were only the upgraded ones and oh so expensive for my taste. Like all my vacations, I know I'm not going to stay at the rooms so give me the smallest cheapest possible, I'd rather spend more money going out. I found another hotel a few miles away called the Occidental Tucancun. I got the hotel with the Expedia bundle with my plane ticket. It was quite convenient having all the reservations in one place. I then remembered how I accidentally took a private taxi in China and overpaid by triple getting to my hotel from the airport as compared to a regular taxi. So I looked into getting the lowest price possible in getting a ride. Low and behold I get an email from an "Expedia Local Expert" asking if I needed a ride to my hotel. Her name was Carmen and she told me it would be $20 round trip and to contact her for anything else. I took the deal and was all set to go to Cancun.
A few days before the flight I have just noticed that I land in Cancun at around 4am on Wednesday and I assumed that Expedia would have the hotel ready for me as soon as I landed but I checked my e-mail and no this isn't the case. Freaking out, I call Expedia and tell them what had occurred, and they respond with, "The check-in is at 3pm at your hotel Wednesday." This was not ok, especially if I had to be at the wedding at 4:00 pm! I asked if they can check to see if they had a room available for the day before, of course they didn't. The person on the other line told me that they understand the situation and will tell their supervisor that they should look into people who book flights early should get an option to get the hotel an extra day. He said he couldn't do anything for me but he was sure that there were people who would checkout early enough to make their flight so they can change my room. I took his word for it and at this point I can't do anything about it anyway.
April 26th, Wednesday
The flight was with AeroMexico and there aren't too many complaints going there. There were in flight movies and the seats were fine. The food was just a sandwich with peanuts, nothing too exciting. My connection flight was in Mexico City. I tried to go online on my phone using the airports wifi however, it asked me to enter in a captcha so I can log in but the captcha never loaded! Captcha can't load if you don't have internet, can't have internet without Wi-fi, what were they thinking? Good thing I was only waiting for like an hour. Again I took AeroMexico but this time I had the whole Isle to myself!
April 27th, Thursday
I have never had that before and was very excited. I actually got what seemed like 45 minutes of good sleep in an airplane! The plane lands and they say that we are actually a half an hour early. I've also never had a flight where I was early, usually they are always late! Good on you AeroMexico! I get out of the airport and feel the wind and humidity right away. My Local Expedia driver is conveniently standing waiting for me so he can drive me to the hotel. We get to the hotel, and I get to the lobby hoping that there is a room available. It is 4 am and he tells me no, we don't have anything available at this time, however you have an all inclusive stay so you can go have breakfast in the snack bar and in a few hours an official breakfast begins at 8am. In the meantime feel free to sleep in the lobby. Great! The only time I didn't need my flight to come in early, came early and now I have to be homeless.
I go to one of the couches in the lobby and try to connect to the internet on my laptop so I can settle down. Unfortunately the internet, turns out, isn't all inclusive and you have to choose an option so you can pay for it. I chose $20 for 2 days, which is a bit less than what I usually pay for a month! I try to get some sleep but there is an opening and a lot of wind making noise. Also, I was in the lobby with my bags in Mexico, I was a bit worried that someone would come up on my luggage. I went up to get some snacks and tried to get back to sleep. I slept a little as the sun was finally coming up. The wind kept on but it was warm and still humid. I left my baggage with the security guard and decided to go for a swim.
First I went swimming in the pool and then walked to the beach basically in the backyard. The sand was white and very gentle on the feet. Felt really good and the water was even better. This reminded me of Florida, I can stay in the water forever! This was my first time swimming in the Caribbean Sea. The current was really strong and kept carrying me to the left side, but I can swim well so it doesn't bother me too much, kind of felt nice. A lifeguard from the distance blows his whistle and yells for me to get back to the shore. I get back and realize that there are red flags posted all over the beach. I've seen it before and probably thought that it means that it's too dangerous to swim but I didn't care. There were those benches you can lay out and sun bathe out on the beach, so I bought sunscreen, put it on and tried to sleep on one of those. As you can tell by now, I'm a light sleeper and people are out and about making noise. The sun was out and I of course, forgot my sunglasses in the states. Sigh, lesson learned I guess. I was waking up every 20 minutes, at this point it was torture. This wouldn't have been a problem and I probably wouldn't have tried to sleep and enjoyed my time if I didn't have to be at a wedding that day by 4:00pm. At this point I'm thinking, in hind sight, I should have gotten a motel or hostile for a night and then drove to my hotel. Two lessons learned, make sure the check-in time and what time you are getting in coincides with your stay and think about hostiles and motels if you need urgent stay.
It's about 10am at this point so I get back to the hotel so I can ask them if my room is ready and she says, "The check-in is at 3pm." Sigh, I told her that I know this already but am hoping that something will be available soon maybe by 11am? She shakes her head and shrugs. I go swimming again and now try to lay down by the pool. If terrorists ever catch me and want information, this is how they would do it. After a few more hours of torture, I get back to the lobby by 1pm and ask if anything is available. They ask me if I was the one waiting and sleeping, I said yes. They finally give me the key and a bracelet to wear. They say that, "I have to wear this bracelet during my whole stay." This is so they know that I belong to the hotel and I get all inclusive things. One thing about me, I hate jewelry because I keep playing with it and I just hate the feeling of wearing it. So I have another torturous thing I have to wear and try to sleep with but finally now at my room.
The room was the nicest room I have ever stayed at. Beautiful view of the ocean, wooden floors, very clean, and huge! I definitely will not be enjoying any of this as I will only use this place to sleep. I get another one hour of sleep and start getting ready for the wedding. Dressed like a million bucks I take a taxi to the Hyatt.
This hotel is huge with a lot of security. I remember last time I was in Mexico, they wouldn't let you in unless you are staying at the hotel, even if you are a guest you'll have a hard time getting in. I took a taxi there and the people at the Hyatt asked a million questions before reluctantly letting me inside. Someone meets me to guide me over to the wedding waiting room. As we walk, he asks me where I'm staying and gives me a little tour of the Hyatt and lets me know to think of them during my next stay. I end up in a room and meet up with my friends.
We chat and get guided to the wedding ceremony. It was a beautiful setup with an amazing view right by the beach.
We took our seats and the beautiful Alex the groom and Cindy the bride walk in.
The officient was a friend Alicia who did a great job.
After the wedding we go upstairs for the ceremony. It was really quaint, just 2 tables were set up for our small group and a dance floor. I'm used to huge weddings but this was kind of nice, it gives you the opportunity to get to know people.
The bar was all inclusive. Even though I don't drink, I did notice a couple of things. In the states, if anything is all inclusive the bartenders will not serve you unless you ask for it. The bar also usually closes after a few hours so if you don't take advantage, too bad. Not here, the waiters come up to you and insist you take shots. You don't like what they give you, they'll happily take requests. The bar doesn't close so you can drink throughout the whole ceremony. Needless to say, of course, everyone got drunk. So we all started dancing, and everyone was having a great time.
