Finito

Well, this wraps up our vacation. We're pretty much packed and the last thing to go is the computer. We've had an excellent time enjoying the sun, eating excellent food, experiencing the culture of a foreign country, spending time with each other, and seeing ancient Mayan ruins. We'll check out in a few hours hop a bus and then board our plane back to the states. Once in Seattle, we're planning on driving home tonight. We should be able to see family and pick up the dogs tomorrow. Anyway, it's been great fun and I hope you enjoyed stories and photos from the Mayan Riviera! Hasta man~ana (until tomorrow).

-Jeremy, Lindsay and Baby.

P.S.
I think our next mini-getaway will be over Memorial Day weekend. So far we're thinking about driving up to B.C.

Its always sad to leave

but we're ready, I think. Today, we got a 25 minute couples massage and spent most of the day relaxing on the beach. We had an excellent dinner at the local Japanese restaraunt and then came back to the room for more jacuzzi time. Because it is our last night, we also decided to order more room service. As always the service was excellent. Time for bed and we leave tomorrow. Our plain leaves at 5:40 from Cancun and we should get back to Seattle by midnight. We plan on driving home that night/morning. Until later - Hasta luego!

And another fine day comes to an end

Yep, this pretty much sums up my day. Not quite as exciting as Ek Balam or Chichen Itza but that was entirely the point. There was also a waiter who brought the free drinks, almost eliminating the need to get up whatso-ever. But therein lies the rub, so easy to drink for free, but so hard to not return those same elixirs back to nature.
The morning and day were so lazy that I wouldn't even get up to take a picture of this beautiful model. Instead, I taunted her so she would come closer and then I took her picture. She wasn't smiling so much after that.
The resort held a special Mayan cultural dance representative of their ancestral heritage. We attended and I took many photos. The area was dimly lit, but I think the blur adds a little bit of action to the photos. This particular dancer is performing the Jaguar worship dance. In Mayan, Jag means rain, so this would be akin to a rain-god dance.

The fire worship dance and ceremony. This dance was performed twice a year during the height of the Mayan Civilization. He must have never listened to his mother, because this is a perfect example of playing with fire. He had his hands, feet, legs and arms all going through the flames at some point and then finished by taking pieces of flaming material out and showing it off and then extinguishing the fire with his hands. It's a good thing the aloe plant grows so well here...

more laziness

Today so far has included: sleeping in, eating delicious breakfast, posting to blog, eating lunch, lying on the beach while being brought free drinks and posting to blog again. I can't even believe how lazy today is. Later, we'll go swim in the pool and then go to dinner with special reservations for honeymooners(more on this later). After dinner, maybe we'll catch the Mayan dancers and then come back and sit in the Jacuzzi before going to bed.

This vacation is just what we needed. We got away, saw ancient ruins and now we're focusing on nothing. I also think this is a perfect get-away for me an Lindsay before we bring a new life into the world. We have a perfect opportunity to spend time with each other and build happy memories before the turmoil and joy of a new addition to the family.

Chichen Itza - Photos

El Castillo, the main event and reason why Chichen Itza is so famous. This would have been the main location for all events. El Castillo is well preserved even after suffering the ravages of time. They say that it would only take two years of no graoundskeeping before the jungle completely took over Chichen Itza.
The "Church" - actually, archeologists are not entirely sure what this building was used for, but their best guess is some kind of church-like function. It is small, yet cool inside. The guides like to call it "Mayan Air Conditioning"
The observatory or El Caracol. The Mayans used this building to plot their calendar and gaze at the stars

Wednesday was a long day. We started out at about 11:00 in the morning after breakfast room service. Once we got on the bus we headed for Chichen Itza. Our first stop however was a small village called Kaua. In Kaua (Kah-Wah) we stopped at a large vendor for souvenirs. The prices were decent, but the vendors were worse than used car salesman. They would literally follow you everywhere and comment on how nice the thing was that you happen to be looking at. I was a bit put off by this attitude, but we prevailed. In Mexico there is a lot of discount silver and trinkets ready to buy. We ended up purchasing a couple of small calendars after haggling the price down from 80 pesos, to 50 pesos ea. for two. After spending about 45 minutes in the shop, we left for Chichen itza. Arriving at Chichen Itza we were given our tickets for the day and evening show. The entrance is a bit remaniscient of a disney land entrance; large, colored and very put-together. Once inside however was a bit different. Again we were confronted by vendors on the side of the walkway at every point. In fact, some of the vendors would literally run up to you from hundreds of yards away and offer to sell whatever it is that they happen to have. Other than that, the ruins were very interesting. The contrast between Chichen Itza and Ek Balam was apparent. The Chichen Ruins are very tourist friendly and very busy. The site is fascinating and I managed to get quite a few photos of different part of the area. The sun was hot and shade from the trees was very welcome. Lindsay started feeling uncomfortable from walking around so we found some shade by the Cenote and rested for a few minutes. After that we headed for the Temple of the warriors and then back by El Castillo for some more pictures and then we left. After the daytime tour of Chichen, we went to a resteraunt for some authentic mexican food, which was delicious. Lindsay thoroughly enjoyed the "Mexican Sauce" which looked to me like the Pico De Gaillo she likes back home so much. After dinner we left again for Chichen to watch the Light and Sound show. The L&S show was interesting and neat to see the ruins lit up in dramatic lighting, but by the time we saw them, it was 9:30 and we were definately tired from being in a bus and walking in the sun all day. Once we got back, we were exhausted and headed straight for bed.
That pretty much sums up our day. I'm writing this quickly so that I can get some lunch and enjoy the sun. We have reservations at a fancy Mexican resteraunt tonight and we set up a couples massage on one of those grass huts pictured earlier for tomorrow. Until tonight, hasta luego!

