Cancun album

If you're interested in ways to help preserve coral reefs and ocean ecosystems, you can Donate to the Project AWARE Foundation, the dive industry's leading nonprofit environmental organization that works to conserve underwater environments through education, advocacy and action... and you don't even have to be a diver to contribute or take action! If you're a shark lover like me, you may even be interested in adopting a shark.

We took a trip to Cancun which was lovely and fun. It was my first time in Cancun and my first time in the Caribbean come to think of it, but I'd been to Mexico once before back in 1997... Cabo San Lucas. I definitely liked Cancun better for several reasons. The water was alot prettier, I was with the right person this time around, we did a lot of fun eco-tourism, I had my underwater photography capacity, we went and saw some Mayan ruins, and despite all the tourism, Cancun still has more of an authentic Mexican feel to it. We lucked out again on weather. It was hot but not too hot to think straight, not that thinking was terribly high on my list of priorities. Cancun felt like a giant carnival, a sort of great big gorgeous, colorful mess.We stayed at the Golden Parnassus Resort and Spa (adults only) on this beautiful white sand beach. Click here to see the resort. It was a very well run resort with friendly, upbeat staff and a high energy. We swam, boogy-boarded, played with a squirrel monkey, ate by the pool, beach-combed, played volleyball in the pool, caught the flamboyant Latin dance shows at night, and got pretty brown. I loved the sand, too. It was this pretty pinkish-tan color and had lots of teeny scallop and clam shells in it. It was so neat to look closely at the sand and feel tickled by all the tiny, delicate details. When we travel I always take a big plastic bottle of sand home with me.

I even found this pretty, clear, glassy, tubular shaped shell in the sand and went to show it to my boyfriend. He told me it was a crack pipe and to put it down immediately because I could get diahrea and worms. No, I made that up. It was a very nice place and there weren't any crack pipes in the sand, only a plastic cup every now and then. But that was hardly enough to eclipse the striking beauty of Cancun's beaches.

We took a day trip over to La Isla Des Mujeres (The Island of the Women) which was very interesting. We enjoyed the little island alot... rented a golf cart and drove around the perimeter of the island, checking out the beaches, the wildlife, sea cliffs, lizards, vendors, and quirky, rustic, colorful buildings. Right around late afternoon we waded out into the bay in this dreamy, shallow, warm water that stretched out for quite a ways. I almost got close to a floating brown pelican but he was too paranoid. He kept floating away... keeping his distance. He was cute, though. There was a band playing blues at some restaurant on the shore and the music echoed out over the water to us as we were floating and wading... very cool. Cancun was such a strange mixture of crowdedness and desertedness. I can't remember the last time I saw so many vendors anywhere, either. I sure got alot of practice saying, "No, gracias... just looking." It seemed like everybody there was trying to sell us something and there were so many hand made goods. It's a great place to do your Christmas shopping, among other things. We got to see this beautiful, giant tide pool on the island shore called the King's bath... there was a school of croissant-sized silver fish in it. This lady threw a hot dog bun in there and the fish ate it up in no time. No, I made that up, too. She actually threw in a large pepperoni pizza.

We saw quite a few iguanas along the way just sitting in the middle of the pathways we walked. I love that... they're so cute. I have and always will love reptiles... we saw lots of iguanas and sea birds, mostly brown pelicans and frigate birds. We went on a "jungle tour" through our resort where you and your partner ride a Sea-Do way out to a coral reef and snorkel. It was a gorgeous adventure except my life jacket was really frustrating... I couldn't get it to buckle right and I got so ticked off with it at one point I had to ask myself, what good is a life jacket if it makes you want to kill yourself?! My favorite place we visited was Xel-ha (pron. "Shell-ha"), this exotic natural water park pictured at left. It's an ecological theme park created by the Mayan gods, as legend has it... it's a collection of coves, lagoons, cenotes (pron. "say-no-tays") and caves where sea water merges with the sweet water of the Yucatan's underground rivers. This underwater cenote network is totally unique to the Yucatan. We snorkeled and got pictures of yellow fin tuna and a variety of other fish... and there were lots of fish! We even saw a barracuda, a huge parrotfish, a sting ray or two, and the interesting underwater world at Xel-ha. We also walked Xel-ha's expansive perimeter and explored some of the prettiest trails and pathways I'd ever seen... the palms grew right up through the walkway. Click here for an arial view of Xel-ha.

The Maya christened the area "Xel-Ha". "Xel" for source or spring, and "ha" for water, so the name roughly translates 'where the water is born' or 'source of the water'. Legend says the Mayan gods pooled their wisdom, dreams and love of beauty to create a place where the best of the Caribbean could be gathered. They called it Xel-Ha and were so pleased with their work, they decided to let in the mortals, but not before appointing the macaw, the iguana and the parrotfish as the "Guardians of Xel-Ha", keepers of the sky, land and sea respectively. Click here to see the official Xel-ha web site.

We went and checked out the Mayan ruins at Chichen-Itza (a.k.a. "Chicken Pizza") and Tulum, both of which are definitely worth seeing... just be sure to bring some serious hydration options. I suggest you bring at least one 2 liter bottle of water, a hat, and SPF 30 sunblock or more. It's very HOT and dry, and don't wear anything too nice because you're gonna end up coated with a nice sticky layer of topsoil to mix with your SPF 30. Nice, huh? Well, get used to it. After all, think how satisfying it will be to watch all the dirt run off you down into the shower drain. So yes, the Mayan ruins were colossal, intricate, and intriguing to say the least. Very magnificent. There's a real sense of timeless mystery that hovers there... a distant, thundering beauty that echoes through the recesses of your mind, captures your imagination, and quiets the soul... and then you stumble upon the onslaught of vendors again which promptly jerks you back to hot, dusty, thirsty reality. Oh, well. Maybe it's for the best. Besides, you can always fall asleep to Chichen-Itza eyelid movies in the air-conditioned tour bus on the 4 hour drive back to Cancun. So quit your whining! Do you have any idea how freakin' lucky you are, huh?! I bet the ancient Mayans wish they had air-conditioned tour buses, luxurious beach resorts, popcorn, hot dogs, and cotton-candy concessions at their human-sacrifice rubber ball games.