Mexico was awesome - obviously.

My sister once said that the difference between a trip and a vacation was whether or not kids were present. Hahah. She's so right!! We originally planned the trip with Kent in mind and made all of the arrangements before he turned into an explorer. It's very hard to know what your kid is going to be like or want to do several months in the future, especially since they change so fast. Well, it's a good thing my parents offered to let us go on our own and watch Kent here at the house. The heat, the food, the activity, the sightseeing, the lack of car seats + seat belts + crib would have been too much for him! What were we thinking?!?!?!

I knew deep down that the separation was going to be just fine, and that a little space was good for everyone. Nana and Papy could bond with Kent, Kent could have a change in routine, and we could have a kid-free vacation and truly enjoy it. It was worth the initial anxiety and the millions of what ifs going through my head. In the end, everything worked out great on both continents.

We landed in Cancun and took in every breathtaking moment of the white sand, turquoise water, refreshing pools, chirping birds, sun bathing iguanas and palm tree branches blowing in the wind. It was paradise.

 Yes, we were wearing 50 SPF at all times.

Swimming past Kent's bedtime? Why not!

Instead of eating at the hotel restaurants, we found local places with delicious food. Oh my goodness, I could write forever about the food and drinks we had. Everything fresh and prepared right there. We drank horchatas and agua frescas and licuados every single day. There's something magical about them.

There happened to be a performance at our hotel one night: synchronized swimming. It was fun entertainment during dinner, but since the sun was down, the splashing wasn't as refreshing. Also, the girl in the back is still learning.

There were tons of spring break college students on our plane and in different resorts. Luckily, we weren't staying anywhere near them, but we could hear their booming music and almost smell the tequila from the shore. Oh, to be 20 again!

After two days as beach bums, we went inland to Valladollid, a charming colonial town that we had visited 3 years ago.

We stumbled on an hacienda, an old agave plantation. The grounds were beautiful. It would have been such a great place to get married.

We then stayed at a historic hotel right across the street from the Mayan ruins we visited. These were the hottest days in Uxmal, about 99 degrees and very little shade. Queen Elizabeth, Jackie Kennedy, Prince Rainier and Grace of Monaco stayed here. We had the Indira Gandhi room. It was our absolute favorite hotel - and visiting the ruins was pretty impressive too! Thanks to Matt's trilingual-ness, he made jokes with the hotel employee saying we were only there one night because we were poor. So the guy upgraded us to a fantastic room with "the best view".

And now, the Mayan ruins. Look how big that is! And how steep those stairs are!

On top of a palace, looking down to the ball court - kind of like basketball, but only using head, shoulders and knees to keep the ball off of the ground. Loser was sacrificed.

These guys carried a ladder up to the highest part of a ruin and started hacking off the weeds with a machete. Just another day in Mexico.

This is what the Mayans used to live in, and in many small villages we drove through, it was still the case!

Some of the buildings still had original paint on them - greens and reds from what we could see. At this particular site, we were the second visitors that day. It was 3 pm and we likely woke up the employee from his siesta in his hammock.

Experiencing ordinary life was what I liked best. Every village had a town square, usually in front of its church, and around 3-4 pm it got crowded with vendors selling treats and drinks, and people just hanging around on benches, kids playing together. From 1-4 is lunch and siesta so many stores and businesses were closed but the vendors came out. Dinner is late and everyone stays up well after the sun goes down because it's finally cooler.

One evening, a mariachi band played for about an hour and it was delightful.

Several couples danced. 

We didn't want to make them look bad with our salsa dancing skills so we watched from a bench.

On Palm Sunday in Merida, there was a long procession from one church to another and Jesus came down on a donkey. Everyone was singing and rushing to get a seat in the church.

I have never seen a Catholic church so packed. When Jesus processed in, people were pushing and shoving each other to stroke him with their palm branches. Superstition? (Jesus wasn't human fyi)

Lastly, we took a bus outside of Merida to see some cenotes - underground cave natural pools. We got a personal driver to take us to 3 different places and he waited while we swam around. The "vehicle" he drove was like what you see in this picture, but with a canopy. It was like attaching a cart to where the front wheel of a moped was supposed to be. A very typical form of transportation down there.

 The steepest wooden ladder you've ever seen to get to this cenote. Yikes!

All in all, it was such a fantastic trip and someday we'll bring Kent with us. It was amazing that so few Americans were present and so many more Europeans. Maybe the Americans tend to stick with the resorts? In any case, the Mexicans were super friendly and helpful and they told Matt he had a French accent on his Spanish :) It's so good to travel and to be in a place that stretches you; to get out of your comfort zone once and a while and remember that the world doesn't look like your own.