Having a week at the Riviera Mayan Resort to use or lose, I decided to enjoy a late winter break about March 1 and flew to Cancun. I invited my Ukrainian travel friend who enjoys scuba diving and snorkeling to join me. We enjoyed resting and enjoying the wonderful grounds and pools of the resort on the beach the first couple days of our 1st week at the Riviera Maya's Grand Mayan. As a perk, I got tickets for the Cirque de Soleil. The extravaganza show that night was held right across the highway on the resort grounds in a stunning new hall, surrounded by truly beautiful grounds. I wish my daughter, Anne, had been along to enjoy it with us. It was an amazing show, as all their productions are around the world. Another highlight during our 1st week was our taking a full day tour into the heart of the Yucatan peninsula. There we visited Coba, the last of the 4 great, famous Mayan ruins and sites on the Yucatan that I had yet to visit. Coba was really fun, and is a vast site that has only been partially excavated. We rented bicycles to travel the huge trail network within the jungle site in order to see most of the ruins that have been unearthed so far. The most impressive was the great pyramid in the heart of the ancient site. One is still allowed still climb this stone relic, and so of course, my travel friend and I climbed to the top to enjoy the view far out over the Yucatan jungle. It is a vast, completely flat area that one can see over for miles. We then enjoyed a wonderful afternoon Mexican lunch on the 2nd floor of an open air restaurant, where we could look out over a lovely lake along side our restaurant. Finally, we had a long bus ride back after a great full days outing and experience.
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| The main entry fountain at Grand Mayan resort |
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| Flamingos and pool area on Grand Mayan grounds |
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| An alligator in one of the Grand Mayan pools |
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| A colorful Iguana on the grounds |
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| A cold beer break on a visit to Playa del Carmen |
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| Enjoying the main Grand Mayan pool |
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| an Acouti from the adjacent jungle begging :-) |
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| The jungle scene adjacent to the Grand Mayan grounds |
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| Apparently the iguanas also enjoy the Grand Mayan pool !! :-) |
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| Yours truly and "friend" |
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| Lovely sunset over the Yucatan |
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| I am carefully working my way down the great Coba Pyramid |
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| Looking out over the vast, flat Yucatan from the top of Coba's great pyramid |
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| Just starting down from the top of the Coba Pyramid |
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| The Cirque du Soleil show poster |
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| one of the many grand show scenes |
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| another show scene |
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| amazing, action filled and colorful scene |
Playa del Carmen was only minutes away, so we went into town several times to shop, enjoy the restaurants, and also to catch the ferry over for a full day on Cozumel. We spent our day on Cozumel enjoying diving, snorkeling and a taking a great boat trip along the coast.
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| enjoying a Grande' margarita with a wonderful seafood dinner in Playa del Carmen |
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| graceful sting ray seen while diving off Cozumel |
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| curious fish in the shallow Cozumel waters |
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| The main Playa del Carmen beach seen from the main pier & ferry terminal |
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| Our Cozumel drink stop after our diving and boat trip day |
After the week at the Riviera Mayan Resort, we moved into the heart of the hotel strip on Cancun and spent our last 3 nights at the Intercontinental El Presidente Hotel and resort right on the beautiful white sand beach of the center of Cancun's famous "Hotel Strip". It was fun walking the area, sunning by the pools, enjoying the shopping , swimming in the warm ocean, and just relaxing before the long trip home. No question, it was a great winter break.
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| My travel friend, Bogdan, about to take a wave rider out |
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| Bogdan with a huge sea star |
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| A big school of fish at mouth of underwater Cenote as seen when we snorkeled |
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| Bogdan with a huge conch shell |
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| getting ready for margaritas and dinner after another great day |
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