My first trip to Cancun Mexico had its ups and down. We started off the trip arriving at the privately owned beach house where we would stay for 7 days. I walked out the back door and was amazed at the view.
Daanise and Stacy made a fantastic sand octopus right outside.
It was definitely relaxing atmosphere.
Of course we had to get some snorkeling in, which quite honestly, it not my favorite activity but I got talked into it. I was the first one to want to go back to shore. I'm scared of sharks.
We went to an XPLOR Adventure park which was a blast. We went off roading.
The trail took us through caves with water.
We also swam in some caves.
As you can see, it was super exciting.
We also canoe through caves. This was one of the "downs" referred to earlier. I tweeked my back and spend the rest of the day lying on a hammock trying to rest it.
One evening we went out on a catamaran sailboat and watched the sunset.
My absolute favorite part of the trip was visiting Chichen Itza and Coba. We paid for a historic tour by an LDS man named Helaman. The thing that amazed me most was how symbolic everything was that the Mayan's made. I tried to take notes on my phone while the tour guide was talking to I could remember everything, but now as a look back and read them, they don't piece together quite as well as I would like.
Here what I remember about the temples.
The Pyramid of Kukulcan at Chichen Itza has four staircases of 91 steps each, and added together with the top platform the number comes to 365. Twice a year, at the equinox, the sun casts shadows on the staircase that appear to resemble a snake wending its way to the top.
This is resembles Chaac the rain god. In this particular area, they were not near water, so most of the rituals and sacrifices were in honor of Chaac to bring rain. The nose is curved upward to signify the catching of rain.
They had a ball game where they would try to hit a ball off their hip through the hoop on the side of the walls. Below you can see the arena and the hoops on the side of the walls toward the top. Each team had 7 players and it was considered an honor to win. If your team won, the captain would be a human sacrifice to Chaac to bring forth rain. It was an honor to be a sacrifice so you could essentially bring life to the village.
These are the hieroglyphs that teach us about the team's of 7 and the captain of the winning team getting sacrificed.
I also learned the symbolism of the serpent. I had always associated the serpent to be a symbol of evil, but there are 2 serpent symbols. One serpent is the feathered serpent and he symbol of the Jehovah of the Old Testament and of healing. That's why the international medical symbol has a serpent. Satan also uses the serpent but it lost it's wings and is fallen. The feather serpent can fly back to heaven.
In Coba we got to hike up the stairs of one of the temples. It was steep and high. I was a little scared a strong wind would come and blow me off the side. LOL
We had to take a picture at the top to prove we made it.
Despite hurting my back and getting sick during the trip, it was a great time. Plenty of beach time mixed with culture and fun.
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