After the ceremony was done, some of us decided to keep partying on the rooftop of the hotel. As we are on our way, I see a candy store and decide to stop by so I can buy some candy. Turns out I didn't have to buy anything because this store was also all inclusive for people staying at the hotel! I was in heaven. They had ice cream, candy, brownies, and so much more! Too bad I was pretty full from the ceremony, but I still tried some candies. I see why the security has to be beefed up from people coming inside the hotel, because I wasn't part of the hotel but still took advantage. After the amazingness, we continue to the club on the roof. There were cabanas that you can lay down on or sit on. We took over that spot and danced some more. After a bit of partying some more, the group decides to go to another party event and I decide to call it a night and head back to my hotel. I get a taxi and ask them to take me to the Occidental Tucancun hotel. He responds with, "I don't know where that is." Just my luck, of course he doesn't why would he, as I pull up the address on my phone, it died. Right before it died, I got the street name and he says that is the main street that leads right outside of the Hyatt and I tell him the other street name and he has no idea where that is. I swear only in the U.S. do we actually pay attention to street names, it is absolutely useless in other countries. What kind of taxi driver doesn't know where a hotel is a few miles away? He asks me if it's toward the airport? I have the worst sense of direction and cannot say, he says ok I will ask my father to switch with me and he can drive with you and you will find it. He starts driving and at the light he turns left, and we find it! He says oh, Tuncancun Occidental hotel is here? I tell him now you know, and he agrees, "Now I know."
April 28th, Friday
I wake up and I have to head back to the Hyatt to meet up with my friends because we have booked a Xenotes trip. Before I head out, I eat my all inclusive breakfast and I had to go to an Expedia booth inside the hotel because I needed to confirm for my ride back to the airport. The person I needed to meet with wasn't there yet and I only had about 5 minutes before I had to leave. I spoke to another company person next to the booth and I asked him to let him know and at the same time I bought a ticket for a Chichen itza tour for Saturday. He told me not to mention that I bought from him, because they have to respect our trip advisors and he knew I was pressed for time so I agreed and thanked him.
I took the taxi to the Hyatt and again ran into the issue of the guards asking why I was there. They reluctantly let me in and we all meet up at the lobby. The tour bus comes and problems arise. Two people in the group bought their tickets separate from us and were repeatedly promised that they would be in the same tour as everyone else but of course they weren't and were scheduled to go on another bus which was also there ready to pick them up. How it works, is the tour guide is also the driver so you're with him the whole time. He said that he understands the situation but there weren't any seats left and we also need to pick up our photographer who will take a spot. We told him we don't need a photographer and he said that it doesn't work that way. After about an hour of arguing and both parties getting frustrated Alex' parents decide not to come with us. They assured us that they didn't want to go and weren't going to swim anyway, their plan was just to watch from afar. We finally get on the bus and be on our way.
Here is where he starts talking both in Spanish and English and makes sure that we are all ok from the unfortunate debacle. We said yes, and were excited to get there. He explained what to expect and I still had no idea what to look forward to. We finally get there and the tour guide tells us to not bring anything out with us. I of course forgot my water shoes back in the states and had to walk barefoot. Sigh, another lesson learned.
We get to the first Xenote, the guide explains to us that this is 1 of 4 and in my mind I was asking what the hell is a Xenote? I have never heard of it before or anything, oh well I guess I'll see it or he will explain it to us. So we head down and see a slide, our guide says to take the slide down one by one and where it followed was amazing. It was pretty much a beautiful water oasis in the middle of the jungle.
We come back up and this time we zip line down and fall into the refreshing clear water. This was so amazing to me, I loved every minute of it. We then had to swim through the jungle river to get all the way to the other side.
After swimming and taking pictures we finally get to the other side and get back to the bus. The guide called us The Panthers and drew a panther on the back window. Our group added some more stuff.
We get on our way to the next Xenote and our tour guide is driving like a maniac in the bumpy dirt road. It was awesome and it seemed like the other busses also drove the same way. He was making all kinds of fast turns, I felt like I was in the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.
Before we get to our 2nd Xenote, we go to some tables and have snacks. On the way, our tour guide pulls out some gum placed by the tree and he explains to us that this is a tree where the Mayans made gum from. They chewed it to keep their mouths clean. We all had a taste of "the original gum." It was flavorless and tasted like you are chewing regular gum made of sawdust. Not bad and not good, just interesting. I still, however, have no idea what Xenotes means, I'm sure the tour guide will let us know eventually. In this one, we put on helmets and slowly repel down to a cave with more water in it. I'm even more amazed than before.
Another tour guide came with his tour and I overhear him explain to his group that there are bats and fish inside the cave that live symbiotically. The bats poop into the water, and the fish are there to eat it to keep the water clean. At this point I've noticed that our tour guide either doesn't care to explain anything or he was rushing us because of the time wasted back in the hotel. Whatever, I was still having way too much fun. After repelling down, we can jump off a rock into the water and swim, and so we did.
I am bummed out because I don't see any fish until Allen gets my attention and tells me to swim where he is in the darkest part of the cave. I swim and start to see more and more fish! At this point I see so many fish that I have to be careful not to hit them. I'm thinking they are blind because none of them were swimming away or seemed scared. Then I look up and a bunch of bats were flying back and forth on top, too bad it was too dark to take pictures but it felt surreal.
We Indiana Jones'd it to the next Xenote. At this point my feet were getting sensitive from walking on the little rocks to get to our destinations so I had my arms up and Francisco mentioned that I was looking like I was trying to sneak my way through. We finally walk up to the Xenote and are given snorkling goggles. We put them on and jump in. Nothing too interesting here, there wasn't even one fish that was there but it was still nice to be in the nice clear water in the jungle and swimming through while taking pictures.
After we got to the other side, we took our goggles off paired up and went on yellow plastic canoes. Alicia and I paired up and we were determined to beat everyone by going the fastest. It was a lot of fun, everyone was bumping to each other and splashing the whole way. We got defeated by Julie but of course we let her win. Yep.
We had lunch and Kathleen found some leftover beer and brought it along with us to the next Xenote and while we were driving there, people were drinking their beer which is something that would be unheard of in the states. On our final Xenote, we had to zip line down using either a swing or a handle to the water. With this one, you can let go anytime or not let go and just zip line all the way down to the water. Amazing, I did a back flip.
After waiting for everyone to zip down, we head up stairs and on the other side of the Xenote, where you can cliff jump. It was a choice of cliff jumping or doing another zip line. So I cliff jumped.
Then went back up to do the super man zip line.
Again we waited for everyone to come to the other end of the Xenote and we all took a picture together.
Unfortunately all good things have an ending and we needed to head home. The tour guide told us that he had beer leftover and the group couldn't even handle anymore. We get to the hotel and say our goodbyes.
I decide to walk to my hotel this time. I kind of know where to go at this point and start walking. I am joined by two lovely ladies who decide to accompany me, Jessie and Smitha from the group. We get to a Mcdonald's and of course have to stop there to eat.
