Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico Adventures---July 2003

To celebrate our daughter's graduation from high school, we arranged a week trip to Cancun.  Jessica was joined by her friend Katie.



Unfortunately, we arrived in the evening during Tropical Storm Bob getting soaked as we made our way inside the Melia Cancun Resort.  The rainwater was pouring into the lobby of the hotel as the staff tried to use big squeegees and towels to clear out the flooding.  

To make matters worse, the room we had reserved was occupied by people who decided to overstay because of the storm so they put us in a small room with a pull out sofa for the girls and a queen bed for us.  At least the room did not leak.



By afternoon Tropical Storm Bob had dissipated and the skies were a clear and beautiful blue.  That was enough for the girls to head to the beach and beachside pool where they became lounge lizards.

A day later, the rains and wind returned.







We drove out to Chichen Itza to tour the Inca ruins there, beginning with el Castillo for some fabulous views of other ruins including the Temple of the Warriors, the Ball Court, Sacred Pool, Venus Platform, and a Thousand Columns.











Our return to the Melia Resort included more beach time in the warm sun and high surf. 



We first went to the Laguna Grill that had a crocodile-filled lagoon.  Afterward, with some reservations, I dropped the girls off at a nightclub with an agreement to meet up with them at 1am. 

The following day, we drove out to Tulum, some Inca Ruins along the Gulf of Mexico.  It included an observatory along with the el Castillo.  What seemed to interest them most though were all of the iguanas they spotted.













On our return, we spent time at Xcaret where we watched a horse performance with costumed riders--kind of like dressage.  During the day, we spent a lot of time floating down the waterways through the caves the ended up down by where they kept the dolphins and relaxing at the bar by the horse show.



In the evening we watched a reenactment of the Inca life including a fiery ball court performance along with a show that retold the history of Mexico, especially the Yucatan area.  Lots of dancing.



The following day, it was lots of pool time for Jessica and Katie.  Jessica tried out her braided hair in the pool waters.





It was then back to Seattle and both Jessica and Katie slept most of the way.