Cancun Day 1, 2 and half of 3...

Our adventure began Friday night when we had to leave the family Halloween party shortly after dinner to trek it down to Salt Lake to stay the night at Mom's. I felt like I needed to get there a little early to go over everything. I unpacked the boys clothes, went over my "typical day" sheet with Mom and tried to get the boys settled.

We left for the airport early Saturday morning. Our flight left at 9:45 so we got to the airport by 8:00 am. I was worried I'd start bawling or the kids would cry but our goodbye's were short and sweet. TJ gave me the biggest hug ever!
We got into the Delta international line where we waited for at least 45 minutes. (no wonder they tell you to be at the airport 2 hours early) I wish I travel enough to take advantage of skycap...but I have no clue on that one.
After checking our bags and getting our boarding pass we headed upstairs for another line that brought us through security. I brought my backpack and Josh brought an empty canvas work bag as carry on's. We wanted a little extra room to bring back some souvenirs. After our bags were x-rays a security guard on the other end said Josh's bag had a "saw like" object inside. He reaches in and grabs a saws all blade!!! He looked at Josh and told him he couldn't bring it. I realize this is serious business, but we couldn't help but laugh.

We were meeting my Grandma and her husband at the gate. I had bought our tickets a few months earlier and was having nightmares about not doing it right. When we got to the gate and didn't see them, I panicked a little. They showed up about 10 minutes to board, they had got something to eat.

Our flight was good. We had an hour and half layover in Atlanta Georgia. (Brooke I waved to you!) Then got on a smaller flight to Cancun. That flight was nice and short and we arrived in Mexico shortly after 7:00. It was dark when we landed and it looked like it had been raining. Once off the plane you could feel the muggy warm air. It was so nice! Grandma arranged a transfer for us to the hotel. We rode there in a van and the driver felt like he was driving very fast! I was sitting in the front seat and looked over at the speedometer and it read 100mph! Or at least that's what my mind said. I thought were going fast, but not 100mph fast? I then realized that it was kph, not mph. We were only going about 75mph, still fast for wet roads. We arrived to our hotel safely thank goodness. My aunt and uncle were there waiting for us.

We planned Sunday morning to attend the hotel orientation. Just a refresher on the country and what to do, how to get around etc. We arrived an hour early to our appointment because their time had changed. We were on the same time as Utah our whole vacation. After that we hopped on the city bus. They are the means of transportation for most everyone in the city. They come alone every few minutes and cost 6.5 Pecos to ride. The exchange rate was about 10.5 Pecos to the dollar so it cost both Josh and I a little over a dollar to ride as long as you wanted one way. We rode all the way downtown to Market 28. We walked around there for awhile looking at all the fun stuff to buy. Shop owners in Cancun really want your business and you kinda get harassed a little to come in and "take a look". We got used to it quickly though and politely said no if we didn't want too. We stopped at the food vendors in the middle of the market and sat down for some food.

This is my Mom's sister Dana and my uncle Jack. We ordered Cokes, some chicken tacos and the best guacamole I've ever had! Yum!

Look how cute all the colorful homes are.

I realize this photo is extremely blurry. Josh was trying out this swing and told the shop owner to sit on his lap. Made everyone laugh.

On our way back home we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries. I loved it, it was so interesting to me. I mean look at this picture, the eggs aren't refrigerated! They are on palates on the floor! The meat wasn't refrigerated either. They would grab a Styrofoam plate, fill it with the meat they wanted, which was just laying out everywhere and bring it to the butcher to wrap in plastic. Also their milk is mostly shelf safe, again no refrigeration. And lastly everything had a "Mexican" taste to it. We bought orange juice for example and it was just a little different. We ended up going to Wal-Mart twice I liked it so much!

Monday we scheduled our first tour. We went to Tulum, a ancient Mayan city by the sea and then to Xel-Ha, a natural water park with snorkeling.
The bus ride to Tulum our first stop was about an hour and a half. We got to ride on a nice bus with a potty. Once we got there we walked about a mile to get to the site.

They did have a trolley that we could have taken for $2 per person,
but we opted for the nice walk.

Tulum is a relatively small city, there are just a few building left standing.

Our bus driver was our tour guide and had lots to tell us.

You can't see it very well, but Josh is right next to a huge Iguana! They are everywhere in Cancun! I remember from last time, but it's so strange to see more Iguana's than cats or dogs!

The city is surrounded by a wall and used the sea as a natural barrier for one of the sides.

Isn't that water crazy!?!? It really was that blue! It doesn't look real.

Got to love a vacation destination where wearing your swimsuit everywhere is the norm.

It was hot that day. There were a few trees that we were able to get some shade.

Besides the buildings there were lots of foundations still there from the smaller homes in the city.

They are excavating the site and most buildings were roped off.

Can you see the women inside? She was working on the interior walls.

We were able to spend a few hours there and the time went rather quickly. We met at the bus at 12:30 to go to our next destination, Xel-Ha!