I had what is called the club house sandwich. It was the best burger I have tried in any Mcdonald's I have been in so far. The bread was the sweet kind of bread and they put everything inside with great porportions that I really like and the fries were the same. During our bomb meal, I looked outside and saw a police truck with an officer in what looked like riot gear standing behind the truck with a huge AK. I didn't have enough time to take a picture but here is a stock picture of what it looks like:
In Mexico they have regular and Federal Police rolling around. I don't think I've ever seen a Federal Police officer in the US just rolling around especially with machine guns like they do. Looks very intimitading to be sure. After our meal, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I kept walking toward my hotel and enjoyed the view of the pond on the other side of the beach.
This is the side where you can't swim because there are a lot of aligators here that are being protected by the city. We actually got a picture of one.
On the other side of the street is the ocean where you can swim and where all the hotels are located. As I head back to my hotel, it is getting dark and I decide to go to an outdoor shopping mall on the way. This mall reminded me of the Venetian Hotel's Shopping Center in Vegas.
It was nice and had every American store you can imagine. I know I've said that every country I have visited was pretty much Americanized except for China but this one takes the cake. Cancun Mexico, is the most Americanized city I have ever been to. With people speaking broken English and the beach being nearby, I could swear I am still in Los Angeles. Except of course, way more humid in Cancun and the beaches are much nicer and cleaner. After walking around a bit in the mall, I head back to the hotel.
I still haven't scheduled my trip back to the airport because I haven't seen my tour advisor and I'm not sure at this point if the guy who booked my Chichen Itza trip told him. To make sure, I decide to send an email to Carmen asking her to contact my tour advisor so he can schedule the airport trip for me and email me back for confirmation because I won't be able to see him at his available times and I'm not able to call out. After I send this email to her, I go to sleep. I meant to check to see once and for all what a Xenote is, but I didn't have the chance. For all of you wondering and haven't looked it up yet:
Xenote - A cenote (English pronunciation: /s??no?ti/ or /s??no?te?/; American Spanish: [se?note]) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath.
April 29th, Saturday
I wake up in time for my all inclusive breakfast. I see that it was pretty cloudy and windy. I knew that Cichen itza was about 3.5 hours north so it may be really cold. I decided to wear jeans and a shirt and head out to wait for my bus to Chichen Itza. The bus gets there at exactly 7:30 am which is when my trip was booked. At this point I realized that the people here are always exactly on time even without any navigation systems. It's amazing! They pack all of us up and we head out on a 3.5 hour ride to the Yucatan Peninsula where the pyramids are AKA Chichen itza. On the way there the bus stops at a hotel in Piste, Mexico. The tour guide tells us that we shouldn't buy anything from the pan handlers otherwise your skin will stain green because of the fools gold they use in their jewelry. They tell us that we should only buy from the legitimate stands that they have set out. We get into the hotel and ask where the bathrooms are and they respond with through the hallway to the left. As we walk through, there are pan handlers and stands for people to sell us all kinds of things. Pretty genius actually because at the end of what seemed to be a swap meet, are finally the bathrooms. I go into the bathroom and someone was standing there with a bucket of water to wash your hands because the sinks weren't working. This is the first time I've been to the bathroom where I had to wash my hands from a bucket of water.
On the way here, the tour guide did mention that this is a poor neighborhood where the Mayans have been situated for years. These tours actually pay some percentage to the Mayans so they can have school, food, and other things to help them out. He mentioned that they just got a school in this neighborhood where the children can go to. We had 45 minutes before the bus left again. Everyone stayed in the hotel, but I decided to explore the streets. This is the Mexico I have grown accustom to where dogs just roam freely around. People riding their bikes full of plywood barefoot in such humid conditions to make a living. This part reminded me of Rosarito. However, I also seen someone enjoying their breakfast in an old beatdown house without any windows in it. Definitely looked like the Mayans have the short end of the stick here. Very sad.
There were Coca-cola advertisements everywhere. You just see these big red Coca-cola signs in the middle of a broken down neighborhood. I don't know how I feel about it. It seems like they are taking advantage of the poor people living there but at the same time they must be paying them (I hope) to put these advertisements up, right?
We get back to the bus and finally get to the pyramids. The tour guide reminds us not to buy anything from the pan handlers because the airports complain that tourists come back smelling like gasoline. The nick knacks that they buy are often laced with gasoline so whatever coating they use can last longer but will eventually fade or come off. They give us umbrellas because of the sun and a water bottle to keep hydrated. My god as soon as I stepped out of the bus, I instantly regretted wearing jeans. It was hot! I usually don't complain too much about heat because I tend to like it or at the very least deal with it. Here however, it was a bit torturous.
We follow our tour guide to the entrance where she gives the tickets to the guy standing in the booth and we all go in. Inside, there are so many pan handlers once again. I would understand outside, but why do they let them inside!? We move along toward the pyramid and stop, the tour guide looks at us and she tells us that she is impressed. "You guys made it this far without fainting." She says. This is how hot it is! We pat ourselves on the back and she starts to give us the history of this Chiche Nitza Pyramid that the Myans built. Here are some fun facts I have learned:
All pure Myans are born with a blue spot on their bodies called the Mongolian spot and it usually goes away by the age of 4. She pull out a stock picture from her folder like this.
The tour guide was very adament about the aliens not building the pyramids, and those who think that should be laughed at. The pyramids were built for the Gods and it was a priveledge to build them for the "Big Kahuna" who was seen as a God to the Myans. It is true that stone blocks of the pyramid weren't anywhere near this area but the Myans were very good at trading and were found to go as far as Louisiana for trade. Once these pyramids were built and a long time after, this place was conquered and the Myans were kicked out. Instead of looking for other stones to build the new comers houses, they took some of the stones from the Pyramid. This is why some of the sides have rubble.
The inside of the pyramid isn't hollow like some of us usually think. It is filled up and made of little rocks and other stones as you can see by the picture. The Myans were very good at looking up at the sky for a very long time and figuring out calendars and this pyramid was built as a clock. On the bottom of the pyramid, there is a dragons face facing out and the stairs are the dragons scales as if he is coming down the pyramid. As the sun goes up you can actually see the snake as if he is climbing down the pyramid from a certain angle. There was no shade of where I was standing but here is a stock picture of what it should look like during the equinox.
If you count the steps and the sides of the pyramid it pretty much equals to the 4 seasons and about the number of days in the year. Very fascinating things coming from the year of 600 AD.
The tour guide continues to the middle of the yard to get a perfect view of the pyramid.
She asks us to clap our hands and listen. As we try to clap at the same time, we hear of what sounded like a bird squaking back to us. It was pretty cool, the squak sound was as clear as day. Clap, squak. Clap, squak. This is relevant because as the "Big Kahuna" sat up on the pyramid he needed to speak so everyone can hear him and bull horns weren't invented as of yet so they needed to know where to face his throne so everyone can hear him without him having to yell so much.
At this point I get my umbrella and try to block out the sun but it's pointless. It is so hot and the ground is white so it is reflecting the sun off of the ground. Shade doesn't exist. The wind is also pretty strong, my umbrella kept going inside out so I had to keep pushing it back in.
We follow our tour guide to my favorite part. This is where the Myans played their hoop game.
