Five Years in Mexico

Many of you know that Brady and I recently celebrated our five-year anniversary in Tulum, Mexico. Lots of people have asked us about this, so I thought I'd start out this blog with the details of our trip. First off, let me just say that we were fortunate enough to see one of the most beautiful places in the world! We miss it already and hope we can find our way back there in the future. I'm so grateful to be married to Brady...he planned and made arrangements for the whole trip (including calling my work and arranging my time off) and then surprised me. I'm such a lucky girl!

Day 1
We took the red-eye flight from SLC to Atlanta...I don't think I will ever be able to do that again. I figured I'd just sleep because, as Brady will tell you, I can pretty much sleep anywhere...but I was so wrong. After a few hours in the Atlanta airport, we flew to Cancun. As soon as we got outside, we were immediately introduced to humidity! (After coming from a blizzard in SLC, we just soaked it right up!) We got our rental car and drove about 90 minutes down to coast to Tulum. We stayed at the Dreams Tulum resort...I've never stayed in a nicer place. We were exhausted and starving and so after checking in and getting our room upgraded due to an air conditioner leak, we set out for food and beach.Day 2
We went to a place called Xel-Ha (pronounced shel-ha) and snorkeled! It was the first time either one of us had tried snorkeling and we loved it! The water was so blue and clear. I was taken back by the number of iguanas just running around. We also tubed down a river, Brady jumped off cliffs into the water, and we just soaked up the sun. When we got back to our resort, we ordered room-service (it was part of our package!)...that was fun!

Day 3--Happy Anniversary!
Our resort offered a bike tour to the Mayan ruins in Tulum, so being the bike bums we are (well, Brady more than me), we thought that would be fun. Well, the bikes were really old and single-speeds and the guide told us we'd have to ride part-way on the highway against traffic without helmets (which Brady kindly reminded me that we were braking about every biking rule there is), but we went anyway. It was about 3 miles each way. The ruins at Tulum were AWESOME!! Those Mayans sure knew what they were doing. The ruins are set right off the beach on some cliffs. It was cool to learn about the "celestial markings" where the sun shines through a hole in the buildings on solstice. Being a leap year, the moon will shine through the night before solstice then the sun will shine through in the morning. It was amazing to me to think that people 1000 years ago were able to figure that out. Plus, the beach they picked to have next to the ruins was absolutely amazing. The pictures hardly do it justice. After our excursion to the ruins, we spent the rest of the day back at the beach at the resort for some rest and relaxation, since that was the point of our trip!Day 4
We drove to Coba, another set of Mayan ruins about 45 km from our resort. Coba is a lot older than Tulum and the ruins are alot more worn down, but still cool. They had a huge pyramid that we climbed...it was crazy because the steps were narrow and steep! We got another cardio workout going up there! At the top, you could look all around the area...you could see for forever!
We drove back to Tulum and did a little shopping on the main street. We were a bit tired of the food at the resort (though most of it was really yummy) and Brady was craving "real" Mexican food. So, we asked some of the doormen at the resort where we could go for good (and safe) food in town. They raved about a place called "El Mariachi." Oh my gosh...it was such good food! Antonio, the owner, greeted us and gave us horchata while we waited for a table. He was such a sweet man! We spent like 205 pesos ($20 USD) and Brady gave a good tip because he was in heaven with "real" Mexican food. As we were leaving, Antonio shook our hands and thanked us for the generous tip Brady had left. He took my hand and told me I was "bonita" (beautiful), kissed it, and told Brady he was a lucky guy. :) I could just imagine this sweet man going back to his little shack house and family. He probably is a very poor man, yet, grateful for everything he has. It sure made me think about my priorities.
We left the little cafe and walked down the street. Before we know it, we met up with the missionaries! Brady chatted with them for a bit, they showed us where the LDS chapel was and then we drove to see it. It's a pretty decent building for a poor little Mexico town. We both wished we could've stayed for church to really see how the gospel is doing there.

Day 5
We spent the entire day at the beach! We drove down the coast from our resort and found this beautiful piece of beach. We played in the ocean (which by the way is VERY salty), read, took a nap and absolutely relaxed. Oh, and we got sunburned despite using a whole tube of sunscreen. But hey, we were in Mexico! That night we drove up to Playa del Carmen to shop, but it was way to busy for our taste, so after walking around a bit, we went back to Tulum.
Day 6
We had to leave our hotel at 4:30 in the morning in order to drive back to the airport and catch our flight on time. We were just north of Playa del Carmen, and we see flashing lights behind us. Yep, Brady got pulled over. He was going about 10 miles over the speed limit, which usually isn't such a big deal. But, this police officer thought it was. So, the officer is talking to Brady and tells him he needs to take his license and come back tomorrow to pay the ticket (1800 pesos!! ~$180) and get his license back. Well, that was a problem because we were on our way to the airport to leave. So, then the officer tells us to follow him back to the station to take care of it. We thought, well, we'll miss our flight, but we have to get Brady's license back. Then, the next thing we know, the officer says something to the effect "Let me give you a hand...you pay half the ticket now, I'll take care of the rest and give your license back." How many of you are thinking what we thought? Yeah right!! Like he was really going to "take care of the rest." He totally pocketed our $90 and probably ripped the ticket up. Sad that the Mexican government is so corrupt! Oh well, hopefully he needed that money more than we did. We barely made our flight from Cancun to Mexico City...hung out in the Mexico City airport for like 5 hours and then finally flew back to SLC. We were so sad to leave such a tropical place and come home to 3 more months of winter, but you do what you've got to do.

We both got to relax, rejuvenate, and spend some good quality time with each other. These past five years have gone by so fast and I know I look forward to our future (I hope Brady does too!) Brady makes me laugh and smile every single day and I'm so grateful for him!

I love you, Brady! Thanks for our five years in Mexico! :)