after spending the morning at chichen itza, we headed off to this cute little city called valladolid. we walked around the square and ate lunch at a little hole in the wall restaurant. it was just lovely.
we then headed off to cenote samula. centoe's are all over the place in the yucatan and they are just about my favorite thing ever. they are basically underground, natural swimming pools and river systems in these amazing caves. there are so many you can visit, it was hard to limit which ones we wanted to see. when we arrived, there were 2 cenote's we could choose from. cenote diznup or samula. it was kind of a gamble because we didn't know what they looked like but we picked one and headed off. there were some stairs that lead you underground and honestly it's a memory i'll never forget. we walked in and saw this...
pictures don't do it justice. it was amazing too because normally these places are packed with tourists like ourselves, but we were the only ones there. we knew it wouldn't last long so we snapped some pictures and then swam around.
right before we left, kenneth and dan convinced the security guard to let them jump off from the top cliff. the security guard was pretty funny and finally agreed, but he said that if they jump he would have to publicly kick them out so that the other tourists there won't try and do it too. so when we were ready to go, the boys jumped and we all giddily left. i don't think any of us had been so happy to be "kicked out" of somewhere.
we then headed off to our next adventure where we visited more ruins.
ek balam.
so awesome.
after a busy day, we headed off to our new hotel that we planned on staying at for the rest of the week.
now when i say hotel, i should probably say mansion? this place was huge. they had a train that drove you around because it was so large. dan had access to a time share and that was how we got set up there. we indulged ourselves in some all inclusive dinner and went to bed. i was basically in a huge social shock the entire time. i had just gone from living in africa to living in a 5 star, all inclusive hotel. i do not recommend that. it was so overwhelming.
the next day we lounged by the pool, played some soccer on the beach (not that it matters but kenneth and i beat renee and dan). it was a day well spent. but then there were some mix ups with the hotel and we were told things that weren't true (more miscommunication… spoiler alert, this becomes a trend).
we decided it wasn't worth our time and peaced out. which actually ended up being the best thing ever.
i'm so sad though because i didn't take any pictures while we were at the hotel. oh well.. i guess i can google it haha. we then set off and wandered the streets of playa del carmen and quite quickly found a cheap hotel right by the beach (our room was actually bigger than our room at the 5 star hotel haha).
now that i know dan better, this picture literally cracks me up that he actually posed for this. he doesn't smile for any pictures. i guess that just proves how romantic mexico was ;)
i loved playa del carmen! the atmosphere of the city was so festive and fun. we walked on the beach, watched the street shows, shopped, and ate at this cute peruvian place.
so far, me gusta mexico, me gusta mucho.
so far, me gusta mexico, me gusta mucho.
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