May 26, 2008

Buenos Dias,
We had a great time in Cancun. Ralph enjoyed some time in the Ocean.
We went snorkeling at an all inclusive snorkeling resort that is at an inlet of the ocean. We got our snorkel gear and Ralph put his mask and snorkel on, and said this is how you do it. I had the hardest time getting used to the mask and not breathing through my nose. I finally was able to keep it on my face for 5 seconds and said I was ready. We got in the ocean and I got up the courage to put my face in the water. After that it was great. After about 1 1/2 hours, it started to make me sick and we had to get out of the water. We ate lunch and got back in for a couple more hours. We saw some beautiful fish that were big, small, colored magnificently and fun to look at. It was great. Later Ralph told me that that mask and snorkel were ok for him out of the water, but when he got in he really struggled and had to learn how to snorkel.


It was beautiful, but if you look closely, you'll see that the wind is blowing and it never stopped the whole time we were there. Sometimes the sand would hit you, ouch!

This is in a restaurant at Chichin Itza. The ladies danced with other stuff on their heads too.
Everywhere you went there were people begging for you to buy stuff. They all had beautiful items, but we didn't buy much. Everywhere we went we had to barter for what we wanted to pay for it.

This is a view when we were at Tulum. Tulum was an ancient trading port that looked similar to the buildings at Chichin Itza. There was a wall around it on three sides and the cliff on the ocean side. There was an opening in the reef so boats could get in.

This is the popular site at Chichin Itza. If you stand in front of the steps that go up the middle and clap your hands, a bird sound comes back at you. You can only hear the sound if you are standing inbetween the walls of the stairs. All the buildings built were according to the sun so they knew when Spring and Fall came so they could plant and harvest crops. There is so much limestone in that area that everything is built out of cement. Cement businesses are everywhere. The ground is so bad that not much grows. I don't know what the people would eat if they couldn'nt trade for food.

We went to a town one day and a guy asked if we wanted a picture with this Gila Monster and Ralph immediately said "NO". I looked at him and said "Yes". He thought I was crazy. I wanted the whole Mexico experience. We bartered at another place for a hat so I wouldn't get my head sunburned. We went from $30 to $10.

May 25, we celebrated our 38th anniversary. Deeann and her family decorated our house, bought us a cake and treated us special.