Cancun Part 3

Cancun Day 3 - Mercado 28 and Beach Photoshoot

Today was the worst weather we had in our whole week vacation in Cancun, it was raining - heavy rain. But the good news was that it only lasted the first half of the morning. I planned to navigate to downtown in the early morning and then come back in the early afternoon so we will have enough time to get ready for our 5pm couples photoshoot that I booked through photosincancun.com. The rain totally messed up my plan. We stayed in our room and had our breakfast and waited.....  I was so worried about the weather that I contacted Derek (our photographer) and he said he'll reschedule if it is still raining by 4pm. The rain stopped at around 11:30 am and the sun was finally out! We continued with our plan to navigate to downtown to the famous souvenir market known as Mercado 28 "Market 28". 

The bus stop was right in front of the hotel so it was super convenient! I did the homework,took the Route 2 Bus and told the driver "Mercado 28" with my broken limited Spanish. The driver called out "Mercado 28", before Walmart stop, and we got out of the bus. Thanks to Charlie's map again, we were able to find our way to Mercado 28. It wasn't bad...just walk straight and take a first right onto Tankah Ave, continue until you see Xel-Ha Ave, total walk is less than 10 minutes. The entrance to Mercado 28 is marked. Also I have uploaded the map of downtown below, the red arrows show the direction to Mercado 28:

When I saw the small entrance to Mercado 28, I thought it was just few souvenir shops around that block. As we walked in the narrow entrance hallway, there were shops on each side like 10 shops but then what we didn't realized was after the hallway, there were literally hundreds of shops inside!!! It was outdoor similar to Premium Outlets in the US but much smaller stores and packed together! Once we were "inside" and since many stores sell similar items such as silver jewelries and seashell-stone masks, it was like in a maze. Be prepared bargain and if you don't like bargain, I recommend you don't come here, just do your souvenir shopping at the malls. 

The prices are marked up outrageously! You really need to have an idea the worth of the item to bargain or else expected to pay high prices. So I recommend to check out the price inside the mall because they have fixed price to get an idea. Of course, you want to bargain to the price less than the mall! The owners in Mercado 28 will not sell you the price you really want and they could be really mean! If you don't like the price, just walk away, and I am sure you'll find similar items shortly in another store. Similar to the owner's mentality, if they don't sell you this item cheap, they'll find someone who'll buy it at the price they want as well! 

Most of the items will not have a price tag so you always need to ask but don't be afraid to ask as long as be prepared to hear a crazy price. For example, the seashell-stone mask in the mall cost $400 peso and the first store we went in and ask, the owner said $650 peso! That's almost $50 USD for a souvenir...really?? Somehow the locals in Cancun thinks that Americans are rich and $50 is like nothing to us...urg! Anyways, we walked out and went into many stores, too many that I lost count, but the price ranged from as high as $650+ peso to as low as $185 peso! We found this shop on the back with price marked and very reasonable...only $185. We even bargained to $150 peso :)

The seashell-stone mask, one of the most common souvenirs from Cancun:

After going through store by store, we somehow ended up in the "center" of this maze which was an outdoor food court. There were a few budget restaurants in this food court and each restaurant had a waiter recruiting customer haha. We picked one with the most customers. They do have English menu and the waiters' English were adequate.

We ordered some fajitas and rice plate which were okay for the price. 

After lunch, we continued our way through the stores in Mercado 28, we had no idea how many stores to go and sometimes we ended up back in the same place! We left Mercado 28 at 2pm since we had to prepared for our photoshoot at 5pm! We got back to our hotel before 3pm and it was clear sky, no more rain!!!

We changed and waited at the lobby for Derek and Lorena, our photographers. They came on time and took us around the hotel to have our photos taken. They did both candid pictures as well as instructing us to pose. It was really fun to felt like a model LOL! The photo session was 2 hours: 1 hour around the hotel grounds and 1 hour on the beach. In between, we ran back to our room to change for another outfit :) We finished around 7pm which was about the sunset time and we planned to have some sunset photos. Unfortunately, there were clouds blocked the sunset view so we didn't manage to get some sunset photos. Other than that, Derek and Lorena did a great job!! Here are some photos to share:

I like the focus on the rocks and water in this picture, made us blurry in the background:

I really like the rock color on the background:

Beach photos:

"We are flying":

In one of the hotel pool:

Right after we finished our 2 hours photo session, we went back to our room to change and then came back down to the hotel lobby to paid Derek and Lorena. Derek was able to burn us a CD for all the photos - more than 400 photos in 2 hours! Derek told us to take our time to review them and pick out 30 which he'll do some edits! We went back to our room and put the CD in a safe place; we didn't want to risk to lose it! Then headed back out for dinner. I planned to go to Fred's House - Seafood Market and Grill. We got on a bus heading to the opposite direction from downtown, I pointed to the driver that we wanted to get off near this restaurant and he looked like he understand haha. And in a few minutes, the bus stopped right near the restaurant!!