She exclaimed that over here there are only two temperatures, hot and hotter. When something doesn't go your way such as rain and famine, you start to believe in a higher entity so they can provide what is missing. In this case it was mostly the rain and in the rare cases that their God provided the rain, as a thank you, sacrifices were made. She showed us some hieroglyphs and she pointed out where the head was chopped off from the winner of these hoop games. It was a privilege to die for God so the winners were made to have this privilege and to be side by side with their God. She told us about a geologist who discovered about 200 bones in one of the nearby Xenotes. One of the greatest myths is that beautiful virgin women were sacrificed to their gods. As you can imagine women and men back then weren't viewed as equals. It was the men usually 13 year old boys coming from rich families who were sacrificed to the Gods not women. As the boys were turning into men those that were chosen, usually chosen by the rich families, were drowned into a pit of a Xenote, or got their head chopped off if they scored a goal in the hoop game. Their families were happy to have this privilege and the boys themselves were raised to believe that this is the best way to go.
She says that after this tour we are going to go swimming at one of these Xenotes where sacrifices were made. I of course didn't bring my swim gear because I didn't know about this. I asked myself why the person who sold me the ticket didn't tell me but then I remembered that I was in a rush and rushed him to sell it to me. Fair enough.
We then head to another place full of columns. This is the place where people came to trade and sell things like silk and spices. Another fun fact, the Myans do not like gold and silver. They are more prone to colorful gems like sapphire and jade.
The guide leaves us and says we have about 45 minutes to walk around, take pictures, and explore before we have to get back to the bus. I walk around and take more pictures. There were a lot of huge iguanas and dragon lizards walking around as if they owned the place.
I made one more trip around to really take in Chichen Itza.
We get back to the bus and they drive us back to that hotel but this time to a restaurant where your food and one drink is included. This is a Mexican Restaurant and I just noticed that this is the first time I'm eating Mexican food in Cancun. It was a buffet with normal Mexican food like Tamales and Tostadas. I had to eat a Tamale becuase the tour guide equated it to something like a mummy being unwrapped. We also tried a sample of what I believe was Mexican Habiscus Tea straight from the plant that was growing in the restaurant. It was good, but I ended up having a cup of horchata which is my favorite Mexican drink. The food was ok and the horchata was a bit watered down. It was just a regular meal for me because I'm used to the Mexican restaurants in L.A. but no one else around me knew what horchata was or even tasted a tamale before. A small group sitting at the same table as I am seem to be amazed and were trying to figure out the ingredients. Cinammon and rice milk I tell them proudly, and we start talking. They tell me they are from Chicago and love the oceans here, I tell them that they need to come check out the Mexican food and oceans in L.A. and they agreed. The restaurant provided a show where 3 women dance while balancing objects on their head.
After our meal and show, we get to the Xenote of another hotel called Cenote Ik Il. The Xenote was underneath a walkway of the hotel and very pretty.
I admired it and took pictures, but couldn't swim because I didn't have any gear. I sat down at a nearby bar and had a nice cold Pepsi. We head back to the bus and back to our hotels. On the way, we pass by some small cities with point of interests. A church that is still standing from the past few centuries. A park where wars ensued and so on.
We finally get back to the hotel and this being my last day I would like to swim a bit more and relax.
I try to get my all inclusive dinner but they tell me that I can't go inside the restaurant with wet shorts so I had to go and change. I come back down, have dinner, and afterwards I notice there is a show going on next door which is also inclusive. I go inside and enjoy the show.
It was a really funny clown balancing things, getting the audience involved, and just making fun of himself and the crowd. The next act was a group of 3 people showing off their balancing skills and strength on a pole. Great show!
I get back to the hotel and remember that I still have no ride to the airport. My internet expired in my hotel. So I have to go to my email to see if Carmen ever responded to me using my phone. Sprint you are the worst. The slowest connection ever while roaming. I didn't have this problem when I had T-mobile and especially Verizon. I managed to get to my e-mail and the only response I saw was from last time, "You need to get in touch with your travel agent here is his number." I couldn't call out because... Sprint, and it's already 11:00 pm. My flight leaves at 7:30 am. After freaking out I remembered that there was a lan line phone I can use conviniently in my room. I completely forgot about these things, so I pick it up and dial for the operator. She tells me the charge and connects me to the number provided by the email. I prayed to the Myan Gods that someone would pick up and knew English, so I don't have to waste minutes trying to speak in Spanish. It is close to midnight and someone miraculously picked up and spoke English! I explained the situation and he asked me to be ready waiting in the lobby at 5:00 am. Great, I can now sleep easy.
April 30th, Sunday
I get ready by 5, and guess who shows up at exactly 5:00 am on the dot. My ride who takes me to the airport without a hitch. I get to the airport and take my flight back. At this point I had a theory that domestic airlines don't have upgraded airplanes so they don't have movies at the back of their seats and usually provide pre-selected tv shows with screens down the isle so everyone can watch at the same time. The international ones have screens in front of you so you can watch pre selected movies and tv shows. This was the wrong theory because when I transfered to Aeromexico international they also only provided the shared isle screens. Oh well, the foot space was still the best I have seen and the dessert that they served with the meal was probably the best dessert I have ever had. It was a creamy yellow-sih dessert kind of like ice cream but more soft and creamy and not cold. I think it had the word Dulce on the packaging but not Dulce de leche. It wasn't lemon but could have had a hint of vanilla in it. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it or remembering the name because I would love to find it and have it again. I'm trying to google it but I can't find it. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please let me know.
Once I got home, I checked facebook and saw that Servando got engaged to Kathleen.
I am calling another destination wedding and predicting it will be in Jamaica. We shall see. Congratulations you two!
I once again want to congratulate Cindy and Alex! Have a wonderful life together and I can't wait to go on many more adventures with you guys. Thank you for having me in your lives and inviting me to this amazing destination wedding of yours. I'd like to say through this trip I've met new friends and bonded with the old ones. I now have a new infatuation with destination weddings. Amazing, amazing, amazing!
As for my next adventure, Guam here I come!
Servando has made a bad-ass video here:
View all Cancun pictures here
<<Previous Journal Next Journal>>
Cancun 04/26/2017 - 04/30/2017
topgun92000- May 1st, 14:13
My Check-ins:
Barceló Tucancun Hotel.
April 29 at 7:41pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Occidental Tucancún.
April 29 at 6:30pm ·
Cenote Ik kil Oficial.
April 29 at 2:13pm · Yucatán, Mexico ·
eating Mexican food at Pueblo MAYA.
April 29 at 1:31pm · Pisté, Mexico · .
Chichen Itza.
April 29 at 12:40pm · Chichén-Itzá, Mexico ·
Pueblo MAYA.
April 29 at 9:23am · Pisté, Mexico ·
Pit stop on the way to Chichen itza
eating club house sandwich with Smitha Srinath and Jessie Sun at Mc Donalds, Cancun.
April 28 at 4:14pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Xenotes Oasis Maya.
April 28 at 3:36pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Hyatt Ziva Cancun.
April 27 at 4:56pm · Cancún, Mexico ·
Occidental Tucancún.
April 27 at 11:18am ·
iStrid SelfieStation
Barceló Tucancun Hotel.
