Chichen Itza, Cancun, and another close catastrophe

While my parents were going to take a direct bus back to Cancun from Merida, on Friday, I boarded a bus that was going to stop at the famous Mayan ruin site at Chichen Itza. The city was founded around 300 A.D. and reached its peak around 800-900 A.D.

This is the Gran Piramide (Castillo de Kukulcan), which is constructed mathematically according to the Mayan calendar.

This is the Templo de los Guerreros with a Chac-mool figure that you can see on the top (sculpture on the stomach of which offerings were placed as sacrifices) .

Grupo de las mil columnas

The grounds also had a Gran Juego de Pelotas (the largest ball-court in Mesoamerica) with the 'rings' I saw before, at Uxmal. I learned that the losing captain was generally decapitated. Yikes. There was also the Cenote Sagrado, a natural well which the Mayans thought sacred and into which they threw offerings as well as people for sacrifice!

I was dropped of at my Cancun hotel by the tour bus to find some rather disgruntled parents. They were actually quite displeased with the travel company overall. Although we did meet very 'nice' people and had good luck with transfers/pick ups, we definitely had some issues with getting other things done accurately and in a timely manner (some things were definitely done on "Mexican time")! My parents and sister were actually flying standby on the way to Mexico-- no seats had actually been assigned to them! They then seemed to have changed our one-day Thursday itinerary without telling us (having us going on the Puuc Road ruins tour instead of to the bird sanctuary). Only 2/7 days went, for them, as planned! And, once in Cancun, my family had to change hotels because of a lack of rooms at the Flamingo we were supposed to be at (it was an upgrade, though:)). Additionally, when my Dad called to confirm our airline seats for our trip back (after being reassured all was in order), it seemed that U.S. Airways, in changing my incoming itinerary, had somehow deleted my return flight so I did not have a seat.... Oof. What a catastrophe. My Mom said, "Boy, there have been a lot of ups and downs, haven't there?" to which my sister replied, "what have been the ups?!". My Dad said, "I need a few drinks to calm down."

We had my godmother's sister (godaunt?) back in McLean calling the airline to fix this issue... and, luckily, it was resolved. While, again, there are far worse places to be stuck than Cancun, I really did want to get home, spend some time just 'chilling' in a house rather than a foreign bed/couch. I needed to do some research stuff, take care of errands, as well as see some friends that I missed because I had to come straight here from Denver.

But, I really have "learned to be in all things content" (Phil 4:11). Whatever happened, I would have dealt.

We ate out at Vips, a place hear our hotel in Cancun. There is an impressive strip (I think, as a driver was telling me, 29 km) of hotels along the beach!. It reminds me a bit of Miami beach, where I passed a weekend back in March bumming off the nice hotel that Sam, Sean, and Natasha were at for their Allergy conference, while I was supposed to be working hard on my surgery rotation in Jacksonville.

Anyway, here's Dad, "calming down" with a margarita.

Here's some yummy tortilla soup, a favorite dish from the trip.

It would have been a real shame to leave Cancun without seeing the beaches, which I was told were beautiful with very, very clear and blue-turquoise water. So Vanessa and I went for an early morning stroll out there. It was really lovely. We did have some drunk people offer to take our picture (it was 7 a.m.!). However, I think drinking is quite a common thing to do to pass away the time down there! The light wasn't that great for pictures, but here are a few.


We made it safely back to Virginia this evening! Phew!

Mas de Mexico

We woke up today to a beautiful morning in Mexico-- there was not a cloud in the sky and it was about 75 degrees :). We boarded the bus and, partway into the ride, were surprised to hear the itnerary for the day. Unlike on airline flights where they, early on, verify that this is flight xxxx going to xxxxx, they did not do such a thing here. So we were listening to all the additional archaeological sites we were to visit today, when we were under the impression that we were supposed to be going to Celestun, a bird sanctuary. Ruins are great, don't get me wrong, but I love wildlife (and I knew JB was going to be jealous if we'd gotten to go to the bird sanctuary!). But oh well. There was some mix-up with the tour company, so it was off to more ruins for us (forget those flamingos!).

Here are some pics from Mayapan, the first place we visited. It was supposedly the most powerful Mayan city from the 13th- 15th centuries. It featured some really nice frescoes, as well as an impressive Castillo de Kulkulkan, which Vanessa and I summited. Behind Mom and me are banana plants. The view from atop the Castillo
Steep descent
Van is very cool doing it, though.
We then stopped in a small village called Oxkutzcab, where we visited a fortress-like church as well as a traditional market (mostly citrus fruit).
They even had little piggies hanging around... These are the town taxis! They're like wheelbarrows!
Then it was onto las Grutas de Loltun, a fascinating set of caves used in Stone Age times (around 15000 B.C.) but then also later by the Mayans for religious purposes. These were some of the largest caves I have ever been in! They even had one section referred to as "The Cathedral" with tons of open space inside-- no danger for claustrophobics! Interestingly, there were all kinds of visible patterns on the walls that resembled things like the Virgin Mary and frogs, although they were purely natural stains from water! They had tons of stalactites and stalagmites, some of which were hollow, giving the name to the cave.
A less-than-desirable part of being in these caves... I can't believe I got this close to these bats! Believe me, we were watching out for guano during the entire tour's duration!

We also went to another set of ruins called Labna, which included a Palace and interesting Arch.

We returned to Merida just in time for 'Happy hour' at a nearby restaurant, Pancho's, that we have frequented. They have 2-for-1 drinks from 6-8 p.m., so we loaded up, as you can see below. Again, I repeat, our family does not consist of alcoholics. We do like a good drink or two, however, especially when the second is free! So here below is an assortment of bebidas alcoholicas including margaritas, pina coladas, tequila sunrises (Dad's choice!), and mojitos (my new favorite drink! They consist of club soda, rum, mint, brown or granulated sugar, and lime. Mmm.)


Tomorrow I think I get to hit up Chichen Itza en ruta a Cancun for our final full day in Mexico :( It has gone by too quickly!

Made it to Mexico!! Merida and Mayan ruins #1

Are you surprised? I am, too! Not necessarily that I made it here (the prayers seemed to have worked!), but that I'm writing. Our hotel has free wireless and, since I came straight from CO, I have my laptop :)

My journey started out on Monday night with three flights-- Denver to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to Philadelphia, and then Philadelphia to Cancun. I was a bit nervous because I only had about 30 minutes of a layover in Las Vegas. And, sure enough, the flight left late. I literally ran from the arrival gate to the departure gate and was a late boarder, but made it on. I didn't think my bag would, but I packed everything I needed for 4 days in my carry-on. Then it was onto Philadelphia. I thought I would have a nice, long layover there but didn't realize that LV is in the Pacific Time Zone so the 4-or-so-hour flight put me in Philly around 3 a.m. Pacific Time, 6 a.m. EST. So, this time, I walked from gate to gate but arrived just as they were boarding. The flight to Cancun was uneventful. But here's a Christmas miracle for you: my suitcase actually made it to Mexico. Props to U.S. Airways!!!!

I took a cross-Yucatan peninsula bus from Cancun to Merida (there is an accent over the e but I can't figure it out in blogger so you'll just have to *imagine* the pronunciation in your head from now on. I will also be omitting lots of other future accents) and was reunited with my family! It was nice. I was so tired and definitely needed a shower, but they were happy to see me too.

Today we had a fun day learning some Mayan history. We started with a visit to the Museo Arcaelogico here in town. We walked down one of the nicest avenues in town, Paseo de Montejo, to get there and passed a huge Christmas tree and some interesting sculptures (here's V and me posing) along the way...

Con un angel

A tank... who knows why . I don't like this pic b/c my lil' sis looks bigger than I do!

Some interesting things I learned about Mayan culture:

• They thought that being cross-eyed was quite beautiful. So they used to dangle little balls of hair or something in front of babies' foreheads so that their eyes would eventually converge onto this proximal focal point and stay that way!!!
• They also thought that having a certain head shape made you more intelligent. So, starting in the first few days of babies' lives, they strapped boards to the front and back of their heads to induce plagiocephaly (flat front and back). The others, i.e. the servants, had to "board" their heads the other way (i.e. top and sides), creating a "pumpkin-head" look! No joke!!

This afternoon, we took a bus trip to Uxmal, an archaelogical site dedicated to Chaac, the God of Rain. The name means "thrice built" and was completed around 800 A.D.This is La Piramide del Adivino (Pyramid of the Magician), rumored to have been built after a dwarf beat a king at a variety of tests. Also around the grounds was the Quadrangulo de las Monjas (Nunnery Quadrangle), a plaza named because it sort of resembled a convent, with lots of reliefs lining each directional wall, as well as a Ball Court, albeit much smaller than the one at Chichen Itza (another, perhaps the most famous, archeological Mayan site that my parents and sis visited on Christmas). They were telling me that you had to bump a ball into this hoop without the use of your hands (sounds kind of like a mix of volleyball [minus setting and spiking], soccer, and basketball if you ask me).

We then climbed to the top of la Gran Piramide (Great Pyramid), which had some really nice views. This is our attempt to capture that put-your-hands-atop-the-monument-so-that-it-looks-like-you-are-squashing-it-look. Mom took the picture. There were two attempts and this was the best one (sadly).Bajando la Piramide We then had some dinner and stuck around for the sound and light show at the ruins (this seems to be a rather common thing to do at ruins/temples, as we went to a couple of different ones last year in Egypt). We even saw a shooting star, and the night sky (which we enjoyed wearing only 1-2 layers) was beautiful! Here's Van and Dad enjoying their Mexican beer over dinner. For some reason, V likes to open her mouth in pictures :)

It's been sooooo great being here with my family. It really does feel like I am "away" and can escape some of the worries of daily life. I LOVE speaking and hearing Spanish all around me. I LOVE being warm! Although "Your mom" jokes (which Cathleen and I find quite popular) aren't quite as funny when shared with a sister (they become "Our mom" or "My mom"), we are having a great time and our parents are putting up with us crazy girls. A few more days of relaxation here! We head back to VA on the 30th.

