Paradise Found

Michael and I just returned home yesterday from the Mayan Riviera; after a one-week stay at a beautiful resort called El Dorado Royale. Before we left, I thought we would do a whole lotta nothing - and we did spend a fair amount of time on nothing ; ). But we managed to play tennis twice in merciless heat and humidity; we played in the ocean; we slept by the ocean; we learned to salsa dance (kinda); and we ate at some fabulous on-site restaurants; we enjoyed massages on the beach and even rode in a limo back to the airport when it was all over.

The two most memorable days were our excursions; the first to Chichen Itza, an area about 150 miles inland. We shopped in the open air market, talked to the Mayan people and walked through their amazing ruins and temples. There was such a sacred feeling in many of the ruins and I knew that Heavenly Father loves and is mindful of these sweet Mayan people. They are little, petite people - and so I, at only 5' 2" tall, felt like a giant among them. They look exactly as I would imagine the ancient Lamanites appeared. As part of our trip that day, we where able to dive into a cenote at Ixtel. A cenote is a sinkhole in the limestone that is filled with fresh water that comes from underground rivers. The second day-trip was to Xel-ha, a very large lagoon where you can snorkel and swim, dive and tube down the river that runs into the ocean. It was another all-inclusive, so we ate great food, enjoyed the sun and played in the water all day.

All of this was wonderful, amazing and restful but in stark contrast to the poverty all around us. While I know that our U.S. dollars help their economy, I struggled any time I wasted food or spent money for any extras. And even though our resort was all-inclusive - meaning that all our food, drinks, basic activities and tips were included - Michael and I couldn't help but tip these people as generously as we could. I loved the land and the people...the humidity - not so much. 

So now, I've decided to learn to speak Spanish. I'll work on learning French later Michael. Yup, for now it will be Spanish. Wish me luck amigas!