April 27 at 3:28am · Cancún, Mexico ·
My Iternary:
No itineraery, shocking I know!
Hola mis amigos. ¿Pueden escucharme? Hi familia, can you hear me? Muy bien caballeros vamos a cancún! We are going to Cancun! This is how the guides speak in Cancun Mexico. First in Spanish and then in English, sometimes first in Spanish then in English. I see why they do it and it is nice of them to speak so everyone understands them but it gets quite confusing when listening to them because you don't know when they are going to switch so you don't know when you should start paying attention to the guide or not. The English accent isn't the best and they try to speak very fast in both languages by the time you figure out that they are now speaking in English, you get lost because you've missed out on half the conversation. It would be easier to understand if the guide slows down and says Ok, we are switching to English now, is everyone listening? And go on speaking fast if they want in English. Good thing I can understand a good amount of Spanish so I picked up what I have missed. Excuse me as I have jumped ahead into the trip, as always, let's start at the beginning.
My good friends Cindy and Alex are having a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. I am not only excited for them but excited to go to Cancun as I have never been there! Their stay and wedding reception was at the Hyatt Ziva Hotel. I didn't know what to expect and what they had planned so I didn't create any itinerary this time around and decided to just go with the flow. However, I needed to find a place to stay. I looked into the Hyatt hotel but the rooms that were left were only the upgraded ones and oh so expensive for my taste. Like all my vacations, I know I'm not going to stay at the rooms so give me the smallest cheapest possible, I'd rather spend more money going out. I found another hotel a few miles away called the Occidental Tucancun. I got the hotel with the Expedia bundle with my plane ticket. It was quite convenient having all the reservations in one place. I then remembered how I accidentally took a private taxi in China and overpaid by triple getting to my hotel from the airport as compared to a regular taxi. So I looked into getting the lowest price possible in getting a ride. Low and behold I get an email from an "Expedia Local Expert" asking if I needed a ride to my hotel. Her name was Carmen and she told me it would be $20 round trip and to contact her for anything else. I took the deal and was all set to go to Cancun.
A few days before the flight I have just noticed that I land in Cancun at around 4am on Wednesday and I assumed that Expedia would have the hotel ready for me as soon as I landed but I checked my e-mail and no this isn't the case. Freaking out, I call Expedia and tell them what had occurred, and they respond with, "The check-in is at 3pm at your hotel Wednesday." This was not ok, especially if I had to be at the wedding at 4:00 pm! I asked if they can check to see if they had a room available for the day before, of course they didn't. The person on the other line told me that they understand the situation and will tell their supervisor that they should look into people who book flights early should get an option to get the hotel an extra day. He said he couldn't do anything for me but he was sure that there were people who would checkout early enough to make their flight so they can change my room. I took his word for it and at this point I can't do anything about it anyway.
April 26th, Wednesday
The flight was with AeroMexico and there aren't too many complaints going there. There were in flight movies and the seats were fine. The food was just a sandwich with peanuts, nothing too exciting. My connection flight was in Mexico City. I tried to go online on my phone using the airports wifi however, it asked me to enter in a captcha so I can log in but the captcha never loaded! Captcha can't load if you don't have internet, can't have internet without Wi-fi, what were they thinking? Good thing I was only waiting for like an hour. Again I took AeroMexico but this time I had the whole Isle to myself!
April 27th, Thursday
I have never had that before and was very excited. I actually got what seemed like 45 minutes of good sleep in an airplane! The plane lands and they say that we are actually a half an hour early. I've also never had a flight where I was early, usually they are always late! Good on you AeroMexico! I get out of the airport and feel the wind and humidity right away. My Local Expedia driver is conveniently standing waiting for me so he can drive me to the hotel. We get to the hotel, and I get to the lobby hoping that there is a room available. It is 4 am and he tells me no, we don't have anything available at this time, however you have an all inclusive stay so you can go have breakfast in the snack bar and in a few hours an official breakfast begins at 8am. In the meantime feel free to sleep in the lobby. Great! The only time I didn't need my flight to come in early, came early and now I have to be homeless.
I go to one of the couches in the lobby and try to connect to the internet on my laptop so I can settle down. Unfortunately the internet, turns out, isn't all inclusive and you have to choose an option so you can pay for it. I chose $20 for 2 days, which is a bit less than what I usually pay for a month! I try to get some sleep but there is an opening and a lot of wind making noise. Also, I was in the lobby with my bags in Mexico, I was a bit worried that someone would come up on my luggage. I went up to get some snacks and tried to get back to sleep. I slept a little as the sun was finally coming up. The wind kept on but it was warm and still humid. I left my baggage with the security guard and decided to go for a swim.
First I went swimming in the pool and then walked to the beach basically in the backyard. The sand was white and very gentle on the feet. Felt really good and the water was even better. This reminded me of Florida, I can stay in the water forever! This was my first time swimming in the Caribbean Sea. The current was really strong and kept carrying me to the left side, but I can swim well so it doesn't bother me too much, kind of felt nice. A lifeguard from the distance blows his whistle and yells for me to get back to the shore. I get back and realize that there are red flags posted all over the beach. I've seen it before and probably thought that it means that it's too dangerous to swim but I didn't care. There were those benches you can lay out and sun bathe out on the beach, so I bought sunscreen, put it on and tried to sleep on one of those. As you can tell by now, I'm a light sleeper and people are out and about making noise. The sun was out and I of course, forgot my sunglasses in the states. Sigh, lesson learned I guess. I was waking up every 20 minutes, at this point it was torture. This wouldn't have been a problem and I probably wouldn't have tried to sleep and enjoyed my time if I didn't have to be at a wedding that day by 4:00pm. At this point I'm thinking, in hind sight, I should have gotten a motel or hostile for a night and then drove to my hotel. Two lessons learned, make sure the check-in time and what time you are getting in coincides with your stay and think about hostiles and motels if you need urgent stay.
It's about 10am at this point so I get back to the hotel so I can ask them if my room is ready and she says, "The check-in is at 3pm." Sigh, I told her that I know this already but am hoping that something will be available soon maybe by 11am? She shakes her head and shrugs. I go swimming again and now try to lay down by the pool. If terrorists ever catch me and want information, this is how they would do it. After a few more hours of torture, I get back to the lobby by 1pm and ask if anything is available. They ask me if I was the one waiting and sleeping, I said yes. They finally give me the key and a bracelet to wear. They say that, "I have to wear this bracelet during my whole stay." This is so they know that I belong to the hotel and I get all inclusive things. One thing about me, I hate jewelry because I keep playing with it and I just hate the feeling of wearing it. So I have another torturous thing I have to wear and try to sleep with but finally now at my room.
The room was the nicest room I have ever stayed at. Beautiful view of the ocean, wooden floors, very clean, and huge! I definitely will not be enjoying any of this as I will only use this place to sleep. I get another one hour of sleep and start getting ready for the wedding. Dressed like a million bucks I take a taxi to the Hyatt.