Feliz Navidad!

Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I didn't think I'd get another chance to post before leaving the country (I hope that's still the plan!) but here I am in the Denver International Airport.

Initially I was bummed that I wouldn't get to catch a flight out until the night of Christmas day, but it turned out really, really well. Cathleen and I celebrated our first Christmas together (I know that sounds kind of weird, but it really wasn't!). Who knows... if I end up at residency in Denver, we may have more (I wonder if I'd get any future Christmases off!).

We slept in and then went to mass at her church which was really nice. They put all the words to the different parts of the service- Alleluia, Communion hymns, etc. to various Christmas carols, and we loved singing along and hitting high notes and harmonizing to i.e. The First Noel and others that other parishioners wouldn't take the risk on :) The priest's message was also a good one.

We then came back to her place, gathered around the tree, and opened presents. Cathleen got a bunch from her parents, whose tradition is to give the kids (Cathleen refers to her sisters Celeste and Colleen as C1 and C2!) lots of Christmas ornaments and children's books. Cathleen was also really excited to get 'The Polar Express'! :).She made me a stocking and beautiful earrings as well. I can't believe how talented and generous she is! :) We now have matching little Denver Broncos snowmen to remember this Christmas together:)

We then went over and had a Christmas meal at the house of Eric, one of her coworkers. Everyone was so welcoming to us sin familias this Christmas and it was wonderful to be surrounded by so many of them! We ate, laughed, learned some poker and had a wonderful time. CC then dropped me off at the airport. So far the flights are on time. Keep praying!

Not sure when the next post will be, but expect some historias mexicanas sometime soon! :)

Una vez mas, 'Feliz Navidad'!

Breckenridge, Broncos, and bumming around with Track guys....

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday (Denver really is incredibly sunny!) and Cathleen, Todd, and I took a little day trip out west to the mountains! There are tons of really cute, small towns along the way. We also went to the outlet malls at Silverthorne (an essential for CC as there is a Nike outlet and, we discovered, a new Adidas outlet as well!) and tried to stop at the house of her cousin, although she wasn't home. The mountains, all snow-covered from the recent blizzard, were gorgeous! Here are some pics from the trip.

Cathleen and me in Silverthorne

CC and Todd in Breckenridge

The "10-mile range"

At near-sunset

True Sunset. Believe me, it was gorgeous!

Today's big expedition was to the Broncos-Bengals game at Invesco Field! Scott, one of the guys that Cathleen coaches with, has season tickets and invited us to go with him today. I was so excited! Neither CC nor I had been to a professional football game before. I've been meaning to try to go to a Vikings game while in MN, but haven't gotten around to it so I was thrilled to be able to go see the Broncos play!

Scott and Cathleen at the entrance to Invesco Field

Me getting searched at the entrance (CC thought it would be wonderful to take a picture of this)It was a great, great game! The atmosphere was amazing, and, as you can see below, we had awesome seats just off-center from the field goal net behind the endzone. It was so fun! Cathleen and I came prepared w/ many layers (she wanted to wear her sweater over her puff jacket at one point to show spirit!) and hand/foot warmers, which kept us comfortable. It did snow throughout the game, but only served to help the team because....

They had a real horse on the field after TDs!!...the score was 24-17 Broncos with less than a minute remaining in regular time and we were all crushed when Cincinnati then scored a TD. However, they fumbled the extra point, Denver recovered the later on-side kick, and the game was over! It was so wild! The scoreboard read Broncos 24, Bengals 23 and "It's a Christmas miracle". Maybe so. Whatever it was, it was awesome.

Here are some shots of us posing next to the backboards.

And now onto pictures of more randomness for other times of the weekend...

Cathleen and Todd in the Track office (Todd's doing the "chubby" face). We want to accumulate a repertoire of "chubby" jokes. We've already heard four variations!

Henry and Scott wanted to compare calve sizesTough guys
We told Henry to valsalva until his face turned red. Very close to his shirt color, don't you think?
And more of "Ghetto Golden":

Here is the Laundromat/Laundrymat I mentioned before:

This is the drive-through liquor store in Golden (indeed, home to the Coors brewery) This is the "World's Largest Christmas Stocking," which you can win via lottery!
And onto Christmas festivities.....

Cathleen found these (her Dad's?) in the box with the Christmas ornaments... strange, huh?

...so we thought they belonged on the tree with the other ornaments :)

So it's Christmas eve. We've decorated Cathleen's apartment, including the festive tree, and are awaiting Christmas morning. Scott invited us over to his family's house for a Christmas day meal, which is so nice of him. I fly out to Mexico tomorrow night around 9:45 p.m. Pray that all my flights go as planned! I will have visions of sugar plums and warm Mexico sands dancing in my head tonight....

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas to everyone!