I have a trip to Fiji planned in January and needed to get my PADI scuba diving card back up to the Open Water rating. With time running out before January, I decided to use a week at the Vida Riviera Maya resort and take scuba lessons and dives out of nearby Playa del Carmen. Happily, after I had my trip all arranged, an earlier travel friend from my South America trip, Sergey, contacted me and was able to fly to join me for the week. He has been working in Oporto, Portugal on a 6 month assignment as part of his Phd work, and was able to get a week off.
I enjoyed the sun, pools, beach, and on spent parts of 3 days with PlayaScuba dive shop. I had one day in the pool, one day with a beach dive off Playa del Carmen and the final day diving in the ocean off the reef in front of Playa del Carmen. Happily, I passed everything and received my Open Water PADI card.
The highlight of the week was an all day trip to Ek-Balam, one of the 4 major Mayan civilization ruins on the Yucatan peninsula . It was very impressive and I was amazed that it had only been excavated over the past about 20 some years, with a great deal more to be uncovered. We also stopped to tour the small interior city of Valladolid. The cathedral in Valladolid was very impressive. The famous cenote of Hubiku and adjacent Mayan village were also very nice additions to the Ek-Balam tour. It was interesting to see the people swimming in the cold turquoise waters of the cenote. There were a number of fish swimming in it also. Now, I have toured Chichen Itza, Tulum, and Ek-Balam, and just need to add Coba to have visited all 4 of the Yucatan major Mayan ruins.
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| sand sculptures near beach at Grand Mayan |
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| The main huge pool at the Grand Mayan resort |
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| Yours truly enjoying the small pool at the resort |
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| relaxing !! |
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| Now that is a king sized beach chess board ! |
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| Yet another beautiful pool near the lobby |
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| Entry stone near main gate of Ek-Balam |
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| View at entrance to Ek-Balam |
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| Two Mayans hoping to pose for paid photos |
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| One of the imposing ruins just inside the main gate |
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| Another of the structures near the entrance |
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| The size of the ancient city complex becomes more apparent |
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| An impressive gate within the Mayan city complex |
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| another view from the back side |
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| The second largest structure excavated to date |
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| The largest of the structures at present, which we were able to climb |
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| About to climb the many stairs to the top |
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| Thought to be the rulers grand chamber near the top |
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| a closer view of that structure |
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| I am about 3/4ths of the way to the top of the long, steep stairs to the top |
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| The beautiful view out over the vast, flat Yucatan jungle from the top of the highest structure |
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| A greeting sign in the central square of the ancient city, 3rd largest on the Yucatan |
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| The immense, famous old cathedral near the city central square |
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| The sign at the entrance to Hubiku Cenote, one of the most famous on the Yucatan |
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| The stunning view descending the stairs into Hubiku Cenote |
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| Another view further down towards the water, with its electric color and many fish |
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| View of people swimming in the very chilly waters |
