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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
i get 3 weeks of vacation per year. last week was 1/3. both my wife and i had a dress rehearsal on tuesday and a concert on sunday so we snuck in a quick trip to Cancun from wednesday through saturday.

below is some of the photographic evidence. for more see the gallery on my website: http://tinyurl.com/cancunandchichenitza

we did an all-inclusive deal through expedia.com. the hotel that we picked was the GR Solaris. i'd go back there. it was clean, everyone was friendly enough except for the grouchy guy hounding for tips at the watersports counter. we sailed, we played tennis, we took out little paddleboats, we drank by the many pools, we sunbathed, and we even swam in the (rough) sea. not bad at all for the cheap price! anyway, here's the view from our room:





here's a lazy view looking straight upwards from besides the pool:



we didn't just hang around the pool, however. as consummate tourists not into bar-hopping we instead chose to swim with dolphins and to head over to Chichen Itza. because the dolphin-swim-photo industry is a crock we decided ahead of time to not buy any. rest assured, we did swim with the slippery beasts, and it was good. here's the only evidence i have of it:



the trip to Chichen Itza was definitely worth it as well. it took all day, literally, including many an hour on our giant tour bus. we had the most talkative tour guide ever. he talked for the entire ~2.5 hour trip out there, and i think everyone zoned out. anyway, amongst his babblings i picked up that we were going to a cenote, a sinkhole or well. on a hot day going for a swim in the cenote was quite pleasant indeed, even if it involved running the gauntlet of jewelry dealers on the way from the bus to the lockers. the cenote:





next up was the main attraction, Chichen Itza. just like everything else around Cancun and Cabo it's all tourist-ed out, but it's impressive nonetheless even if people are always standing in your way. here's a miniature version of one of the Mayan codices that is responsible for the upcoming apocalypse movie "2012"…



here is the main pyramid, El Castillo, from a variety of angles:









excavation at its base by archeologists:



serpents everywhere!



columns. lots of columns:



live long and prosper:





on the ball court, under the "hoop", as it were:



ok, i think that's enough. once again the whole gallery, with more images than those that i posted, is online here: http://tinyurl.com/cancunandchichenitza

(photo-nerd talk: Canon 5D Mk II with a Sigma 12-24, Canon 24-105/L, and Canon 135/L. polarizers on all but the super-wide. shots captured in raw, processed in Adobe Lightroom 2, with the gallery published with BetterHTMLExport, which unfortunately has lots of aliasing in its resizing algorithm.)
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,514
7,058
Colorado
Going in May. Looking forward to it. We didn't get to see any pyramids when I was in cozumel/playa del carmen in 2007
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
no comments on my dhgirlie tag from the old-timers? i recall she posted a similar thread way back when.

here's a quick video that i shot:

 
Oct 8, 2005
668
0
Mexico
Im glad you had fun, next time go to playa del carmen, Cancun beaches are disappearing, but playa's are just like cancun looked 10 years ago.
 

Greyhound

Trail Rat
Jul 8, 2002
5,065
365
Alamance County, NC
That little island about 5 miles off the coast of Cancun....Isla Mujeras.....that's where we went for our honeymoon. Such a beautiful beach.

Looking back towards Cancun...
 

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
I went to Cancun this year with a couple buddies. I really enjoyed Xel-Ha. It was definitely good times, especially with the boys, but I think I would rather go to Cabo for the relaxing trip. My buddy traded his timeshare for Cancun, but when we went to Cabo we did the all-inclusive. The all-inclusive is definitley the way to go. There are stories to be had at Mexican strip clubs...
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
I never made it to Chicken Pizza while I was staying in Tulum, but we did spend a day at the Xel-Ha nature park.

Did some really cool snorkelling through the caves around the perimeter of the lagoon. Super coolz. Saw a huge grouper at the mouth of the lagoon that scared the poop out of me.
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
There is a small relatively unknown site about 20 miles up the road from Chitzen Itza,
Ek Balaam. It was only uncovered about 10 years ago. It's in fabulous shape, but relatively undeveloped. No crowds what so ever. These temples were in such great shape you could still see traces of the paint on them, and they still had all their fingers, hands and feathers.

Jaguar Temple


 

cancun123

Chimp
Dec 12, 2009
1
0
There is a small relatively unknown site about 20 miles up the road from Chitzen Itza,
Ek Balaam. It was only uncovered about 10 years ago. It's in fabulous shape, but relatively undeveloped. No crowds what so ever. These temples were in such great shape you could still see traces of the paint on them, and they still had all their fingers, hands and feathers.

Jaguar Temple


I am working as a photographer here. Everything is really fantastic with me. I would love to welcome anyone come to Cancun, even only 1 time :thumb: