While we were there we also saw a show about ancient Mayan culture and traditional Mexican dancing. We also ate at a fantastic restaurant overlooking the bay (one of the highlights for me) and went snorkeling in an underground river. There was a program where you could swim and interact with dolphins, but it was expensive, so we decided to save that for when we come back with our kids someday. But we were able to swim right up to the dolphin area and see them up close. It was pretty cool to be right there in the water with them (they were behind an underwater gate).
We traveled inland a bit to see Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. There are so many ruins there that it takes all day to really see everything. We took a guided tour and learned a lot about the Mayans. They are in the process of cleaning and restoring a lot of the ruins, so it was neat to see the carvings in detail. Even some of the original color was preserved. It's interesting to imagine what the city must have looked like when it was all colorfully painted.
We saw some more ruins at Tulum, right on the shore. It was the most awesome location. The city (considerably smaller than Chichen Itza) was situated on top of some cliffs overlooking the beach. It was one on the most beautiful places. But it was so hot! I think that's the sweatiest I've ever been. Okay, you probably didn't want to know that...but seriously! Kris' brother-in-law Frank said that that kind of hot, humid weather is totally normal for summertime on the East coast. I guess I'm just spoiled from California and Arizona. And another highlight for me...I got to hold a tiny baby sea turtle!
P.S. These last two photos were taken by Kari.
