Wedding in Cancun (Day 6)

Getting up early after staying-up late last night?  No problemo.  ;-)

I made sure to grab some breakfast before our long excursion.

This resort has been so awesome with food!

Once again, I cashed-in some Resort Credits to take a trip to Chichen Itza!  Etienne was the only other person from our group that joined me.

That's Daniel, our tour guide.  He entertained us along the way with some Mayan history.

We made a pit stop at a souvenir shop for a little shopping.

John, Sheryl, and Alec scoping it out...

I don't know if these sculptures are pinchin' loaves or if they're giving birth.  It's a Mayan mystery!

There were a lot of stuff to buy here, but I didn't get anything.  ;-)

Sheryl and the rest of us passengers were treated to free lunch buffet too!

We had some live entertainment as we ate.

I was wondering why they took our photos before we went inside the shop.  Now, I know.  LOL!

Back on the bus, a true Mayan was trying to sell us this papyrus print.

After 3 hours of driving, we finally arrived at our destination!

It was hot, but not too hot.

Time to get our tickets.

Time for Etienne and I to start taking photographs.

First, we approached a traditional hut.

Some ruins...

A sinkhole...

Our tour guide broke-down the literal meaning of 'Chichen Itza'.

It means: mouth, sinkhole, holy man, hot water.

One of many tombs...

Human sacrifices took place here back in the day!

Here's one temple, the Ossario!

"Go crazy, Etienne!"

Many merchants litter the paths within the park grounds!

The observatory...

aka El Caracol.

A nice open field...

Oh, looks like someone's filming here!

This structure, La Iglesia was impressive.

Look at those designs!

If only we could go back in time to see what really took place here.

Las Monjas aka the Nunnery...

Check out the symmetry in their construction.

The serpent lines the steps.

El Castillo...

aka the Temple of Kukulkan...

is the most recognized structure of Chichen Itza!

Here we have a group testing the echoes against the temple.

Here we have a PBO in light-blue shorts.  ;-)

I love the open fields!

I can't stop taking pictures of this thing.

Entering the Great Ball Court...

aka the Temple of the Bearded Man.  Apparently, games were played here by two teams and the losing team would sacrifice their captain!  Fuck me, I'm out!

Daniel ended his guided tour here and let us go off on our own for almost an hour.

PBOs spotted!

I couldn't help, but the think of the game of Quidditch for some reason.  ;-)

Seriously man, hand-carved this Skull Platform is!

Oh yeah, this one's for the boys.  ;-)

Someone build a time machine already!

Back to El Castillo.

It's so damn impressive.

At certain solstices, the sunlight passes through the entrance...

and creates a perfect beam along the steps!

Too bad we couldn't climb any of these structures.

Prior guests who had defaced it by carving their initials on it, put an end to that.  :-(

A current excavation site...

The Temple of the Warriors...

There were so many of these columns!

It was almost time to head back to our bus,

but then we discovered all this!

How beautiful!?!

We couldn't leave yet,

so Etienne and I ran around and grabbed as many photos as we could...

before running back to our bus.  We were late by 5 minutes.  LOL!

Big thanks to Sheryl and John for letting Daniel know we weren't on yet!!!  :-)

I'm so happy we decided to take this tour.  It was certainly well worth the effort!

Now, this one's a true keeper!

Merci beaucoup, Etienne!!!

Katelyn and her mother, Sue had a good laugh when the word 'caca' was used on the ride back!  "Number 1 is okay, but NO number 2s in the bus' restroom!"
I guess someone clogged it.  LOL!

Talking to this family made the long ride go by quick.  :-)

Back at the hotel, I ran into girls from the OC!

Yay, I got back in time for some teppanyaki at...

Zen!

Here's our chef...

and he brought the fire!

The menu is different when you sit here.

Oh man, look at all that steak!

And lobster which you can purchase with your Resort Credits!

I wish I had tried this earlier in the week because I would have come here more than once.

Oh baby!

It's almost ready.

Surf & Turf!!!

Initially, I wasn't too impressed by the food of this restaurant on our first night, but this one takes the cake!  I absolutely loved it.  :-)

Fried Banana and Ice Cream for dessert... 

After dinner, I went upstairs to see Cindy and George and then I went back downstairs.

John and Sheryl enjoyed our excursion today!  They're the ones that told Daniel to hold the bus when Etienne and I were still absent.

In between the Chicago Boys...

A big congratulations to Ted and Lynn!!!

They got engaged tonight!!!

I'm so happy for this couple!  They're just great!

Oh boy, it's Smeeta!

Damn, this girl knows how to dress.

LOL!  We're the same foot size.

Yup, looks good!

It makes my calves look even bigger!

The rest of crew chilled by the pool tonight.

Awww, look at the newlyweds.  :-)

The Agostis...

George, Glen, and I decided to check out the the club district again.

Dady'O was pretty happening tonight!

George found out the hard way tonight that you can't pee in public.  LOL!

Anyways, back to the clubs.

A guitarist...

In Sweet now...

A lot of locals here tonight.

It was fun nonetheless.

I grabbed the bus early because I had another long day planned tomorrow.  ;-)

When I got back, I came home to this!  I guess the conversion has already begun.