This hotel is huge with a lot of security. I remember last time I was in Mexico, they wouldn't let you in unless you are staying at the hotel, even if you are a guest you'll have a hard time getting in. I took a taxi there and the people at the Hyatt asked a million questions before reluctantly letting me inside. Someone meets me to guide me over to the wedding waiting room. As we walk, he asks me where I'm staying and gives me a little tour of the Hyatt and lets me know to think of them during my next stay. I end up in a room and meet up with my friends.
We chat and get guided to the wedding ceremony. It was a beautiful setup with an amazing view right by the beach.
We took our seats and the beautiful Alex the groom and Cindy the bride walk in.
The officient was a friend Alicia who did a great job.
After the wedding we go upstairs for the ceremony. It was really quaint, just 2 tables were set up for our small group and a dance floor. I'm used to huge weddings but this was kind of nice, it gives you the opportunity to get to know people.
The bar was all inclusive. Even though I don't drink, I did notice a couple of things. In the states, if anything is all inclusive the bartenders will not serve you unless you ask for it. The bar also usually closes after a few hours so if you don't take advantage, too bad. Not here, the waiters come up to you and insist you take shots. You don't like what they give you, they'll happily take requests. The bar doesn't close so you can drink throughout the whole ceremony. Needless to say, of course, everyone got drunk. So we all started dancing, and everyone was having a great time.
After the ceremony was done, some of us decided to keep partying on the rooftop of the hotel. As we are on our way, I see a candy store and decide to stop by so I can buy some candy. Turns out I didn't have to buy anything because this store was also all inclusive for people staying at the hotel! I was in heaven. They had ice cream, candy, brownies, and so much more! Too bad I was pretty full from the ceremony, but I still tried some candies. I see why the security has to be beefed up from people coming inside the hotel, because I wasn't part of the hotel but still took advantage. After the amazingness, we continue to the club on the roof. There were cabanas that you can lay down on or sit on. We took over that spot and danced some more. After a bit of partying some more, the group decides to go to another party event and I decide to call it a night and head back to my hotel. I get a taxi and ask them to take me to the Occidental Tucancun hotel. He responds with, "I don't know where that is." Just my luck, of course he doesn't why would he, as I pull up the address on my phone, it died. Right before it died, I got the street name and he says that is the main street that leads right outside of the Hyatt and I tell him the other street name and he has no idea where that is. I swear only in the U.S. do we actually pay attention to street names, it is absolutely useless in other countries. What kind of taxi driver doesn't know where a hotel is a few miles away? He asks me if it's toward the airport? I have the worst sense of direction and cannot say, he says ok I will ask my father to switch with me and he can drive with you and you will find it. He starts driving and at the light he turns left, and we find it! He says oh, Tuncancun Occidental hotel is here? I tell him now you know, and he agrees, "Now I know."
April 28th, Friday
I wake up and I have to head back to the Hyatt to meet up with my friends because we have booked a Xenotes trip. Before I head out, I eat my all inclusive breakfast and I had to go to an Expedia booth inside the hotel because I needed to confirm for my ride back to the airport. The person I needed to meet with wasn't there yet and I only had about 5 minutes before I had to leave. I spoke to another company person next to the booth and I asked him to let him know and at the same time I bought a ticket for a Chichen itza tour for Saturday. He told me not to mention that I bought from him, because they have to respect our trip advisors and he knew I was pressed for time so I agreed and thanked him.
I took the taxi to the Hyatt and again ran into the issue of the guards asking why I was there. They reluctantly let me in and we all meet up at the lobby. The tour bus comes and problems arise. Two people in the group bought their tickets separate from us and were repeatedly promised that they would be in the same tour as everyone else but of course they weren't and were scheduled to go on another bus which was also there ready to pick them up. How it works, is the tour guide is also the driver so you're with him the whole time. He said that he understands the situation but there weren't any seats left and we also need to pick up our photographer who will take a spot. We told him we don't need a photographer and he said that it doesn't work that way. After about an hour of arguing and both parties getting frustrated Alex' parents decide not to come with us. They assured us that they didn't want to go and weren't going to swim anyway, their plan was just to watch from afar. We finally get on the bus and be on our way.
Here is where he starts talking both in Spanish and English and makes sure that we are all ok from the unfortunate debacle. We said yes, and were excited to get there. He explained what to expect and I still had no idea what to look forward to. We finally get there and the tour guide tells us to not bring anything out with us. I of course forgot my water shoes back in the states and had to walk barefoot. Sigh, another lesson learned.
We get to the first Xenote, the guide explains to us that this is 1 of 4 and in my mind I was asking what the hell is a Xenote? I have never heard of it before or anything, oh well I guess I'll see it or he will explain it to us. So we head down and see a slide, our guide says to take the slide down one by one and where it followed was amazing. It was pretty much a beautiful water oasis in the middle of the jungle.
We come back up and this time we zip line down and fall into the refreshing clear water. This was so amazing to me, I loved every minute of it. We then had to swim through the jungle river to get all the way to the other side.
After swimming and taking pictures we finally get to the other side and get back to the bus. The guide called us The Panthers and drew a panther on the back window. Our group added some more stuff.
We get on our way to the next Xenote and our tour guide is driving like a maniac in the bumpy dirt road. It was awesome and it seemed like the other busses also drove the same way. He was making all kinds of fast turns, I felt like I was in the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.
Before we get to our 2nd Xenote, we go to some tables and have snacks. On the way, our tour guide pulls out some gum placed by the tree and he explains to us that this is a tree where the Mayans made gum from. They chewed it to keep their mouths clean. We all had a taste of "the original gum." It was flavorless and tasted like you are chewing regular gum made of sawdust. Not bad and not good, just interesting. I still, however, have no idea what Xenotes means, I'm sure the tour guide will let us know eventually. In this one, we put on helmets and slowly repel down to a cave with more water in it. I'm even more amazed than before.
Another tour guide came with his tour and I overhear him explain to his group that there are bats and fish inside the cave that live symbiotically. The bats poop into the water, and the fish are there to eat it to keep the water clean. At this point I've noticed that our tour guide either doesn't care to explain anything or he was rushing us because of the time wasted back in the hotel. Whatever, I was still having way too much fun. After repelling down, we can jump off a rock into the water and swim, and so we did.
I am bummed out because I don't see any fish until Allen gets my attention and tells me to swim where he is in the darkest part of the cave. I swim and start to see more and more fish! At this point I see so many fish that I have to be careful not to hit them. I'm thinking they are blind because none of them were swimming away or seemed scared. Then I look up and a bunch of bats were flying back and forth on top, too bad it was too dark to take pictures but it felt surreal.
We Indiana Jones'd it to the next Xenote. At this point my feet were getting sensitive from walking on the little rocks to get to our destinations so I had my arms up and Francisco mentioned that I was looking like I was trying to sneak my way through. We finally walk up to the Xenote and are given snorkling goggles. We put them on and jump in. Nothing too interesting here, there wasn't even one fish that was there but it was still nice to be in the nice clear water in the jungle and swimming through while taking pictures.