We didn't made a reservation so we had to wait for a bit, not that long. The waiter walked us to our table and we passed by a "seafood market" full of various seafood!

The restaurant was very clean and "ship" themed decor, not as nice as the one we went last night but the food was excellent! When we were seated, the waiter bought a stand over..I was wondering what was that for. Soon enough, the waiter bought a huge plate of seafood and some guy who looked like a manager came over and introduce the seafood platter! It was a lot of seafood but we decided to order by dishes.  We ordered our food and the bread came. Love the bread they made as well as the dipping! The bread was very soft and smelled very creamy and the sauce were delicious. We liked the one that tasted like butter with a little bit peanut taste.

We appetizer came - mussels in white wine sauce. It was a big bowl full of mussels and it only costed 145 pesos ~ $10 USD!!! Hubby said they were the best he had so far! Even though I can't take any alcohol, I tried out one on the top with the least wine sauce and it was yummy! They were very fresh and big!

Main course, hubby ordered the seafood pot for 245 pesos around $17.50 USD which was pretty good in both price and quality!

I ordered the seafood fettuccine for 240 pesos around $17 USD, a lot of seafood! It was good but not the best I had (#1 still the one I had in Santorini)!

We had a great dinner at Fred's House! And lastly we were full so didn't order any dessert but the restaurant gave us a surprise! The waiter bought cover a canoe-like bowl with shaved ice and then he poured some orange colored cream over it. It was orange-mango taste, very refreshing!!!! We were very pleased with the restaurant's service and food quality!!!!

After our wonderful dinner, we walked across the street and walked to the nearest bus stop (there were bus stop signs). We waited for a few minutes and the bus came, we just got in the bus regardless of route because they all headed to the La Isla Mall direction which is our hotel. We got off in front of our hotel and headed back to our room to enjoy our wonderful photos! It was a fun and relax day despite the morning rain!

Cancun Part 2

Cancun Day 2 - Chichen Itza

Our first full day in Cancun, the site I wanted to see the most is the famous Mayan site in Mexico - Chichen Itza. I booked the full day tour with Charlie Drew for a good discounted price ($45 per person). Our hotel pick up was scheduled at 7:10 - 7:30 am but we woke up way earlier than that! We were used to our regular work hours  so even without an alarm, we naturally wake up at 6 am! I packed sunscreen, insect repellent, water, and made quick breakfast and we left our room at 6:50 am. We still have 20 minutes left so we walked around the hotel area. It was very quiet in the early morning, completely different atmosphere than it was packed with tourists during the day. The reflection of the blue sky and white clouds from the hotel's infinity pool was amazing, excellent view to start our day!

The hotel's exterior:

Around 7 am, we walked to the hotel lobby and wait.  There were few couples who were waiting for tour pick up as well. A tour coach came around 7:15 am and the driver came in the hotel and called out names. We broad the bus and the bus stopped in few more hotels to pick up guests and then the bus dropped us all off at Plaza la Fiesta,Kilometer 9 in the hotel zone. We got off and went in a large souvenir shop and a staff inside told us to pay at the cash register on the back of the shop and pick up our ticket. We rushed to the cashier and it was a line there! We told the lady our names and paid her the price that I negotiated with Charlie Drew with USD and got our tickets. We immediately went back to the front of the shop to find our tour. At each entrance of the store, there were signs for different tours so get in the correct line! We were in line for less than 5 minutes and off we go! The tour was almost full so get in line early especially if you want to sit with your group!

After around one and a half hour ride, our first stop was a cenote (Mexico have a lot of cenote which is fresh water well). When we got off the bus, the surrounding looked like a farm to me lol!

Our tour guide walked us to the entrance of the cenote. He stopped in between to show us the "hole" - the top of the well, it was really deep!

The entrance was really near the "hole" and we walked down the steps to enter the cenote:

Hold on to the rail because the steps could be slippery!

