After a painfully long year and a half engagement of my good friends from high school, it was finally time for their wedding in Mexico. My best friends and I were so excited to go down there for a long weekend to see our friends get married on their 10 year anniversary. We hopped in the car at 4:30 am wide awake and drove to the Miami airport to catch our early morning flight down to Cancun. Once we arrived in Cancun we took a shuttle to our hotel Dreams Puerto Adventuras which is about an hour drive south of the airport. As soon as we arrived to our hotel we saw a group of our friends (beers and mojitos in hand) ready to get this weekend started. We quickly checked in, dropped off our luggage, changed into bathing suits, and met them downstairs. We ate a quick lunch at the hotel and hopped in a cab to take us 15 minutes away to the famous Mayan site on the beach, Tulum. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited by the Mayans and it is still in really great condition despite being right on the water. We walked around the ancient Mayan city, in awe of the beautiful ocean calling our name and the beauty of these ancient temples nestled on cliffs above the sea. We explored for an hour or so, until we were too hot that we couldn't stand it anymore. We took a trail to the right of Tulum to one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen… and I've seen a lot of beautiful beaches in my day. The water was the most amazing pristine aqua and blue and the beach was the idyllic white clean soft sand. I was in heaven. Complete heaven. We laid down our towels and just marveled at the beauty. Beautiful white beaches that seemed to go forever, Tulum in the distance to our left, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the water crashing in. It was a beautiful day out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. After a few minutes of sitting there a guy came up and asked us if we would like to have anything to drink. We ordered a round of mojitos and went for a swim in the beautiful waters while we waited. Jose showed up a few minutes later with some spectacular looking mojitos. We had one sip, looked at each other in amazement because they were the best mojitos ever, and ordered another round. They were the perfect amount of lime, mint, and sugar. I still dream of drinking those mojitos on that gorgeous beach. We stayed at the beach for a few hours, Alissa and I dozing off here and there because we got up so early that morning (or maybe it was the mojitos?) but after a while we were getting a little toasty and decided to call it a day. We hopped in a taxi and headed back to the hotel. We all had a big group dinner that night in the hotel and called it a night. We were exhausted from traveling so early and being in the sun all day long.
The next morning we got up early and hopped in our friends rental car and headed out to one of the 7 Wonders of the World… Chichen Itza. This historic Mayan site is something else to see in person. People only think of Chichen Itza to be just that one pyramid (El Castillo) that is always pictured but there is so much more to it. We walked around for a few hours in awe of the ancient Mayan city. It is so crazy to think that so many years ago this beautiful ruin used to be a bustling city full of people and so many sacrifices. Yuck. We walked by all of the different temples, the Columns in the Temple of a Thousand Warriors, the Ball Court, and everywhere possible. It was a hot day out and we were all about to pass out from heat exhaustion so we decided it was time to go cool off by going Cenote jumping. Cenotes are basically large sinkholes that are filled with this beautiful filtered ground water through the limestone from underneath the surface. In Mexico there are many cenotes available to swim in but we decided to check out the very famous Ik Kil Cenote that is close to Chichen Itza. We walked down the slippery rock stairs and were in awe of what we saw. This beautiful opening covered with moss and all of these gorgeous plants. It was magical. Simply magical. We all jumped in from the platform above and just floated on the surface for a while, in amazement at how naturally gorgeous it was and just taking time to soak it all in. We all took turns jumping in the water and trying to show off. We would do backflips, front flips, splits in the air, swan dives, you name it. I felt like I was five again, trying to do a jump into the pool trying to impress everyone. After over an hour we were starting to get a little waterlogged and it was time to head back to the hotel. We all 5 jumped in one last time and then got out. I highly recommend checking this gorgeous cenote out, or any cenote while in Mexico. There is something very special about swimming in it and we had such an amazing time. Honestly, it would be hard not to enjoy yourself there. On the way back we stopped and picked up some amazing pottery at the roadside stands. I picked up some plates and vases that are so gorgeous! That night we had a big beach fiesta where tequila was being passed around like water. Hey, when in Mexico right? Afterwards the group moved to this little bar that was right on the water and instead of barstools they had swings. How genius right? I wish more places had swings instead of barstools. We spent the night swinging, laughing, drinking, and listening to the water crash on the rocks behind us. Needless to say we had way too much fun that night and ended up ordering the entire late night room service menu when we got back.
The next morning we got up and spent the entire day at the hotel by the ocean and the pool with the bride and groom to be. The wedding was going to be a small one, about 75 people. In my opinion that is the perfect amount of people for a destination wedding because you can spend time with everyone and relax which is what we did. It was a really nice relaxing beach day. That night was the rehearsal dinner which was held at the bride's parents vacation house they have on the property. It was a beyond gorgeous night out, the Mariachi band was playing, people were dancing under the stars, we were toasting to the bride and groom, and having an amazing night. We went for a nightcap at the hotel before calling it a night. After a big breakfast at the hotel we took the car down to Playa Del Carmen for some shopping and exploring. We walked around the main road for awhile, ducking into stores and buying goodies for us and our loved ones. We couldn't stay long because we had to get back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. Once all of us were ready we headed down to the water where the ceremony was being held. It was a beautiful and breezy day out. We watched as our friends got married by the water at the most picturesque of venues. It was stunning. We spent the night dancing away and celebrating our friends. The next day we sadly had to depart but I know I will be back to explore more of this beautiful country and to eat more tacos.