We didn’t do much shopping during our stay in Cancun, but I want to mention a couple places that we liked. One of them is La Isla Shopping Village. It is a beautiful outdoor mall set in the middle of the Hotel Zone, complete with charming canals, luxury boutiques, inexpensive brands, high-end department stores, fast food, fun restaurants and upscale dining.
Xplor was the highlight of our Cancun vacation, so we left best for last. Xplor is a natural adventure park opened in July 2009. The park is situated approximately 35 miles (56km) south of the Cancun airport and occupies an area of 59 hectares, of which 8 are underground. Xplor offers 4 thrilling activities: zip lines, amphibious vehicles, underground raft adventure, and stalactite river swim.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to breathe underwater? Well, this is what scuba diving allows you to do: to breathe underwater, maintain buoyancy, propel yourself through the coral reefs and most importantly stay underwater for a prolonged period of time. On this day, Dave and I were going to visit the MUSA – underwater museum in Cancun at the same time as learning to scuba dive for the first time with AquaWorld. It seems like we chose the right time for a dive in the warm Caribbean waters with great visibility.
Butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret is the most impressive butterfly habitat I’ve ever seen. According to Xcaret’s web site, this is the first butterfly breeding facility in Mexico. The structure is 49 feet high and has nearly 38,000 sq. ft. of free flying space, the largest butterfly facility in the world. It features only regional species native of the Yucatan peninsula in their natural habitats and its caretakers work diligently with some 5,000 butterflies in an intensive breeding program for 20 endemic species. I guess this butterfly sign warns us, the visitors, that we are getting closer to the Butterfly Pavilion.
Aviary is my favorite place at Xcaret. Aviary is a natural habitat for some 60 species of tropical birds who populate the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula. Here the visitors can see some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the jungle living within an open-air sanctuary. Parrots and macaws mate for life and at Xcaret they have plenty of company. The birds are not just there to amuse visitors, there is an active breeding program and birds are reintroduced into the wild. This scarlet macaw is one of dozens in the park.
Xcaret is a theme park in Riviera Maya, Mexico which offers a large variety of activities. Dave and I had Xcaret plus admission tickets to the park which included transport to and from Xcaret, park entrance, a buffet meal, access to all except extras, the park’s attractions and activities and Xcaret Night Show. It also included complimentary use of showers, beach loungers, hammocks, life vests, use of snorkeling equipment and a locker. It is an impressive and beautiful park known for its water and land attractions. We decided to skip the water activities and to see the park’s grounds instead. Here is a map of the park from xcaret-tickets.com.
I had to upload this post, because tomorrow “the End of the World” is expected. 🙂 I just heard over the radio, that the marketing strategy really works and the tourists flooded the Yucatan Peninsula. We visited the Mayan ruins this summer and the mystery of the Mayan Apocalypse has been explained to us. Let’s follow our journey to the ancient Mayan world.
It was a beautiful sunny morning in Cancun, Mexico. Dave and I were enjoying our coffee outside of the hotel’s entrance, while waiting for our transportation to arrive. On this day we were going to visit the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is considered the largest of the ruined Mayan cities on the Yucatan Peninsula and one of Mexico’s most-visited tourist destinations. Construction of the city began in the 7th century and the city reached its peak in the 10th century. Nichupte Lagoon is seen right behind the fountain from the entrance of our hotel.
In the afternoon our group arrived at the ancient city of Coba, located in the middle of the jungle. The Mayan name Coba means ‘ruffled waters’. It probably refers to the lakes in the area. Coba is located between two lakes and is close to three others. Since surface water is not common in the Yucatan peninsula, it makes sense that the Mayans built their city in an area among lakes. Coba was at one time a very large city spread over 80 square kilometers/30 square miles and was once home to around 50,000 people . Of the 6500 buildings which have been found at Coba only 10% have been excavated. The site was built during the Classic Period (600-900 A.D.), but also experienced a building boom in the Early Post Classic period dated 925 A.D – 1200 A.D. (from wikipedia). Here is Coba site map located right at the entrance.
Early in the morning we were taken by the minivan to experience the Coba Maya Encounter Expedition tour. We were planning to arrive at the authentic Mayan village of Pac-Chen, a self sufficient community of approximately 125 people who still live in round thatch huts deep in the jungle. There’s no electricity or indoor plumbing, and the roads aren’t paved. The inhabitants, who primarily make their living farming pineapples, beans, and plantains, still pray to the gods for good crops.
The first half of the day included:
After lunch the plan was to visit the ancestral city of Coba, an archaeological site hidden deep inside the jungle. It will be in the next post as Part 2 of Cancun Day 3 – Coba Encounter Expedition.
Cirque du Soleil arrived at the National Harbor with its newest show ‘Totem’ and we decided not to miss a chance to attend the show. We had tickets for the 4 o’clock performance and an hour earlier we were driving to the National Harbor, where the Cirque’s signature bright blue and yellow top tents had been eracted.The recognizable blue and yellow 2600 seat tent is made from almost six tons of canvas. It was a beautiful sunny and hot (over 90°F) day. The parking lot was fairly empty and everything was well organized. Here is the view of the Cirque’s tents from the parking lot.
