Yucatan

As I mentioned before we were out, reunited, but now I'm back in the US of A and SO sad to be away yet again from my hubby. We spent most of our time in Merida, Yucatan, but we were lucky enough to go explore to some Mayan Pyramids, and David and I went two days to relax to Progreso, a near by beach. It was so nice to just lay out and enjoy the sun. These last two weeks were the first time since our honeymoon that we were able to RELAX nothing but relax, and do things at whatever pace we felt like doing. Even when both David and the baby got sick we had a doctor help us out the very same day, no problem. My in-laws are mission presidents for the LDS church and so they were quite busy, ok like VERY busy. I admire their dedication to their calling. In between meetings, hospital runs, and missionaries coming and leaving we were able to enjoy time with them. It had been a whole year since we saw them and gosh Baby David sure LOVES his "Meema" and "Pa" he started calling them that all on his own.  He enjoyed all his time spent with them. Most of the time we were together it was with food too. The food in Yucatan is different than the other places we have been to in Mexico.  The state of Yucatan is very unique, lots of culture and history. You can notice that we did go to a few historical places. I LOVED Merida, the one thing that I did NOT like at all was the weather. Oh gosh I honestly have no clue how people can live in such a humid and hot place. I was told it really wasn't even that hot in the days I was there. I thought Brazil was hot...ANYWAY I am extremely thankful for AC, maybe that's my problem, that I am too accustomed to having that to comfort me.  Aside from my high maintenance discomforts, there really is nothing to complain about this place. Here are a few facts/tips about Merida, Yucatan and places around there.

Pyramids:
The most obvious, there are a TON of pyramids around the Merida area. The two we went to were, Uxmal and of course one of the world wonders Chichen-itza. They really are amazing. We didn't have a tour guide, and sort of regret it. We plan on going back and get our minds filled with more fun facts about the history of these wonderful places.

Mayan Culture:
Aside from the pyramids, you can enjoy learning about the history of the Mayan culture at Gran Museo Del Mundo Maya . It is a beautiful modern building. Also around Yucatan you will find Mayan Crafts to buy. We might have gotten a bit carried away doing so.

Safety:
There are a lot of people that continue to think that ALL Mexico is a scary and dangerous place. It is not, Merida is one of the safest cities in Mexico. There are police everywhere, it's clean and because of their tourist attractions, they maintain everything safe for its citizens and visitors.

Free stuff yo! :
Yep, FREE. The Zoo in Merida has a bunch of fun animals to show the little ones, and it's all free! you also are pretty up close to the animals, I was about 4 feet from a tiger, that was enough. On Mondays they have a folklorico ballet dance in front of the Municipal Palace. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. There is something about folklorico dancing that gets me, I was told that rain or shine they dance. "Juego de Pelota Maya" is another fun thing that is free and is at the same plaza, we were unable to go because the boys got sick, but were told it is another must see.

Beach:
I almost don't have to say more than that right? It's not in Merida but we were only about 40-50 mins from Progreso where we were able to relax , layout,  eat some yummy seafood and do some fun shopping.

Shopping:
Shopping in Merida is expensive, or at least for me it is. I would recommend that if you plan on getting any artisan crafts, do  it either in Chichen-itza, or Uxmal. I found that clothing, jewelry, and art was WAY cheaper at these places, there seems to be more competition to sell so they give you better prices, one thing is that if you walk away, you'll get yelled a better deal. Also, if you speak spanish, you will get a WAY better deal, so I guess you all should invest in a spanish course, maybe even mayan course if you are very dedicated to getting a good deal.

Weather: As I mentioned, it's FREAKEN HOT. Also if it does happen to rain, it POURS. People carry around umbrullas for both reasons I think.


Food:
Last but if you know me, the most important, food. You sure will have your stomach thanking you. One as I mentioned it is different, but still SO good. One of my favorites, "panuchos", a hybrid of a sope and a huarache. YUM YUM. You will also have to eat "cochinita pibil", these two dishes were my favorites. We found La Chaya Maya, a restaurant that you will find every dish you could think of that is truly authentic food from Yucatan. Make sure to wash that down with a yummy "chaya and piña agua" oh gosh with the heat, it is the one thing that can cool you right down.

Yay for friendly tourist that do tradsies, "you take my picture, I'll take yours"

It was raining so bad that the vendors were giving us "rain prices" cheap cheap

 The Chacmool, looks a little roughed up

Get the bibs out for the Food

ZOO!

He was SO CLOSE!

This kid LOVED the animals and LOVED the car his Meema got him

He was SO mesmerized by the dancers. So were we

Look how cute my mother-in-law is 

As I mentioned, this kid LOVESSSSSSS his Meema and Pa, saying goodbye was the hardest for both of us. Not only did we have to leave them, we also had to leave his "papi". Walking away all he did was yell "Paaaaapi  paaaapi paaaaaaaaapi". I'll I did was cry. Once we got to the states he started to ask for his Meema in the bathroom. Hopefully we get to be there soon. We LOVE YOU Meema and Pa, and Papi, we ALWAYS miss you.