Finally - Xcaret!

We did make it to Xcaret - we actually went the day before going to Isla Mujeres. It is an incredible place - lots to do and amazing stuff to see - animals, swimming, maya village, butterfly garden. We don't have pictures of this but we all snorkeled in an underground river. It was kind of cold and a little awkward for the boys, but Bekah did an incredible job with her snorkel gear. I was impressed. Another highlight is the show they put on in the evening - really a first class presentation of Maya culture, Mexican culture, and traditional dances. Sadly, our batteries died out during the performance, but we enjoyed a ball game - Maya style (you know with the hoop on the wall like you see in Chichen Itza), tradiational dances from different regions in Mexico (one called Viajitos or in other words, "senor citizens" where all the male dancers wear masks depicting old men - then at the end they reveal that they actually are in the elders category!), and men hanging from ropes at the top of a huge pole and spinning. Ok, I'm done, I'm not doing the show justice, but you can see some professional shots here.


There wasn't nearly enough time to see and do everything - going with a group kind of lent itself to that, but we really enjoyed what we were able to experience right down to the buffet dinner "included" in our ticket price ;-)
The place costs and arm and a leg, but if we ever save up to go there again . . . we'll get there when the doors open and stay til they kick us out. Enjoy the few shots we did manage to take on the slideshow or check out the photos on this website.

Back to work now . . .

Isla de Mujeres

The Friday of our Cancun vacation, we "chose our own adventure." Heading out the door of our condo with a picnic lunch, we drove to Puerto Juarez, parked the car and hopped on a ferry traveling to "women island" (I like the name better in Spanish . . .). Once there, we rented a golf cart and explored the island on a gorgeous day - the last of May. As we explored, the kids fed sea turtles, touched a shark, picked up a starfish and shell souvenir, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and swam in the ocean. Later, we enjoyed seafood at a local restaurant and splurged afterwards on ice cream - yummy! The trip back on the ferry was incredible as we took in the beautiful colors of the sunset and felt the ocean breeze on our faces.

For your enjoyment - The forest in Quintana, Roo

Click the play button on the video below to see some footage of the forest and its creatures . . .

Rainy Day Forest Trek - Cancun Day 4

Wednesday of our vacation was sort of preplanned, but without knowing any details as to the "contents" of our day. We have made friends with a few families at the kids' track class and one of the dads works a few days a week in Cancun. He had some business there on Wednesday morning and wanted afterwards to show us around the area. So, we met at a local shopping mall, headed to Puerto Morelos, and the kids swam in a hotel pool there while we talked and ordered our lunch at the outdoor restaurant on the beach.

Afterwards, we headed to a rainforest and trekked along a gravel road (the entrance at the time was locked up, but was apparently open to those wanting to walk) on foot to see some spider monkeys that our friend, Gabriel, had seen on previous trips with his family. I stopped along the way to take photos of the plants and bugs.

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Later we headed on to a nearby cenote which was also located at the end of a long path through the woods, so I took some more photos. This time I included the family :-)

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We then returned to the original forest to see some wood carvings a local artist does - amazing work! This time we drove the car in because the owner had come by with the key! Sometimes you just need to know the right people :-)

These are the experiences you just can't get from a travel magazine or agency.

3rd Day Detour - Cancun

We had incredible plans for Tuesday during our vacation. We planned to go to an ecotourism Disneyland-type place called Xcaret - very expensive but "totally worth it!" However, our plans were turned on end when Joseph woke up with worse asthma symptoms -mainly a deep cough. Plus, he just "looked" sick for those of you who know the look of someone with allergies acting up. So, although we were all pumped up to spend this incredible day in the sun and water, we traded it in for a trip to the doctor and then a trip to Wal-mart to buy some medicine and a nebulizer.
We didn't want this bummer of a morning to spoil our whole day, so we made a point to enjoy the pool at the condominium and then splurge (and I mean Splurge!) on dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp - Cancun.

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Jonathan increased his confidence in the water, showing us he could indeed hold his breath under water and also jump into the arms of his new friend, Brandon, in the deep end of the pool. Bekah strengthened her ablility to float on her back and played games with her new friend, Stefi. And, Joseph turned his sadness into smiles using his goggles to see and swim underwater like crazy.

Prayer Requests:

Jonathan right now is in his 3nd day of having a fever. Being in a tropical climate, we treat fevers with a little more diligence than if we were in Missouri. So, we went to the Dr. on Tuesday evening and were told that it is likely a virus (possibly Rotovirus - but no definites) and to treat it as such. He did lose his supper Tuesday night while at the Dr.'s but hasn't since. Please pray that whatever is attacking him would BE attacked and that he would experience a complete healing - thank you.

Rebekah, as of today, also has a fever and complains of a headache. I imagine that it is the same as what Jonathan is suffering from. She is always so active and positive and her mood has changed dramatically today.

Joseph deals with allergies/asthma - please pray that his reactions would weaken and that the climate/environment here in Mérida would not continue to hinder his well being or our ministry here in Mexico - thank you.

On top of all of this, Dave is currently taking graduate Bible classes in Spanish for the entire month of June - it is very time consuming for him yet very rewarding and beneficial. Could these events all be connected on a spiritual level?

Thanks for staying connected with us through this website and Dave's ministry website.

Blessings,

Kelly

Cancun - Day 2

On Monday we found a nearby beach and, after some trouble finding a place to park, grabbed our beach stuff and headed for the sand. The name of the beach is Playa Langosta. We didn't see anything even resembling lobsters (langosta) - not even a shell, imagine that! But the sand was white and the water blue and, well, we really enjoyed ourselves!

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Coming next: Cancun Day 3 - Detour!

First Full Day of Vacation

Hey everyone,
I know I haven't written in awhile - can you say b-u-s-y? Well, we needed to disconnect ourselves for a short while, about a week, in order to refresh our spirits. It is late right now since I've been gathering some photos for the web, so I won't write a lot. Just enjoy the pics of the scenery, the food, and our family, during our first full day of vacation in . . . Cancun!

You can view them here:

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More to come - stay tuned.

Side note: When you click on the photo, you are taken to a Picasa Web Album. If you choose to view the group of photos using the "slideshow" option, choose 8 or 9 seconds to be able to read the captions.