Sean and I went to Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico at the end of January for a vacation. We were gifted the room so how could we pass up this opportunity for a tropical vacation. We were there for a week and it was wonderful. Since we stayed at an all-inclusive resort, we didn't need to worry about much and were able to truly relax.
While we spent most of our time at the beach and walking around the resort, we did leave the resort area twice. One day we visited Chichen Itza (one of the new Seven Wonders of the World) and another day we went to Cancun proper.
Chichen Itza was an all day tour outing. It was a two hour drive to and from the resort. The Mayan ruins were amazing to see and to learn about all the numbers and their correlation with the how the ruins were built. The perimeter of the ruins are lined with local vendors trying to sell their woodworks, shirts, nick-knacks and everything between. Our guide said when TV stations or anyone who is filming come to the ruins, these vendors disperse to give Chichen Itza the "sacred" and serene appeal. Here's a good article about this and the battle between its ownership dispute. It is amazing to say I have visited one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but the perimeter lined vendors definitely distracts from its beauty and architecture.
Since we were located south of Cancun, we decided to visit the hotel zone for a few hours. Oy, were we pleased that we stayed outside of the hotel zone. Sean and I are more of the rugged, off the beaten path travelers, so being in this small area jam packed with hotels and people made us realize this even more. The beach was quite beautiful though.
All in all, it was a great vacation. We are planning our next vacation and this could include a road-trip, Europe countries and backpacking.
