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| Cenote Tankah |
Day 1: Today started slow because we were worn out, but once we got going, we rocked it. We headed out of town to check out the Tulum Ruins. Tulum was one of the last Mayan cities and was used as a major seaport trading hub. After walking through the archaeological site, we jumped on a collectivo. This is a mode of transport in Mexico where you flag down the van, jump in, tell the driver where you’re going and then they drop you off near the spot, but on the main road. The collectivo took us to our first round of cenotes. Cenotes are basically large limestone sinkholes where you can jump in and swim and used to serve as a water source for the Mayans. We were able to enjoy two open-air cenotes today; one was fresh water and the other was adjacent to the Caribbean, both of which were full of fish and refreshing.
Breakfast : chicken empanadas and French toast
Tulum Ruins
Goofing off in Cenote Tankah
Watching soccer while our burgers were grilling.
Blackberry Tres Leches
1st Cenote on today's excursion. 
Hours later...
Day 3: We traveled deeper into the Yucatán, with a stop for the night in Valladolid. Valladolid is a colonial town, dating back to the 1500s when it was colonized by the Spanish.
Iglesia de San Servacio and the town square.
Found a bakery to pack some snacks for tomorrow’s adventures. $0.25 for each item.
Group of the Thousand Columns. People suggest that they symbolize, within the human being, along with the thousands of psychological defects that we carry, we also have different aspects of warriors that help us fight the evil that we carry within.
The Ball Court. Here the game of Pok-a-Tok was played, the most popular sport among the Maya.
El Caracol, the Observatory. The ancient Mayan observatory building provided a way for them to observe changes in the sky.
Day 2: “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale." -Hans Christian Andersen
Exploring cenotes has been a dream of mine since I saw them on a travel show a long time ago. Even better, I got to enjoy them with Davis. We met up with a local guy in Chemuyil this morning and started our day by learning how to prepare a traditional Mayan dish; cochinita pibil. After we got the pork marinating and simmering, we took off on bikes to explore 4 cenotes in the area. Walking up to the jungle cenotes seemed like we were in a fairytale and snorkeling in the caves amongst the fish and bats was incredible.
Pork is in the basket to the left. A banana leaf is in the pot (pork goes on top). Then, sour orange juice and achiote spice is mixed together and poured on top. Then it cooks for a few hours.
Heading to the 2nd cenote. Sooooooo many mosquitos, but a beauty!!!
Biking to and from cenotes in Chemuyil.
The Bat Cave Cenote
Cenote 4. Davis’ favorite since he could jump in.
Lunch is ready! Cochinita pibil on the left. Onions and sour orange juice.
Roasted habaneros and sour orange juice.
Dinner at a cool outdoor food court. Grilled corn and pork bbq.
Just realized I ate double pork today. Both were delish!
After the bus ride and then getting absolutely poured on while walking to our new house, we decided to swing away to relax.
“La Purificadora” / The Purifier
Calzada de Los Frailes. Cute street w/shops & brightly painted homes. 1st rolled ice cream for him.
Day 4: "One of the ceaseless wonders of the world: The power of a smile." ~ Malcolm Forbes
We were all smiles as we wandered around one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Chichen Itza is thought to have been a religious, military, political, and commercial centre starting in 550AD. Such a cool and complex site to explore.
El Castillo. This pyramid was built on top of another temple around 700AD.
Davis’ first New Seven Wonders of the World.
Sacred Cenote. The Maya deposited valuables and human bodies into the cenote as a form of sacrifice to the rain god Chaac.
Tamale in Cancun as we prepare for our flight home tomorrow.
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