Phew! what a long day.

We left at about 11:00 this morning and just got back at about midnight. Long day, lots of stuff to write about. It'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow(well, later today anyway) I'll post photos and stories from our day at Chicken Pizza - hahaha, okay I've found that joke around here is very over used. Anyway, it's time to drink myself to sleep(just kidding, although there's plenty of free alcohol in the room to kill yourself with). I'll update later. By the way, we're probably not going to Coba tomorrow. I had wanted to go, but with two long exhausting days, I think it's time to rest and enjoy being lazy. Hasta luego!

-Jeremy, Lindsay and Baby :)

Just a lazy morning

Breakfast this morning was fresh fruit, OJ, cranberry juice and juevos rancheros. Pretty good for room service pre-ordered the night before and delivered at the specified time. Today we go to Chichen Itza, rhymes with chicken pizza but pronounced Chee-Chen Eet-zah. According to the itinerary we will first stop at Valladolid and then make our way to El Castillo(used synonymously with Chichen Itza because it has the main temple). I'm not sure yet what the itinerary calls for but we are supposed to be getting back pretty late. Depending on how late we get back tonight I may not have time to post pictures but I will try to give a brief synopsis of the days events.

The reason we get back so late is because we will be staying for the "Sound & Light" show. Apparently, they light up the Temple and grounds with big colored spotlights and talk about ancient Mayan civilization. I've heard it's kind of corny compared to 21st century standards but my main motivation is to be on the grounds at sunset. Sunrise and Sunset offer beautiful soft light at an angle that not only highlights shapes but also casts a warm contrasty glow on everything. My hope is to take lots of pictures around this time.

and two more from tonight on the way to dinner

Thank goodness for creative camera stands and the 12 second timer.
Using the flash at sunset can add a little more life to your photos - Okay, it helps to have a beautiful model as well as an exotic location...

Ek Balam - Photos!

Ek Balam, the main Temple and stairway to the top.
A portion of the main entrance. The wall used to be more than 14' high.
Your's truly, about halfway up standing near, archeologically speaking, one of the greatest finds ever for Mayan history. More on this later...
Lindsay, being a good sport and posing for a photo.
This is from the top of the temple looking down on the rest of the grounds. It's easy to see how you could not only feel closer to the Gods, but also make a very powerful impression on those below. Once we climbed down, it was time to go, so I took a few more pictures on the way out and then hopped in the van for the ride to Valladolid.

A step back in time...

After rounding the corner and seeing Ek Balam for the first time, it hit me, I'm in an area that is not only foreign but thousands of years old. I really had the feeling that some deep voice was going to start talking about the archeological facts while the camera pans the area. Instead, I had a bilingual Mexican talking in a high voice about the recently discovered area. The area was fascinating. That is all there is too it. Structures that have withstood all the tragedies that time can bring; rains, floods, hurricanes, jungle take-over, Spanish Conquistadors, and modern man. Seeing this place for the first time, I began to realize how very little I knew about the world and how much there is to see.

Our trip began this morning from the Resort where we left in a 15 passenger van. We headed off in the AC'd but hot van down a straight but very rough road. The road is paved, but it may have been better if they had not bothered. We stopped at a small structure after about 2 hours of driving and had a chance to use the restroom and purchase souvenirs. The murchandise here, I feel, was overpriced but we were on vacation and I wanted to try my haggling skills. After haggling down to the agreed price, I realized I didn't have enough pesos to cover - embarrassing, but the merchant agreed on what we had as the selling price. After the haggling we headed down the road a short ways to arrive at Ek Balam. The tour was included with our Hotel, so the driver paid the entrance fee and took us on the tour. Our tour guide was friendly, but was very willing to replace fact with speculation. I'm glad I did the research beforehand so I knew when he was postulating and when there might be something interesting(like, "meet back here in 30 minutes"). Anyway, we were allowed to climb the temple and take photos, of which I have many. Coming down was a little hairy, the steps measure approx. 12"x12" making a 45 degree angle, I was careful and cautious. The last thing I wanted was to fall down 100' of stairs and take an ambulance ride 2 hours over bumpy road to the nearest hospital - if I even made it alive to the bottom...

