Playa del Carmen, Day 1

So, I looked at my February schedule and found out I had somehow gotten a stretch of 9 days off.  How did it happen?  I don't know.  I DO know that I did not go to the scheduler and demand more shifts.  Instead, Shelly and I decided February would be a nice time to get away from the cold of winter and get to a warmer climate.  So?  Cancun/Playa del Carmen, here we come!!

We left on Thursday afternoon.  The start of our trip was certainly interesting.  Ken got patted down TWICE at the airport.  When we finally arrived in Cancun, the company that was supposed to transport us didn't have our information (even though we had a confirmation number), so we didn't arrive at our hotel until after midnight.  The good news is that since we were so late checking in, the room we requested had been taken, so they had to upgrade us to ocean front.  Shucks.  We had an early morning the next morning, so we ordered room service:

Breakfast burrito, fruit plate, toast with jam, yogurt, and french toast.  I had warm fresh-squeezed orange juice, and Shelly had warm papaya juice (apparently, our resort did not believe in cold drinks).

Our first excursion also was an issue.  The person who was supposed to pick us up did not show up.  We waited and waited and waited until I called.  It's kind of a long story, but basically they had not made any reservations for us yet but they said they would come get us in a bit and see if they could still get us on the schedule for zip-lining.  We were taking the tour with another family, and they had tickets.  Eventually we got our tickets, and the other family waited with us and taking a later reservation (about 1.5 hours).

The family from Utah.  This family has 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys, just like us.  They had 2 girls, then 2 boys, then a girl, just like us.  This is their youngest daughter, who had recently graduated from high school. Their trip was in honor of her graduating.  They had a tradition of taking their kids on a trip for their graduations--anywhere in North or Central America.  She had chosen Cancun.  Sounds like a fun tradition--maybe something we'll do as well?

Shelly getting excited.

Still excited!

The two of us, ready for our first adventure . . . 

 . . . zip-lining.  Here is Shelly, cruising over treetops.  The hand at the bottom of the picture is the guide telling Shelly to SLOW DOWN!!

Doesn't she look so happy?  Notice the sticker on her shirt.  They asked us to wear name tags so they could identify the bodies (haha).

Cruising in on the last of 12 zip line routes.

Changed and ready for the next adventure . . . 

. . . zip-lining into a cenote (freshwater water hole)

Shelly going in for the drop.

Me getting ready.

About to drop into the water.

The fun and very bouncy truck/trailer we got to ride in.

After the zip-lining and cenote, we were able to go on a tour of some Mayan ruins in Tulum.  We arranged for an LDS guide so we could get an LDS perspective.  It was a lot of fun and very interesting.  

Shelly standing outside of the walls.  This is where the commoners lived.  They were allowed through the walls 5 times a year on 5 holy days.  Otherwise, commoners were not allowed through the gate. 

We saw several of these critters during our stay in Mexico.  I didn't try to pet any of them.

A picture of a Mayan temple.  We could not go up to the temple.  The steps are narrow making it possible to go up only by going back and forth (like switchbacks).  You were not supposed to face or turn your back on the door (God).  There are 3 doorways representing each member of the Godhead.

A noble's home.  There are several meaningful carvings on the home.  I won't go into them right now.

The beach at Tulum.

A picture of me to document that I had indeed come.

Another picture of the beach.  On top of the hill is a mini-temple, which would make a sound like an alarm if a tornado was coming (the winds blew in a certain direction and caused the noise).

A special tree in the Mayan culture--considered a holy tree or a tree of life.  The tree is hollow on the inside.