…But being here is worth a million.
This is what we woke up to this morning.
Tag: Tulum
The Longest Week
Exactly one week from the very hour I am writing this, Andrea and I will be on a flight to Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. We are extremely excited, of course! We have kind of been looking forward to this trip for the past year, and finally it is upon us. Before we leave, we have some packing to do, as well as things you would never think about just travelling with your family.
Now I am beginning to realize all that my parents went through when we would go on vacation–bills all paid and up to date, refrigerator clean, house clean, all ministries at church covered, caught up with work, etc. I can never forget before my family would go on vacation the frenzy that my mom would go through just getting the house spotless before we left! I would always think, and sometimes say, “C’mon, we’re leaving this place! Why do we have to clean it if we’re not even going to be here!” She would always say, “I hate coming home to a messy house!” But guess what, I see what she felt like now! My wife has got her little list of things to do before, and sure enough, cleaning is at the top of the list!
Anyways, I am trying to get organized with all of the trip planning things. During the nine day excursion, we stay at three places (two hotels and one bed and breakfast), plan to eat a lot of good food, and see a bunch of neat attractions. I am glad that the actual place we are going is not very “touristy.” It is definitely more of the backwater part of Mexico. I have a few goals listed out that I would like to accomplish while we are there–somewhat in order:
- Snorkel in the coral reef
- Swim in a cenote (freshwater sinkholes common in the Yucatan Peninsula)
- Take more pictures than I can count
- Spend a lot of time at the Mayan ruins in Tulum
- Learn more Spanish
- Learn to like Mexican food more than I do
- Visit an indigenous Mexican church (I know that there are no good churches in Tulum, but I would like to try one out to observe, at least)
And here is Andrea’s list of goals:
- Be around the people and culture
- Eat tacos
- Eat tostadas
- Eat tortas
- Eat gorditas
- Drink Jamaica
- Drink jugo de naranja
Actually, I am just kidding about Andrea! Although, I am pretty close…To top everything off, we both look forward to the time we get to spend with each other non-stop. The best vacation in the world with your best friend? Priceless!
When we get back, I plan on doing something that I have never really tried before: compile our pictures and make a video of our trip. I have never really delved into the video editing realm yet, but I have always wanted to. I enjoy graphic editing, so maybe I will like video too! But if I am successful, I plan on posting it right here on Be Instant.
Until then, though, we have seven days ahead of us in the 30-something degree, wet Pennsylvania weather! All the better to look forward to the tropics!
A Vacation Worth Waiting For
This is where Andrea and I will be in just…45 days now. You say, how can a newly married couple in this recession economy end up on a tropical vacation? Good question! This was supposed to be our honeymoon spot. Almost a year ago, I booked flights and paid for bed and breakfast accommodations: I think it was supposed to be from May 25-June 2. Three weeks before our wedding, though, a little predicament came in our way called Swine Flu. I know, I know, it ended up being a big scare over nothing; but it was a big deal back then, if you can remember. We took some counsel over the whole thing, and instead of taking chances during our honeymoon, we decided to stay in Chicago for the week or so after our wedding. It ended up being perfect, and better than we could have ever expected…especially after what we get now! Two airline tickets and accommodations that I already paid for a year ago!
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico is where our vacation will take us. This old pueblo in the Yucatan Peninsula has about 10,000 people in it, the majority of which still have indigenous Mayan roots. I originally picked Tulum because of its tropical climate, beautiful scenery, very reasonable prices, and overall quiet feel (from what I have read on the internet). Our “casita” is about six miles north of Tulum itself on the coastal road, just 150 feet from the Caribbean Sea! It looks incredible! We are also staying 4 nights in a little “posada” (inn) in the pueblo of Tulum itself–the real Mexico, as Andrea would say. We plan on eating a lot of Mexican food (I trust my wife to find the places that are sanitary/healthy!), seeing a lot of neat things, and enjoying the Mayan Riviera winter (85 degrees, and no rain).
Some attractions we want to see are the Mayan ruins of Tulum (in the picture above), Chichen-itza (one of the seven wonders of the world), cenotes (giant sinkholes of freshwater that are popular to swim in), and the jungle itself–which is practically everywhere that the ocean isn’t. We are so spoiled to be able to go on this trip! We certainly don’t deserve it!
Pastor Chris will be picking us up to take us to the Baltimore/Washington Airport at 3:15am–a little payback, I say, for us having to do the same thing for him and his wife a couple of months ago! Our flight leaves at 5:45am, and after a short layover in Houston, we fly to Cancun, arrive at 11:15am, and drive 2 hours south to Tulum. And I had better stop now–I don’t want to tell the story before we get there! Our hotels have internet, so I bet we will post at least once from Mexico.