Anyway, after visiting Ek Balam, we headed off to Valladolid. The second most important colonial town in the yucatan peninsula. Valladolid was okay, but not great. It was really more like busy-dirty-loud-dolid than anything else. We had an hour here and we would have been happy with half of that. The one thing good to come out of there was a new outfit for Lindsay. We found a modern clothing store that was selling maternity clothes for about 100 pesos per article of clothing - which comes to about $10 USD. Lindsay bought a skirt and blouse and is very happy with them. In fact, on our way to dinner, while lindsay was wearing this outfit she was whistled and stared at... Not sure if that's a good thing, but it made her feel better about herself.

Well, that's enough for now. Pictures will follow this post.

Massage for two

Maybe on Friday we'll visit one of these huts for an hour long massage for two. I'm not really into it, but we are at a Spa and "when in Rome..."

Jacuzzi Luxury

This is one view of our room. As you can see, there is a jacuzzi big enough for two people. Of course I meant to upload this last night to help set the scene for the "BN Incident".

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

I know, you'd think a photographer on vacation would post some photos, but I've been having some problems doing that. Of course the next question would be, "well, you're a computer guy, why can't you figure it out?" - Because I'm on vacation. I'll figure something out tonight. Until then, you'll just have to be patient. I need to swim up to the bar now, hasta luego!

Monday's travel summary

Sunday we left, got to SeaTac, caught our plane on time and landed in Texas for our connecting flight. Our connecting flight left a few hours later and we were on our way to Mexico. We got to Cancun Intl. and after a little trouble found out which bus we were supposed to be on. The problem came down to a language barrier and not having enough information from the travel agent on what to expect. Once we found our bus, we got situated in the back where the air conditioning felt the best. Lindsay was feeling a little queasy so she laid down while I took pictures of the hurricane devastated route to our resort (which brings up other thoughts not suited for the small confines of a blog). Once we got to Aventura Palace Resort, we were greeted by very friendly staff who were glad to take our bags and tell us what the next step was going to be. The next step, for us, was checking in. The checking in part is where we began to notice a pattern. Does two events quantify a pattern? Anyway, we were supposedly supposed to have a hotel voucher from our travel agent, which we never received. Thank God for the excellent service and hospitality of this resort, because so far, it has been a minor issue and we have yet to experience problems due to the lack of the voucher.

Well, that's enough of the bad stuff. I always like to get the negative over and done with first. So without further pause, here's what I like: Food, alcohol, location, sun, warmth, happy wife, hospitality, absence of work, jacuzzi, and 24 hour room service. So far things have been wonderful. Lindsay and I ate dinner at a steak house and then we went for a walk on the beach. To finish a romantic first night in Cancun, we filled the Jacuzzi, I poured a drink and then proceeded to get a bloody nose. I haven't had one of those in years. In fact, I can't even remember the last time that happened. Anyway, the whole seen played out like something from a bad romantic comedy. To make things a little better, we called room service and ordered up some smoked salmon and chocolate cake. And now, even though it's only 8:30 our time, I think it's time for bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We will be exploring the recently discovered ruins of Ek Balam and visiting the small village of Vallad0lid (Bah-Yah-do-leed). Until tomorrow night - Hasta Luego!

we made it

We've arrived in Beautiful Cancun. The temp here is 80 degrees and very humid. The resort is outstanding and the personnel are very kind and willing to help. I'll post a more in-depth of the days events later tonight. Ciao!

Waiting...

Waiting for our plain to Cancun.

On the road!

We're officially on the road to SeaTac. We'll stop by the mall in Southcenter and then onto the airport. Dogs are at my Moms, cats have the house to themselves and we are packed and on our way to what is hoped to be a vacation of a lifetime.

The night before the night before...

Tomorrow night we'll be on our way to Mexico. As for tonight, Lindsay and I had a great dinner with the family before we leave for Seattle. Everything seems to be in order; equipment, clothes, animals, house, airline tickets, etc. Time to get some rest now.

Camera Gear in Mexico

I plan on taking my Pentax *ist DS 6.1 MP digital camera with plenty of memeory cards. In short, this is the gear I plan on taking:

Camera: *ist DS
Lens: 18-55mm kit
Lens: 50-200mm tele zoom
Flash: AF360FGZ Pentax flash
Monopod: Bogon Monopod
Memory: 3x 1GB SD Extreme II memory cards
Memory: Epson P2000 digital wallet (I plan on shooting mostly raw, so max space is necessary)


GPS
Acer C110 Tablet computer

I'll post an update at the end of the vacation to tell you how everything worked out in Mexico.

Going to Mexico!

Well, on Sunday the 23rd, we're going to Cancun Mexico and return on the 30th. We'll be staying in the area of the Mayan Riviera at an all-inclusive resort. Some of our feature sites to visit will be Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum and Isla de Mujueres - all areas of Mayan ruins. I hope to get some great photos, but more importantly enjoy that absence of work and resonsibility.

If I can get to some internet access, I'll try to keep this blog updated with stories and pictures. Stay Tuned!