Chichen Itza and the Worst Tour Guide Ever

This tour did not go as planned.

First - the actual ruins = AWESOME and awe-inspiring and super interesting. I would totally recommend going to Chichen Itza. The history and the culture piece was totally worth it.

That said, we did not choose our tour wisely. We picked a tour that was supposed to be Chichen Itza and Valladolid (this cute city on the way to the ruins).  When our van arrived to pick us up, the guy said "oh you've been upgraded - don't tell anyone what you paid." Yeah right. Turns out the "upgrade" meant the actual basic trip (that includes a stop at a cenote and not at Valladolid). 

Our tour guide was, in a word, awful. He basically talked the whole time about how the "invaders" or "colonizers" came in and did awful, terrible things. When we drove through Valladolid (without stopping), he said "look at the churches - the invaders made the Mayans tear down their temples and use the stones to build their churches." "They made us change our names." "The Mayan shamans knew more about medicine than these people that have gone to school for 10 years."

Now I don't mind a bit of history that is truthful and not flattering to white people. But this was literally the WHOLE. DRIVE. THERE. And then there were comments about "you rich white people - don't say you're not rich - you're staying at those nice resorts."

Lunch was so-so and didn't include drinks. It was at this big souvenir stand that (according to our guide) was run by "real" Mayans. However, they mostly sold the same stuff you would find at the ruins and at higher prices.

At the ruins, we were happy to ditch our guide and went with the other guide for our group. The tour was interesting and the kids loved learning about pok-ta-pok, the Mayan sport where the losing team also lost their heads. 

If you go, make sure to stand in the center of one of the sides of the pyramid and clap your hands (in sync with others in your group). The echo is said to be the sound of an eagle and it's really neat.

The one detraction from strolling around enjoying the ruins is the voluminous number of vendors lining the paths. It's absolutely ridiculous and they constantly call out and use their jaguar whistles to try to get your attention. If you like bartering, they will barter. It's just the sheer number of them that becomes quite annoying. It's more like a huge farmer's market (with pushy farmers) than a historical site. Still, the ruins themselves are so magnificent, it's worth it in my estimation.

Next up: The Jolly Roger Pirate Dinner Show (in Cancun)

Travel on!

Yacht Rental + Swimming with Dolphins

On this Mexican vacation, we had the great fortune of having my in-laws with us and my mother-in-law decided to rent a yacht for half a day. This is NOT CHEAP but is quite fun.  

However, one important tip came out of this experience - keep an eye on your email when booking excursions. In our case, the card used to pay the deposit was compromised and my mother-in-law cancelled it. When they went to charge the remaining amount due, it was declined and they cancelled our yacht.

Imagine our surprise when we showed up, kids in tow and ready to go, and realized we had no boat.  Luckily for us, they were able to get us a boat for the afternoon, which left us with the morning to kill.  We set off on foot and came to an area where you could swim with dolphins. Although unplanned, this turned out to be a fantastic morning.

The kids and grandma went swimming with dolphins and then we enjoyed a yummy lunch before heading out on the yacht. Cost for dolphins was about $100 per person, then another $100 or so to purchase the professional pics they took.  This was something we found both surprising and fantastic about many Mexican tourist attractions. The photos are great and - yes - kinda pricey but worth it from my perspective. 

The yacht - this was the day I got sunburned. Definitely did not put on sunscreen often enough. The crew were lovely and took us to a fantastic snorkeling spot. They served drinks and a tasty lunch of chicken grilled on board. The advertisement said you could troll-fish on the way in and out but it wasn't really a fishing focus at all. 

The yacht (4 hours or so) was $1500. In my opinion, it was fun but not worth that price. Unless money really is no object on your vacation, I would splurge in other areas personally. That said, it was a very fun, if expensive, day.

Next up: Chichen Itza Tour

Check your emails and travel on!