We had lunch and Kathleen found some leftover beer and brought it along with us to the next Xenote and while we were driving there, people were drinking their beer which is something that would be unheard of in the states. On our final Xenote, we had to zip line down using either a swing or a handle to the water. With this one, you can let go anytime or not let go and just zip line all the way down to the water. Amazing, I did a back flip.
After waiting for everyone to zip down, we head up stairs and on the other side of the Xenote, where you can cliff jump. It was a choice of cliff jumping or doing another zip line. So I cliff jumped.
Then went back up to do the super man zip line.
Again we waited for everyone to come to the other end of the Xenote and we all took a picture together.
Unfortunately all good things have an ending and we needed to head home. The tour guide told us that he had beer leftover and the group couldn't even handle anymore. We get to the hotel and say our goodbyes.
I decide to walk to my hotel this time. I kind of know where to go at this point and start walking. I am joined by two lovely ladies who decide to accompany me, Jessie and Smitha from the group. We get to a Mcdonald's and of course have to stop there to eat.
I had what is called the club house sandwich. It was the best burger I have tried in any Mcdonald's I have been in so far. The bread was the sweet kind of bread and they put everything inside with great porportions that I really like and the fries were the same. During our bomb meal, I looked outside and saw a police truck with an officer in what looked like riot gear standing behind the truck with a huge AK. I didn't have enough time to take a picture but here is a stock picture of what it looks like:
In Mexico they have regular and Federal Police rolling around. I don't think I've ever seen a Federal Police officer in the US just rolling around especially with machine guns like they do. Looks very intimitading to be sure. After our meal, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I kept walking toward my hotel and enjoyed the view of the pond on the other side of the beach.
This is the side where you can't swim because there are a lot of aligators here that are being protected by the city. We actually got a picture of one.
On the other side of the street is the ocean where you can swim and where all the hotels are located. As I head back to my hotel, it is getting dark and I decide to go to an outdoor shopping mall on the way. This mall reminded me of the Venetian Hotel's Shopping Center in Vegas.
It was nice and had every American store you can imagine. I know I've said that every country I have visited was pretty much Americanized except for China but this one takes the cake. Cancun Mexico, is the most Americanized city I have ever been to. With people speaking broken English and the beach being nearby, I could swear I am still in Los Angeles. Except of course, way more humid in Cancun and the beaches are much nicer and cleaner. After walking around a bit in the mall, I head back to the hotel.
I still haven't scheduled my trip back to the airport because I haven't seen my tour advisor and I'm not sure at this point if the guy who booked my Chichen Itza trip told him. To make sure, I decide to send an email to Carmen asking her to contact my tour advisor so he can schedule the airport trip for me and email me back for confirmation because I won't be able to see him at his available times and I'm not able to call out. After I send this email to her, I go to sleep. I meant to check to see once and for all what a Xenote is, but I didn't have the chance. For all of you wondering and haven't looked it up yet:
Xenote - A cenote (English pronunciation: /s??no?ti/ or /s??no?te?/; American Spanish: [se?note]) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath.
April 29th, Saturday
I wake up in time for my all inclusive breakfast. I see that it was pretty cloudy and windy. I knew that Cichen itza was about 3.5 hours north so it may be really cold. I decided to wear jeans and a shirt and head out to wait for my bus to Chichen Itza. The bus gets there at exactly 7:30 am which is when my trip was booked. At this point I realized that the people here are always exactly on time even without any navigation systems. It's amazing! They pack all of us up and we head out on a 3.5 hour ride to the Yucatan Peninsula where the pyramids are AKA Chichen itza. On the way there the bus stops at a hotel in Piste, Mexico. The tour guide tells us that we shouldn't buy anything from the pan handlers otherwise your skin will stain green because of the fools gold they use in their jewelry. They tell us that we should only buy from the legitimate stands that they have set out. We get into the hotel and ask where the bathrooms are and they respond with through the hallway to the left. As we walk through, there are pan handlers and stands for people to sell us all kinds of things. Pretty genius actually because at the end of what seemed to be a swap meet, are finally the bathrooms. I go into the bathroom and someone was standing there with a bucket of water to wash your hands because the sinks weren't working. This is the first time I've been to the bathroom where I had to wash my hands from a bucket of water.
On the way here, the tour guide did mention that this is a poor neighborhood where the Mayans have been situated for years. These tours actually pay some percentage to the Mayans so they can have school, food, and other things to help them out. He mentioned that they just got a school in this neighborhood where the children can go to. We had 45 minutes before the bus left again. Everyone stayed in the hotel, but I decided to explore the streets. This is the Mexico I have grown accustom to where dogs just roam freely around. People riding their bikes full of plywood barefoot in such humid conditions to make a living. This part reminded me of Rosarito. However, I also seen someone enjoying their breakfast in an old beatdown house without any windows in it. Definitely looked like the Mayans have the short end of the stick here. Very sad.
There were Coca-cola advertisements everywhere. You just see these big red Coca-cola signs in the middle of a broken down neighborhood. I don't know how I feel about it. It seems like they are taking advantage of the poor people living there but at the same time they must be paying them (I hope) to put these advertisements up, right?
We get back to the bus and finally get to the pyramids. The tour guide reminds us not to buy anything from the pan handlers because the airports complain that tourists come back smelling like gasoline. The nick knacks that they buy are often laced with gasoline so whatever coating they use can last longer but will eventually fade or come off. They give us umbrellas because of the sun and a water bottle to keep hydrated. My god as soon as I stepped out of the bus, I instantly regretted wearing jeans. It was hot! I usually don't complain too much about heat because I tend to like it or at the very least deal with it. Here however, it was a bit torturous.
We follow our tour guide to the entrance where she gives the tickets to the guy standing in the booth and we all go in. Inside, there are so many pan handlers once again. I would understand outside, but why do they let them inside!? We move along toward the pyramid and stop, the tour guide looks at us and she tells us that she is impressed. "You guys made it this far without fainting." She says. This is how hot it is! We pat ourselves on the back and she starts to give us the history of this Chiche Nitza Pyramid that the Myans built. Here are some fun facts I have learned:
All pure Myans are born with a blue spot on their bodies called the Mongolian spot and it usually goes away by the age of 4. She pull out a stock picture from her folder like this.
The tour guide was very adament about the aliens not building the pyramids, and those who think that should be laughed at. The pyramids were built for the Gods and it was a priveledge to build them for the "Big Kahuna" who was seen as a God to the Myans. It is true that stone blocks of the pyramid weren't anywhere near this area but the Myans were very good at trading and were found to go as far as Louisiana for trade. Once these pyramids were built and a long time after, this place was conquered and the Myans were kicked out. Instead of looking for other stones to build the new comers houses, they took some of the stones from the Pyramid. This is why some of the sides have rubble.
The inside of the pyramid isn't hollow like some of us usually think. It is filled up and made of little rocks and other stones as you can see by the picture. The Myans were very good at looking up at the sky for a very long time and figuring out calendars and this pyramid was built as a clock. On the bottom of the pyramid, there is a dragons face facing out and the stairs are the dragons scales as if he is coming down the pyramid. As the sun goes up you can actually see the snake as if he is climbing down the pyramid from a certain angle. There was no shade of where I was standing but here is a stock picture of what it should look like during the equinox.
