Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Chichen Itza

Our trip to Chichen Itza, one of the wonders of the world:


Here we are at the entrance, all stoked and ready to go. (L to R, my bro Carson, Dad, bro Kyle, sister in law Lynette, Kallie, me, Jared, Mom)

Jared and I in front of the Temple of Warriors. I think Jared wanted to pose like a warrior, but I wasn't on board for that one.

My parents have taken this tour twice- once w/ a LDS guide, once w/out. The non-LDS guy said this was a Mayan spa. The LDS guy said it was probably a baptisimal font.

Having fun!


A rendition of what the Mayan houses would've looked like. We were so thankful to get out of the sun:

And here, the heat exhaustion begins to set in. I'm counting bug bites on my leg- what a moment:

The gang in front of a Cenote (water hole).

It was an amazing trip. Getting back was the real adventure though. We rented an 8 passenger van and with the road construction, missed the turnoff for the toll road, which meant we were on the slow going ghetto road that connects small hutted villages. I call it ghetto because there was no shoulder on the road, it just dropped off into mini cliffs on both sides. We confronted huge semis and tractors coming from the opposite direction that threatened to knock us off the road. In between villages, there was nothing but jungle on either side of the road and sometimes, we would see an old Mexican with a machete (eek). We even passed through a huge jungle fire that had flames ON the road. This was all nothing though compared to the break down.
About 30 minutes outside of Cancun, the van decided that the transmission would go out. We started losing speed for about 10 minutes before the van quit working all together. Luckily, it died right in front of the only gas station for miles around in a tiny, tiny village. Unluckily, that gas station did not have a phone so that we could call our car rental company. The gas station attendant said the nearest phone would be a mile and a half away in the opposite direction. Jared and I got set to jog to it (thank you marathon training), but we first decided to say a prayer. The 8 of us huddled around and prayed that we might be able to arrive home in safety. The INSTANT that we opened our eyes, an 8 passenger taxi van pulled up right in front of us. The driver was off duty, but headed to Cancun and said he would give us a lift! We couldn't believe it. He took us to Cancun, then we got some other taxis there to take us back to our resort about 30 minutes away from there.
It amazes me to know that God was mindful of us in the middle of nowhere. No matter where we go, He is always with us. What a great trip!!!

6 comments:

adorable pearsons said...

I love every post! What a fun amazing trip! Loved the story about the taxi and prayer...it's amazing how much we are watched over! You look so beautiful!
ps. I got your check- thank you, thank you, thank you!

Unknown said...

Wow, what an amazing experience. Glad you didn't have to run. So hot. That wouldn't have been fun.

Natasha said...

Wow what a crazy adventure. I should call you and find out more details about your trip because I'm planning a surprise trip to Cancun for Mark and I in August for our 5 year anniversary and I could use any advice you have! Is your phone number still the same?

Anonymous said...

did you get my funny text last night? I was watching HGTV and they were doing House Hunters International. This couple was looking for a condo in Malaga Spain. It was cool to see what it was like and I thought of you. It was pretty. The ocean was beautiful!

KT said...

So fun! And your prayer story was pretty amazing.

I can't believe how old your siblings look (especially Carson). Is Cody on a mission? I would love to hear more about how they are all doing.

MKS said...

im so glad you made it to mexico and back! what a fun trip. i love how you and jared still show that you are very much in love.