A Terrific Second Honeymoon!

This year Scott and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage.  As a special treat, we decided to use some of our tax return and go on a 2nd Honeymoon.  What an incredible few days in the Riviera Maya, Mexico!

Our hotel was between Playa del Carmen and Xcaret.

Inside the Hotel

There were beautiful jungle paths throughout the resort.

and Iguanas all over (can you see him in there?)

What a gorgeous beach!!!

This guy hung out on the deck of the grill hoping for handouts.

Scott enjoyed the pool bar.

The snorkeling was amazing.  There was a beautiful reef that we could swim to from the beach.  I will try to post movies at some point.

We enjoyed napping in the hammocks in the afternoon.

Scott enjoyed hanging out on our balcony.

This was the path to the lobby and buffet.

Unfortunately, when you are in Mexico, they expect you to try a shot of Tequila.

Having never tried Tequila before, I was ready for the challenge...

Can you see the facial expression changing?

I wish there was a sound effect to go along with this picture!

YUCK!!!!

We played Mini Golf on a beautiful little course in the rain forest.

Shopping at the "mall" at the resort.

We took a tour of Tulum.  "Tulum, meaning wall in Mayan, was named such when it was discovered and first explored in the early 1800s by Juan de Grijalva's expedition to the area. This fortified Mayan city had been utilized during the Post classic period around 1200-1450 CE. And the site remained occupied until the late 16th century when it was finally abandoned after the arrival of the Spanish. 

This ancient walled city was, in its time, a thriving civilization. Originally thought to be called Zama, Mayan for dawn, Tulum was a major crossroads of trade from both land and sea managing trade from Honduras and into the Yucatan. This is evident by the large amount of artifacts from all over Mexico that have been uncovered at this site. Tulum is one of the only fortified Mayan sites and is one of the best preserved coastal sites in all of Mexico." 

There were HUGE Iguanas all over Tulum.

Our Tour Guide was half Mayan and half Mexican.  His mother is a full Mayan.  Tulum was actually called Zama by the Mayans and was and continues to be a Holy City.

In the picture below you can see two of their temples.  The main god is the sun and the temple to the son is the one on the left (it was disguised so that if there was an invasion, hopefully it would not be destroyed.)

The large temple in the center was a temple to the earth, and the temple to the moon was to the right, just out of the picture.  The full Mayans come to Zama at the beginning of their year and worship and celebrate for 5 days.  This park is closed during that time.

Zama overlooks the sea with some gorgeous views.  It was never conquered because it had a large stone wall surrounding it (Tulum’s wall for which it is named is 5 meters (about 16 feet) thick and as many as 8 meter (about 26 feet) in some areas and provided the perfect protection for the Mayan people that lived here. )  

  The sea surrounded the rest and the reef prevented any ships from getting close to the shore.

This was the temple to the moon.  They worshiped the moon because they connected it with fertility.

Back at the resort, there was all sorts of things to keep us entertained.  One night they had an authentic Mexican band.

And there were shows each night in the theater.  This one was a Circus show.

Heaven on Earth!!

What an incredible trip.  I continue to be in awe of the health I have been blessed with.  While we were snorkeling I kept thinking that I could never have done this before.  I had a lot of energy and was able to keep up with Scott the whole time (I did crash when we got home).

Each of us has to LIVE, make sure you do the things you dream of before your health gets in the way!!!