Mexico....Oh how I miss you!

We have been back from Mexico almost a month, and I am finally caught up (almost) on the all of the other stuff, so I can blog about the important stuff. In December Shawn & I found out we had some frequent flyer miles that we didn't know existed. Combined with a condo we could get for a couple hundred dollars we decided to save our pennies and book a trip to Mexico. Shawn has really been wanting fish the flats in a place called Ascension Bay South of Cancun about 3 hours. We found a condo that we thought was a little closer than Cancun and booked it. We wanted Jenaee & Neal to come along but Neal wasn't able to get off of work. They kindly said they would take the kids for the week. So we were all set to leave February 28th.

The trip started in our usual fashion, we rushed into the airport and had about 2 minutes literally to check our luggage. They were counting down in seconds to get it checked to make the flight. I did not realize there was a time limit on it, but a guess 30 minutes before the flight is the minimum they will go no exceptions. We didn't get there any earlier than that because it was an early morning flight out of Idaho Falls and we didn't expect it to busy, which thankfully it wasn't. After that everything went smoothly and we got to sunny 80 degree Mexico that afternoon.

The condo and resort was huge and beautiful. It ended up only being about 20 minutes out of Cancun which wasn't very close to the fishing, but oh well, it was warm, sunny and relaxing. It was just so nice to just be Shawn & I, with no other worries. We had a great time together.

Our condo was beautiful, it had a big jacuzzi tub with bubble bath, salts & oils. We were able to cook some of our meals and save a lot of money.

We were able to book a tour with Helaman, an LDS tour guide to take us to the Mayan ruins. It was so amazing how he was able to tell us things that directly correlated with the Book of Mormon. He was able to tell us which groups such as the Jaredites and Nephites landed where and about their civilizations. He said if only the other tour guides would read the Book of Mormon they would be able to explain the ruins and the inhabitants so much better. It brought the Book of Mormon to life for Shawn & I. It made us want to read it again. I was so glad I had just read it in full last year and much of the things he was telling us was fresh in my mind. It was amazing to us wicked the people became. It tells of it in the Book of Mormon, how blood thirsty they were, but until you see some of the ways of sacrifice of people, and other traditions, it is hard to imagine. Even seeing it you really can't imagine that people could be that wicked. The crazy thing was they still had some of the righteous traditions of their fathers. Only they used them in a wicked way or didn't understand the meaning of them. With their wickedness they had lost all of that.

The main temple at Tulum sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

We climbed to the top of this temple. That is Shawn going down. Going down was much scarier & harder than going up. At the top you could see for miles. It was the tallest Mayan temple uncovered. You could see mounds covered with vegetation all around that were buildings not yet excavated.

The high priest always had his home next to the temple. This was what was considered the "MAIN" wife's quarters. The concubines quarters were about 1/4 of this size. I figured I was the main wife, so I needed a picture here!
This was the only temple left open they allowed you to climb. Over the years most temples have been closed to climbing due to vandalism & other dangers.
This was a watch tower.

This is a ball field. You can see the hoop up on the side. There was another one just like it on the opposite side. Where Shawn is standing was the middle. The teams would play a game in which they would try to hit a ball through the hoop by running up to the hoop and hitting it through with their hips or elbows. The winning teams captain got the honor of being sacrificed by the high priests after the game.

One of the many hyroglyfics they have excavated. Most of them were broken apart by the Spaniards when they tried to conquer them and the ability to read hyroglyfics was lost. They are in the process of trying to learn right now.

The main temple in Tulum on the cliff above the ocean.

All of the ruins around the temple are homes and tombs of high priests. Tulum was a sacred place where only high priests lived with in the walls. The High Priests are each buried in their home.

There are many sacred symbols on the temples which show that the people remembered a few of the sacred things that were lost as they became wicked. On this one there is a carving of God, Christ & the Holy Ghost (this one is depicted by being empty).

This was one of the most beautiful sights. It is looking down at the beach from the cliff next to the temple in Tulum.

We were also able to golf a couple rounds of golf on the resort golf course. It was the hardest course I have ever golfed. It was Jack Nicholas designed but only a par 3 course. I thought I would do pretty good since it was only a par 3. NOT! The 1st round I lost 12 balls. Yeah that pretty much cleaned me out. I think I hit 3 into one pond, and I am so stubborn I wouldn't just go drop my ball somewhere, I just kept hitting! I was an amazing course though. There were a zillion iguanas everywhere. The 2nd time we golfed it I had a much better day. Shawn actually lost more balls than I did. I got thru the whole course without losing a ball until hole 18 (a green surrounded with water), I lost my ball. I was pretty proud of myself.

Just some of the water on the course. I probably lost a ball here!

We were able to take a day and go fishing on the flats of Ascension Bay. The fishing was fair, the ride to get where we were fishing was a 3 hour bone jarring ride. We probably wouldn't do it again, but it was a fun day.

Shawn catching a bone fish. I didn't get many pictures because we did a lot of wading away from the boat. I caught a small barracuda and 3 bone fish, but was only able to land one.

We spent some time getting a suntan. One day Shawn got so sunburned he got a little sick, but there is nothing better than a little vitamin D to make you HAPPY!

Shawn actually read a book, maybe the 5th in his lifetime. It was 7 Wonders by Glen Beck.

One of the pools at night. They were beautiful.

We were able to send Walter & Laura, our foreman and his wife, with the rest of the frequent flyer miles. They just came over today to go over some things. They leave in the morning. If only there was a suitcase that I could fit in. I am so jealous I want to go back. We decided our next trip we would save up and take the family somewhere like that for Shade's graduation. Yeah that would be in 2 years, I know, UNBELIEVABLE.