So. The long awaited post. But first! Please do not hold me responsible for any feelings of envy on your part. Really! It would make me feel so guilty. I struggled with that a little bit anyway. You see, this trip was not my idea originally. If I was going to travel internationally, I wanted to go to Ethiopia, remember? With no plans for Ethiopia in the near future, Dave began suggesting his idea of celebrating our 40th's (birthdays, not anniversary) in Cancun. The idea grew on me. There's been a lot of soul work going on here the past year; as I stumbled along trying to relinquish bitter disappointment for the promise of hope, it seemed as though God was offering me this trip as a gift.
And a gift it was.
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| I took this picture to honor Kenan ;) Before we left, he kept telling me to take a picture of the clouds. I hope you can fly with us someday, big boy! |
We had a wonderful weekend in Atlanta- just like old times :)- lots of laughs and talking and all that. Faith covered it well. Travel Monday went very smoothly and it was oh so warm and balmy when we stepped out of the airport in Cancun. We did not know what we were doing and it was much harder to understand the broken English than we anticipated, but we managed to get on the right bus and were dropped off at the right resort without incident. Then our suitcases were whisked away and we were left standing in the lobby of this foreign resort in a foreign land feeling very, well,.. foreign. I think its kind of funny how my very in control travel companion is very insecure when he is not behind the wheel or on the ground and even more so, when his feet are not on American soil. It kind of put us on "equal" turf for the week! :)
Once we figured out how to get our suitcases back again and found our room, we began to relax a bit. I don't like tile in my bedroom, so I was a bit disappointed when I saw the floor- until we found a couple pair of cozy complimentary slippers. They made all the difference!
You will have to excuse all the pictures of food I took. I don't think we were gluttonous... it was all so exotic and luxurious and I didn't have to cook it! We were really hungry as it was mid afternoon by this time, so we went down and tried the buffet.
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| food from the pasta and seafood bars |
We spent time every day walking along the beach. It wasn't exactly like we had pictured (I mean, Siesta Key is really hard to beat), but it was warm and beautiful. The sun shining on the turquoise water was stunningly so! We walked as far as we were able on either side of our resort.
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| the morning I took most of the pictures the sun wasn't shining, which really makes a difference in the color of the water |
After a good walk, we'd really need to sit and rest you know! It looks like it was just God, the beach and us...
We enjoyed the breakfast buffet most mornings. Their omelets almost beat Embassy's! I tried fresh papaya along with mango and figs. One morning we ate breakfast at one of the restaurants and there they offered us different kinds of milk shakes with our meal.. oh, and sprouts, too.
I'm all about the tropical landscape - especially in February.
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| more |
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| one of the new seven wonders of the world |
a very advanced but very pagan ancient civilization
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| its hard to tell but this is a panoramic shot of a ball court that was used to play a ceremonial game by this people- sort of the ancestor of basketball. The kids and I had a read aloud about this people and this game, so it was kind of meaningful. made me miss the kids! |
After our day at the ruins and a Mayan buffet for a late lunch, we were dropped off at a "sink hole" or spring-like pool, where we could swim. Dave decided to be the one to stay up with our stuff, giving me the chance to take advantage of this rare opportunity. I doubted I would ever see something like this again, so I donned my suit and down I went. I did not however jump off the ledge but safely climbed into the 100 ft deep spring by the provided ladder. The sides were covered with lush green vegetation with long vines hanging down. It felt like the Garden of Eden. It was so beautiful.
the view from our balcony
the beach area
which also included jacuzzi's
yes, we took advantage of that!
We dressed up in the evenings, spent some time walking along the road into town and then picked a restaurant at the resort to enjoy for supper (everything from Asian to steak/seafood, Mexican to Italian and French). It was a new experience to be able to order anything, even appetizers and soups and then the main dish, then just get up and leave when we were finished. We will probably never get to do that again either, but it was sure fun to try. The portions were small, don't worry!
Yes, that's a book in his hand, too. We read a lot, although I was only able to conquer 2 1/2 books instead of the seven plus I brought along :)
I don't think I've ever left my life so behind on a trip... and just soaked in relaxation.
Okay okay, more food! But this was so picture-worthy- a pizza loaded with vegetables, something I wouldn't get by making for my family. That's Dave's safe ham and pineapple pizza in the background. And this was all out in the lovely ocean air of course! Can't beat that!!
We loved finding empty chairs near or under this tree, especially when there weren't too many others around. One afternoon, there was actually a wedding taking place right next to us. We could hear the vows. The interesting thing was that while there were three groomsmen, there was not a single bridesmaid!
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| frappacinos of all kinds whenever we wanted |
just one more of these before i sign off
It was an incredible idea, Dave. I will cherish our memories forever...
Thanks, God, for this amazing gift- I'm so glad I opened it! Thanks for inspiring Dave, for blessing almost all of us with perfect health, for keeping us safe, and lastly, and most importantly, for providing such wonderful places for our kids to be in our absence. This means more than words can say. -Kara
PS well, as soon as we arrived home, we jumped back into life with both feet... and we've been trying not to sink ever since! Hence the difficulty in posting. There's more to come, but we just can't promise when that will be....
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