The "ceiling" of the cenote, rock formations which was really cool:

After many many steps, I finally saw the cenote!  The beam of light was shined through from the "hole" that we just seen!

Many people were swimming here, the price for swimming was $7 and they do have changing rooms. Right in the middle of this huge well was a platform with locals dressed up in Mayan clothes and singing Mayan songs. It was really cool both atmosphere wise and temperature wise in here!

We had an hour in the cenote so we took our time and enjoy the Mayan songs and took pictures of this huge underground water well. The walk back up to ground level was not bad as long as you hold on to the rail. When we got out of the cenote, we visited the Mayan house.

This area mimic the ancient Mayan lives. There were peacocks all over this place as well!

Forgot to mention, whenever we got off the bus, we sprayed insect repellent or else we would be full of mosquito bites! We got back to the bus and everyone got back on time! Next stop was lunch at an open restaurant: buffet style which was included in the tour price. There was a huge souvenir shop (of course) under a huge wooden tent almost connected to the restaurant.  Food wasn't ready so people spend sometime shopping while waiting for food. This huge shop was full of silver jewelries!  We weren't interested and we had no idea what is considered to be a good price so we didn't buy anything. Maybe half an hour of wait, food was ready! There were plenty of choices: soup, meat, veggy, and fruits mostly Mexico dishes but was decent. Drink is not included but price wasn't bad!

We had plenty of time to eat so we weren't fell like rushing. We used the restaurant facility there as well as our tour guide suggested. We hopped back on the bus and spend another hour ride or less.  Our bus stopped at the entrance of a building where we waited for our tour guide to give us our tickets.  Here have more shops too but very expensive! Our group split into two groups: English and Spanish. Our tour guide was the one for the English group and he was really good. As we walked into the "park", there I see Chichen Itza, the picture I always see when googled "Mexico"! I just couldn't believe it, I am here!

I was so excited that I ran to the front before others blocking my way and snap a shot with pyramid :) Actually Chichen Itza was a Maya city, this whole area is referred to Chichen Itza while the pyramid is named El Castillo meaning "the castle". 

Alright enough of the excitement, follow back with our tour group! Our tour guide first showed us the "ball court" and told story about it. So generally, two teams playing and had to get the ball into a small ring, the winning team's team captain will be decapitated. Sounded cruel but to the Mayans, it was an honor because it was like sacrificing only the best to their gods. Our tour guide also told us stories about different class of Mayans, history of some of the temples around it. There were so many different magnificent structures that I don't really remember which is which...sorry...so you have to go there and find out yourself :)

The most important story I remembered was about pyramid of course! The pyramid consisted of four sides and each side has 91 steps, do the math 91 x 4 = 364 plus one step on the top = 365 which resembled 365 days in a year! Mayans were great astronomers and mathematicians, very amazed by how they know all about it thousands of years ago! Furthermore, it was built at an exact angle that on every Spring and Autumn equinoxes, the shadow of the stairs on the north side/face formed triangular shadows that together looked like a serpent coming down the staircase. It was suggested that it represented their god Kukulcan so every spring equinox, the god will came down from the sky to bring fertile to the soil so the Mayans could grow their crops. 

After the stories of the pyramid, we had free time to navigate around this once the most important Maya city ourselves. Thanks to the booklet that Charlie gave us, it also has a map of Chichen Itza so it really helped us navigate our way:

We stayed close to the pyramid, it was too hot and far to make our way to the cenote. More amazing view of the pyramid, never get tired of it!

The "back" face of the pyramid:

Picture of us...be careful who you asked to have your picture taken! Only people in your tour group!

We walked to the nearby Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors):

Very amazing standing columns in the temple:

Another smaller pyramid:

Also note that inside Chichen Itza, there were locals selling souvenirs at lower price than in Cancun but I heard the quality could be not as good as the exact same item in Cancun. Chichen Itza is mostly open areas so while looking at those awesome structures, don't forget to reapply sunscreen!

All the architecture ruins in Chichen Itza were incredible. That was one of the thing I liked about Cancun, have both the "paradise" areas and historical areas!

Our tour left around 5pm and got back to the hotel zone around 7:30 pm, our bus stopped by each hotel that guests staying in to drop them off but it was very organized and they know exactly which hotel they had to stop!

When we were back to our hotel, we walked down to La Habichuela Sunset to have our dinner. I read about their famous dish Cocobichuela (coconut curry shrimp and lobster) so wanted to try it out. The restaurant was beautiful well decorated! 

