Cancun for Amy

 Amy, we've been to 3 Mayan sites near Cancun - each of them quite different.  I think this is the best place for me to share images and pictures with you.  Unfortunately, it's an old blog template and the space for photos is narrow and cuts them off or forces me to minimize them.  Maybe you can click on the pictures to enlarge(?).

CHICHEN ITZA

The first time we were in Cancun (2007) we went to Chichen Itza ("chee-chin eetz-uh").  It is a site that has been restored and is being significantly maintained.  I remember it being the largest of the sites we saw, but then again it's been 14 years ago, so maybe my memory is fuzzy!  We had a guide, and we learned a lot.  A year before we got there people were still allowed to go up the steps of the Great Pyramid, but that is no longer allowed, unfortunately.  It is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and, as well as the Great Pyramid it also has a temple complex, a "sports arena," a large cenote, and other features.  I don't have as many pictures of Chichen Itza as of the other two sites, as I don't think we had a digital camera in 2007, so these are scans of photos.

TULUM

We've been to Tulum twice -- once in 2012 and once in 2017.  When I picture Mayan ruins I picture them surrounded with jungle.  Tulum, however, is on the coast, overlooking azure-blue waters.  It is gorgeous, but I have to admit being disappointed at how many people were swimming below the ruins, which made it hard to get the beautiful photos I wanted.  We didn't have a guide either time for this one.

COBA

Coba is not just surrounded by jungle, it is IN the jungle.  This was the only site at which we could climb to the top of a pyramid, which was AMAZING - really hard, but really amazing!  The top of the pyramid is high above the jungle canopy, so it was absolutely a bird's-eye view of the jungle.  This was 2012, and I'm not sure if rules or regulations have changes since then.  This site was the most rugged and least restored, which was also kind of cool to see -- seems more "natural" somehow.

Anyway, whether you choose to check out Mayan ruins or not, I hope you will have an absolutely SPECTACULAR time in Cancun!  Here's one of my favorite photos of David from our journeys there.  He loves to sail!!