Mexico Part 54: Anniversary Trip

On the 19th of July, Matthew and I will have been married for 10 years.  That's a lot of years!  Not to mention the fact, I have been with the guy since I was 16.  Almost have of my life.  And because of it, we decided to take this opportunity we have living in Mexico to fly to the beautiful region of Cancun, Mexico.  So, on June 14th Nana flew down to watch the kids, while Matthew and I left the next morning for our little vacation.  We gave Carla a quick tour of all the things she would need to know while she was here and we left.  She is seriously one of the bravest people I know!  Who would do that?!  Fly to a country where they don't speak the language to take care of your kids?!  I have the BEST mother in law.  Our trip didn't start the greatest because we showed up at the airport two hours early, like the airline wanted (but totally, not necessary), flight was three hours delayed, and apparently, we didn't have our shuttle transportation set up to the resort once we got to the Cancun airport.  Thanks to some very nice people, we made it to the hotel on the correct shuttle.  But, by the time we got there, and figured things out, it was around 10:30 pm.  We basically lost all of Saturday.  Always a bummer.  Then on Sunday, we spent roaming around the town of Playa del Carmen "getting ready to have fun" (for you Arrested Development watchers).  You see, the night before, we were caught off guard paying 160 pesos for two one liter bottles of water, when at the store we would have paid 40 pesos.  Inflation is crazy in these places, and when you live in Mexico, you know better.  That's why we hit up Playa del Carmen.  We found a Walmart and got the missing trinkets we needed for our trip.  The beach at Playa del Carmen is beautiful and we ended up setting a tour for Cozumel on Monday for some snorkeling.  Monday we headed back to Playa del Carmen to take the ferry over to Cozumel, only to realize we barely had enough money to pay for the ferry and take the shuttle back to our resort.  We accidentally forgot to bring enough money with us, and didn't have any credit/debit cards with us either.  It was a shame, because in Cozumel it was raining and we didn't get to see the island after the snorkeling because we had no money on us to pay the transportation.  We made lemonade out of our situation and enjoyed the snorkeling.  Tuesday we went to Tulum.  We saw awesome ruins there and played on their beach.  Even though it wasn't sunny, I had never enjoyed such blue, warm water or white sand.  It had nothing on my Oregon beach.  Wednesday we made the decision to stay put and enjoy our beautiful resort.  We ate great food there, swam in cool swimming pools, laid around the beach, got sunburned; it was an awesome day.  Thursday we took a tour to Ek-Balam and visited the ruins there.  We went to a small Mayan community for some lunch, swam in a cenote (underground hole with water inside), and stopped in a small town.  One of the coolest tours we were on.  And then Friday we went to Xcaret, an archaeological park embedded with so much of Mexican culture.  Every night we did night swimming and ate delicious resort food.  I missed my kids but it was nice to just be Matthew and I.  I have learned a lot being married.  It has its ups and downs.  Way more ups than downs though.  I have learned what it means to think about the other person, compromise, and how to rely on one another.  I think about him as my really good friend.  I remember when we first got married how strange I thought it was that he never went home, and now I can't imagine him not being home.  He knows me better than any other person and loves me like no one else.  I really am lucky to call him mine.  I feel lucky that even after all these years, he still can make me laugh.  Happy Anniversary Mateo!  I love you!

And big shout out to Grandma Patty for letting us use some of her time share.  Thank you!!

I took over 700 pictures, so these are just a few of my favorites.

Tulum

Ek-Balam

Xcaret

Mayan Palace Resort