Meandering in Mexico

Our adventures in Mexico included a trip to Tulum, zip-lining over the Jungla Maya, Rappelling into a Cenote, a Mayan Purification ceremony, snorkeling in a Cenote, snorkeling on the second largest reef in the whole world, and lying on a beach (reading and napping) between bouts of eating yummy food or swimming in the Caribbean. Epic! 

Hubster and I just returned to the ranch yesterday from a week spent in the Riveria Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and it. was. AWESOME.

Some of the advice we've been given during this fertility struggle has been to take opportunities that we might not have once we start a family, and this trip was one of those. My school year ended with me in a mess (hormones, up and down emotions, panic attacks), and so taking a nice, relaxing vacation seemed like a really good idea.

And it was!!!

Hubster and I realized that since we've been married (3 years in October!), we've never gone on a big trip just for us. We've traveled a lot since getting hitched, but all the trips have been centered around things--family, weddings, etc. So this was our first vacation that was just because we wanted to, and that made it pretty special.

We spent a week at a resort, in a beautiful little room with a balcony overlooking the jungle, and our front door was just 150 yards from the beach. We took time to walk around Playa del Carmen, read (and nap) on the beach, swim in the Caribbean, and eat great food.

Hubster and I also indulged in a few outings--we booked a day with a fantastic company called AllTourNative, which works with the Mayan people to bring tourists to the Cenotes (underground pools of water) and show them the Mayan culture.

We got up early, got picked up by our awesome guide, Carlos, and headed to the Jungla Maya, where we rappelled about 80 feet down into a Cenote (so cool!), zip-lined over the jungle treetops, and even zip-lined into one of the Cenotes (awesome, despite the serious wedgie).

We then got geared up with snorkels and swam in one of the HUGE Cenotes, which was a giant cave, full of awesome rock formations, both above us and under the water. It was dark and there were bats overhead, but Carlos took us through with a light, and it was seriously cool! They then fed us a traditional Mayan lunch (delicious!), and then Carlos took us to the ruins at Tulum.

The city is breath-taking, and we enjoyed touring the site and checking out the incredible buildings of the Mayan culture. We swam at the beach there at Tulum, which felt so good in the heat, and then headed back to the resort.

A few days later, we also went out to the second largest reef in the whole world and snorkeled. We got on a beautiful catamaran called the Aqua Quin and cruised along the coast for a ways, then anchored and snorkeled.

How cool that the fish swam right up around us! The reef was such an incredible sight, and swimming underwater, in the whole other world down there, reminded me of the incredible creativity and power of the God of the Universe. What a moving experience it was!

Overall, the trip was such a great getaway, and a chance for Hubster and I to just decompress and spend time together. It feels strange to be back here at the ranch, sitting alone out in the studio, writing, after almost 10 days of being with Hubster 24/7. I feel spoiled when I get him to myself that much!

The ranch was well-taken care of in our absence (we have a great gal who sits for us!), and we got home last night to a joyful pupper and hungry horses!

There's no place like home, though a little time away was wonderful.

Cheers!

R-Lib