Riviera Maya - Day 5

I have a slight obsession with sunrise & sunsets. Therefore I had to wake up early one morning and watch the sunrise. It was very peaceful and extraordinary to watch the sunrise on the beach. 

We spent our last afternoon in Mexico being beach bums and relaxing.

Later we walked over to the Hacienda at our resort to do some last minute shopping. They had some interesting and rather unique souvenirs! 

The resort went all out for the Christmas Eve dinner!! There was so much food I didn't know where to begin!

Afterward we attended the Christmas Show at the Hacienda. There was some lip synching, a little latin gangnam style dance, and lots of dancing! Very entertaining! 

I had a fabulous time vacationing in the Riviera Maya! A great location to soak up some sun, relax, see some history, and have a ton of fun!!

Riviera Maya - Day 4

First thing in the morning we checked out the Dolphin show at our resort. They offer packages to swim with dolphins and be a trainer for a day. It was fun seeing the dolphins perform all their tricks. However after watching the CNN film Blackfish the whole dolphins, whales, and animals in captivity thing doesn't sit well with me.

After the dolphin show we soaked up some sun on the beach and got out tan on!

In the afternoon we drove to Playa Del Carmen to do some shopping on Fifth Avenue also known as Avenida Cinco. We were able to get all of our souvenir shopping done in two hours. Playa del Carmen is a major party scene and it was super busy and the streets were filled with interesting characters. 

We had dinner at Don Pablo at our resort. This restaurant was by far my favorite! The food was spectacular!!! I had a fig salad, cream of celery soup, and roasted gulf sea bass fillet. Everything was divine!

Riviera Maya - Day 3

The Yucatan Peninsula is known for their numerous Cenote. Cenote are natural sinkholes. The Mayans believed the mysterious formations were entrances to the underworld. There are a ton of Cenote in the Riviera Maya region!

En route to Chichen Itza we stopped by Cenote Xkekén. It was very fascinating! 

Chichén Itzá. Words and pictures don't do justice for this place. It is recognized as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. The layout of it reminded me a lot of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - except on a larger scale. Chichen Itza is on of the most famous Mayan temple city. At the site you can see the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners. It is an extraordinary place!

On the way back to Tulum we decided to pull over and have a photo shoot among the agave. Very normal. 

Also this happened: 

I saw many fascinating things during the drive from Tulum to Chichen Itza. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to stop at every location a snap picture. It was definitely an interesting drive to say the least!

Riviera Maya - Day 2

Day two started off with exploring the Tulum Ruins. It is very doable on your own - you don't need to book a tour. Since we had car we drove to the ruins from our hotel. It was about a 20 minute drive.

The Tulum ruins are unique because it is situated on a cliff facing the Caribbean Sea. It was absolutely stunning!!

Afterward we went to Coba to see the Coba Ruins. The ruins were in a dense forest area. They were nice however they were not as impressive as the Tulum ruins. 

For dinner we went to Mediterràneo Restaurant at our resort. We had delicious seafood and went all out at the dessert buffet! 

Check back again tomorrow and I will be sharing all the details of my trip this week! 

Riviera Maya - Day 1

The first day in Mexico consisted of exploring the resort and relaxing on the beach!

During our stay at the resort we had 3 à la carte restaurants included in our package. I made the reservations for the restaurants before arriving at the hotel - I coordinated with public relations via e-mail. The first night we had dinner at Frutos del Mar which is located at the Akumal resort. The restaurant has an extensive sea food menu! The food was delicious! 

Every night at the resort there is a show in the Hacienda at 9pm - it is completely free! If you are staying at the resort you have access to all the shows every night! On the first night there was a Fire Show - it was spectacular!  I created a short video of bits of the show!

The show was pretty amazing in my opinion! The performers were extremely talented!