The interior of the restaurant:

The waitress walked us down this flight of glass staircase and went out to their "back yard" since we asked for outside sitting. The outdoor sitting area was beautiful and romantic too!

Very nice chairs:

Very romantic with mini light bulbs and the moonlight!

The food came and here's the famous dish Cocobichuela:

I wasn't impressed with it; it was more of a sweeter side than spicy curry which I thought it was. It costed almost $30 too for small chucks of lobster!

Hubby ordered some fried fish but he said was just okay!

Our dinner was almost 1200 pesos with tips, around $88 USD. For the food quality, it wasn't worth it but definitely worth for the atmosphere :)

We walked back to our hotel and it was like 10 something! It was a long day for us but we visited Chichen Itza; my #1 site to visit in Mexico! I planned tomorrow to be a "on our own day" so no need to wake up at a certain time. We jump into the Jacuzzi when we got back to our room, what will be a better way to relief our stress than the hot Jacuzzi! 

Cancun Part 1

Cancun Day 1 - Arriving

When our flight landed at around 1:15 pm, it was raining out. Urggg...but as my husband said I always bring rain wherever I land! So we were well expected for rain LOL. However, we were not expected for a long wait in the airport to go through customs and immigration!! I guess it was Friday and many flights landed around the same time as us. After one hour of wait, we finally went through all but the weirdest part was after the customs and immigration, there were personnel randomly searched people's purse and bags. And then within 100 feet away, there were what people in forums called "sharks" and we were the small fishes. A huge crowd of local business people trying to pull you to buy timeshares, park tickets, tours, etc. It was overwhelming! I did my homework so I know I have to just walk through without showing any interest and keep saying "no thank you"! I have prearranged airport transfer from Charlie Drew (http://www.charliedrewcancun.com/), it was $55 roundtrip for 2 people. Out of the whole crowd, I spotted our driver with my name written on a board!

From the airport to the hotel, it was a pretty long ride around 25 minutes. The first 10 minutes or so, I didn't see any sign of "Cancun" but empty lands, then followed by buildings that are still constructing, and then resorts!! On the left side is the lagoon while the right side of the Kukulkan Boulevard is where all the hotels located aka the Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera). This Boulevard is 14 miles long and filled with hotels!! I finally felt it was Cancun when passing by all those resorts. We stayed at the Westin Lagunamar which is like half way of the Kukulkan Boulevard right next to the La Isla Mall. We paid the driver the full $55 amount, he said that's the policy to return pick up. When we arrived at our hotel, Charlie was right there to greet us! He gave us a booklet with maps around the tourist areas and parks which was extremely helpful! He even printed the confirmation of the tours we booked through him as well for a good discount. He told us the logistics of hotel pickups and where to meet etc for our tour tomorrow :)

Check-in was a breeze and since the Westin Lagunamar is more like a condo type with multiple buildings, we had to walk to our building which wasn't bad. There was construction going on and we were aware of that so it didn't bother us at all. Our room was a studio and it was spacious; with a sitting area, kitchen, and what I like most about it was our room has a washer and dryer and even laundry detergent! It was very convenient to have because I am sure our clothes will be dirty after a day in the park! 

Our studio room with sitting area :)

Comfortable bed as usual in Westin property:

Kitchen with everything you need:

After unpacking, we walked across the street to La Isla Mall to just relax, shop, and have our dinner. The mall is pretty new with many expensive shops!

We picked a restaurant inside the mall called Baby Lobster; we were interested in their Surf and Turf special. Many restaurants accepted both USD and Pesos but better deal to pay with Pesos because the rate that the restaurant charge is around 1 USD = 10 or 11 Pesos whereas the exchange rate was 1 USD = 14 Pesos when we were there. The restaurant was right across from the picture above, so right next to the water which also means bug but the restaurant bought us insect repellent spray so was fine!

Our Surf and Turf, it was more than enough for 2 people! Steak and chicken kabobs weren't overcook so they were good but were just a little bit salty.

After our full full dinner, we walked around the mall and the busy street filled with tourists. There was a convenient store nearby so we bought items for breakfast and water! For those of you who haven't knew about this.....water is not drinkable in Cancun! Be very careful, do not drink tap water, no matter where you go, buy bottled water! That include ice so pay extra attention to if your drink contains ice!

Common convenient store chain: OXXO in Cancun:

We walked back to our hotel so we can have plenty of rest for tomorrow's full day adventure!

Hotel exterior at night: