6/30 Part 2: More Dzibilchaltún + El Cenote + La Playa

I took so many pictures of this archeological site I just HAD to put the rest of them into two blog posts. Otherwise I know it'd be too long for me, or most people, to handle. Heck, as it is, that other blog post probably IS too long right now. XD

Still, I didn't put all my pictures here. If you'd like to see the rest, feel free to view them at this Shutterfly site that we set up for sharing pictures: BYU Merida 2012 - Pictures on Shutterfly (Mine are under the name "Los Fotos de Amber", and I have 3 albums up of just my pictures).

Me standing out front of The Temple of the Seven Dolls

Me standing almost at the top of the wall everyone else climbed to the top

Now, don't you think that dome-thing behind me kinda looks like an altar in, like, a Catholic church or something? I think it does... Heck, as far as I know it could be one of the first Catholic buildings set up in the area.

William standing at the top of the awesome stairs of awesome :)

After exploring the ruins for quite a long time (I got PLENTY of pictures and video to showcase it), we wandered to el cenote, a natural reservoir that the Mayan people had as their only water source. Typically the water is super clear, but that day there was quite a bit of dirt and leaves that washed into it from the night before. Most of it was still quite clear, but I didn't like the dirt. Still, the water was cold and felt good, and swimming it in was so much fun! Unfortunately, I couldn't get pictures of me swimming, but that's alright. There was also a small rock ledge that people in my group took turns diving/jumping/backflipping off of; I simply jumped off several times to get myself submerged and get all of me wet. :) Oh, and I was kinda jealous of the fact that Isabel, the program director's daughter, was able to catch the tiny fish in the water better than I could; she caught several and I couldn't even catch one!

Me and Jackie by el cenote

Ethan and Ryan, the "mission compantions" dry off as Alannah and Lyndy chill behind them

Caitlin checking her camera

More of my group after we finished swimming and started to get ready to head out

Rebecca in the black and white swimsuit, Alannah in the grey shirt, Lyndy in the red shirt, and Ryan with the flower behind his ear XD

Pretty rocks I found at the bottom of the cenote; not all of them I got for me, though :) I'm thinking my redhead will like at least one of them <3

Lookit my rocks! :)

Walking back from the cenote past the archaeological site.

Anciant ruins are some of the bext backgrounds for pictures :)

Laurita standing on a part of the ruins

Laurita from a distance

We grabbed our backpacks from the visitor's center and went to Progreso - the awesome beach in Merida! :) Seriously, it's so beautiful, with pretty blue-green water and no algae when walking through the ocean and no freezing temperatures unlike the beaches in California! I loved it so much! Heck, shell collecting in Progreso is MUCH better than shell hunting at beaches I went to in California; almost every wave brings up hundreds of small WHOLE shells with occasional fragments. I got a growing collection of them while most my group played Frisbee in the water and a few of the girls tried sunbathing.

The beach, as viewed from the bus

Dang, I was tired after swimming in el cenote

From back of the bus

We ate some appetizers consisting of veggies and chips, both with dip, before going to swim at the beach

OMZ IT'S CRAZY HAND!!! ... Oh, wait, false alarm, that's just Brad's hand holding a cup. (and kudos to you that get the reference)

My group is very, very social

Here's my group!

I unsuccessfully tried to get into the picture... Oh well...

The host parents

One of the kids in one of the host families asked Aaron if he could borrow Aaron's sunglasses (and he even asked in English)

Me drinking coconut milk. I actually borrowed... was this one Alannah's coconut or Ryan the Camera Guy's? Or it could have been Laurita's... In any case, I borrowed a coconut from one of them just for this pic, and I tried a bit of the milk, too. It was... interesting... although really cold, which is nice. A guy was selling the coconuts nearby.

So, once we got to Progreso, we got some snacks, went out to the beach itself, and then went back to the house for lunch. We had tacos pastor, aka tacos with lamb meat. OMZ they were so good, especially with sour cream! Honestly, I had tried lamb before at a Seder meal, but I didn't really like it much; this time the lamb was cooked with some sort of spice mixture that made the meat turn red and become more delicious. It was great! I got myself seconds, it was so good.

After eating, we sat around and socialized, then the host parents brought out a cake for us - and it was chocolate! :) I actually had two pieces of it, it was so delicious.

(Most of) The cake that was made just for us. The letters there said "Bienvenidos" ("Welcome" in Spanish) before people started eating it.

Another one bits the dust- um, I mean, another slice of cake being served.

The "missionary companions" Ryan and Ethan; they're always hanging out with each other and rarely is one with others of us without the other.

A daughter of one of the host moms, Elissa; she speaks English well for her age, but naturally is better at Spanish. Also, she's adorable.

CAKE!!! ... I loved that cake.

After nom-ing on (aka eating) cake I went with some of the girls to the little market area that's near the beach. Now THAT was an interesting experience. I got a bit of a taste as to how competitive and pushy some people are with their merchandise. Like, this one guy was trying to get Alannah to buy a pair of sandals she'd asked the cost of, and so she tried a few pairs, but even when she decided she didn't want them he kept trying to persuade her by saying how they're handmade and can't be found anywhere else and stuff like that. He even lowered the price by 100 pesos (originally it was 300). I, looking at the shoes over her shoulder, decided that my mom would love a pair of them, so I helped Alannah get that merchant/salesperson off her back AND got a present for my mom by buying some. The same guy also managed to talk me into getting two necklaces when I only wanted one initially... ah well.

Lyndy and Jackie as we're going to the merchant/outdoor store area

Rachel, Lyndy, and Alannah; all of us were just wearing our swimsuits all day

Preparing to leave for home after a looooooooong day...

Uh oh! Someone left their coconut!

An "OXXO" (pronounced "Oh-ks-oh", roughly) that I saw on the way home from the beach. OXXOs are the 24-hour convenience stores, similar to Wal-Greens in Utah, that can be found EVERYWHERE. Seriously, if you need something, go wander around and you'll find one real quick.

Me being worn out from all that swimming and picture-taking and shell-collecting...

Overall, this was an a-MAY-zing weekend excursion! :) I can't wait to see if next week's excursion is just as exciting!

Hasta la vista, ya'll!