If you count the steps and the sides of the pyramid it pretty much equals to the 4 seasons and about the number of days in the year. Very fascinating things coming from the year of 600 AD.
The tour guide continues to the middle of the yard to get a perfect view of the pyramid.
She asks us to clap our hands and listen. As we try to clap at the same time, we hear of what sounded like a bird squaking back to us. It was pretty cool, the squak sound was as clear as day. Clap, squak. Clap, squak. This is relevant because as the "Big Kahuna" sat up on the pyramid he needed to speak so everyone can hear him and bull horns weren't invented as of yet so they needed to know where to face his throne so everyone can hear him without him having to yell so much.
At this point I get my umbrella and try to block out the sun but it's pointless. It is so hot and the ground is white so it is reflecting the sun off of the ground. Shade doesn't exist. The wind is also pretty strong, my umbrella kept going inside out so I had to keep pushing it back in.
We follow our tour guide to my favorite part. This is where the Myans played their hoop game.
She exclaimed that over here there are only two temperatures, hot and hotter. When something doesn't go your way such as rain and famine, you start to believe in a higher entity so they can provide what is missing. In this case it was mostly the rain and in the rare cases that their God provided the rain, as a thank you, sacrifices were made. She showed us some hieroglyphs and she pointed out where the head was chopped off from the winner of these hoop games. It was a privilege to die for God so the winners were made to have this privilege and to be side by side with their God. She told us about a geologist who discovered about 200 bones in one of the nearby Xenotes. One of the greatest myths is that beautiful virgin women were sacrificed to their gods. As you can imagine women and men back then weren't viewed as equals. It was the men usually 13 year old boys coming from rich families who were sacrificed to the Gods not women. As the boys were turning into men those that were chosen, usually chosen by the rich families, were drowned into a pit of a Xenote, or got their head chopped off if they scored a goal in the hoop game. Their families were happy to have this privilege and the boys themselves were raised to believe that this is the best way to go.
She says that after this tour we are going to go swimming at one of these Xenotes where sacrifices were made. I of course didn't bring my swim gear because I didn't know about this. I asked myself why the person who sold me the ticket didn't tell me but then I remembered that I was in a rush and rushed him to sell it to me. Fair enough.
We then head to another place full of columns. This is the place where people came to trade and sell things like silk and spices. Another fun fact, the Myans do not like gold and silver. They are more prone to colorful gems like sapphire and jade.
The guide leaves us and says we have about 45 minutes to walk around, take pictures, and explore before we have to get back to the bus. I walk around and take more pictures. There were a lot of huge iguanas and dragon lizards walking around as if they owned the place.
I made one more trip around to really take in Chichen Itza.
We get back to the bus and they drive us back to that hotel but this time to a restaurant where your food and one drink is included. This is a Mexican Restaurant and I just noticed that this is the first time I'm eating Mexican food in Cancun. It was a buffet with normal Mexican food like Tamales and Tostadas. I had to eat a Tamale becuase the tour guide equated it to something like a mummy being unwrapped. We also tried a sample of what I believe was Mexican Habiscus Tea straight from the plant that was growing in the restaurant. It was good, but I ended up having a cup of horchata which is my favorite Mexican drink. The food was ok and the horchata was a bit watered down. It was just a regular meal for me because I'm used to the Mexican restaurants in L.A. but no one else around me knew what horchata was or even tasted a tamale before. A small group sitting at the same table as I am seem to be amazed and were trying to figure out the ingredients. Cinammon and rice milk I tell them proudly, and we start talking. They tell me they are from Chicago and love the oceans here, I tell them that they need to come check out the Mexican food and oceans in L.A. and they agreed. The restaurant provided a show where 3 women dance while balancing objects on their head.
After our meal and show, we get to the Xenote of another hotel called Cenote Ik Il. The Xenote was underneath a walkway of the hotel and very pretty.
I admired it and took pictures, but couldn't swim because I didn't have any gear. I sat down at a nearby bar and had a nice cold Pepsi. We head back to the bus and back to our hotels. On the way, we pass by some small cities with point of interests. A church that is still standing from the past few centuries. A park where wars ensued and so on.
We finally get back to the hotel and this being my last day I would like to swim a bit more and relax.
I try to get my all inclusive dinner but they tell me that I can't go inside the restaurant with wet shorts so I had to go and change. I come back down, have dinner, and afterwards I notice there is a show going on next door which is also inclusive. I go inside and enjoy the show.
It was a really funny clown balancing things, getting the audience involved, and just making fun of himself and the crowd. The next act was a group of 3 people showing off their balancing skills and strength on a pole. Great show!
I get back to the hotel and remember that I still have no ride to the airport. My internet expired in my hotel. So I have to go to my email to see if Carmen ever responded to me using my phone. Sprint you are the worst. The slowest connection ever while roaming. I didn't have this problem when I had T-mobile and especially Verizon. I managed to get to my e-mail and the only response I saw was from last time, "You need to get in touch with your travel agent here is his number." I couldn't call out because... Sprint, and it's already 11:00 pm. My flight leaves at 7:30 am. After freaking out I remembered that there was a lan line phone I can use conviniently in my room. I completely forgot about these things, so I pick it up and dial for the operator. She tells me the charge and connects me to the number provided by the email. I prayed to the Myan Gods that someone would pick up and knew English, so I don't have to waste minutes trying to speak in Spanish. It is close to midnight and someone miraculously picked up and spoke English! I explained the situation and he asked me to be ready waiting in the lobby at 5:00 am. Great, I can now sleep easy.
April 30th, Sunday
I get ready by 5, and guess who shows up at exactly 5:00 am on the dot. My ride who takes me to the airport without a hitch. I get to the airport and take my flight back. At this point I had a theory that domestic airlines don't have upgraded airplanes so they don't have movies at the back of their seats and usually provide pre-selected tv shows with screens down the isle so everyone can watch at the same time. The international ones have screens in front of you so you can watch pre selected movies and tv shows. This was the wrong theory because when I transfered to Aeromexico international they also only provided the shared isle screens. Oh well, the foot space was still the best I have seen and the dessert that they served with the meal was probably the best dessert I have ever had. It was a creamy yellow-sih dessert kind of like ice cream but more soft and creamy and not cold. I think it had the word Dulce on the packaging but not Dulce de leche. It wasn't lemon but could have had a hint of vanilla in it. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it or remembering the name because I would love to find it and have it again. I'm trying to google it but I can't find it. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please let me know.
Once I got home, I checked facebook and saw that Servando got engaged to Kathleen.
I am calling another destination wedding and predicting it will be in Jamaica. We shall see. Congratulations you two!
I once again want to congratulate Cindy and Alex! Have a wonderful life together and I can't wait to go on many more adventures with you guys. Thank you for having me in your lives and inviting me to this amazing destination wedding of yours. I'd like to say through this trip I've met new friends and bonded with the old ones. I now have a new infatuation with destination weddings. Amazing, amazing, amazing!
As for my next adventure, Guam here I come!
Servando has made a bad-ass video here:
View all Cancun pictures here
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