{"id":6,"date":"2009-01-24T12:27:06","date_gmt":"2009-01-24T20:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2009-01-30T16:41:46","modified_gmt":"2009-01-31T00:41:46","slug":"playa-del-carmen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/?page_id=6","title":{"rendered":"Playa del Carmen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s some pics from our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico in February 2008.<\/p>\n

Day One<\/strong><\/p>\n

We flew from Buffalo through Newark to Cancun (saved a ton of money on airfare, but had to stay a night in a hotel in Newark because we missed our connecting flight), and finally took the bus from the Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

When are we going to be there?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"are-we-there-yet\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"still-on-the-bus-to-playa\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

This vacation sucks!<\/p><\/div>\n

Nobody is very impressed with the vacation so far \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\"But<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

But we finally ended up at our destination! Hotel Cielo.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you’ve never been to Playa del Carmen, add it to your list.<\/p>\n

Our hotel was small, clean, friendly and not at all like a hotel we’d find at home! For example, when it rained (which only happened once), the windows leaked! Also, we saw the odd gecko or two wandering about. Most importantly, on the roof of the hotel we discovered the most wonderful bathroom in the world. Relieving oneself in this little sanctuary can best be described as . . . moving.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

The most wonderful bathroom in the world!<\/p><\/div>\n

Perhaps this vacation won’t be so bad after all.<\/p>\n

Come on in! The water’s fine!<\/p>\n

\"First<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

First steps in the Carribbean. Are you sure it's February?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Am<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

Am I really here?<\/p><\/div>\n

Coba and the Nohoch Mul pyramid<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deep in the jungle, far from the hustle and bustle of the Mayan Riviera, lie the ruins of the former Mayan city of Coba. The remains of this city, once home to 50,000 people, are now surrounded by jungle. When I (Jim) was here in 1994, this place was a very quiet, spiritual place. One could almost feel the energy of the old city, and the experience from the top of the pyramid was something I’ll never forget.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 14 years, and things have changed. The city is still the same, essentially untouched, but the tourist aspect of it is all wrong. Where once Coba was a bit too much off the beaten path, now, throngs of tourists are there, and the spiritual side of it is harder to find. I’m not saying whether this is a bad thing or not (certainly it creates work for the local people), but it has changed the place.<\/p>\n

One thing that has not changed, however, is the mighty pyramid Nohoch Mul. At 138 feet in height, this wonder is the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan. Half of it is still covered with trees and jungle, as it has not been fully restored (and is probably never going to be). It is much more beautiful this way, and the reality of the jungle that has completely overgrown the remains of this mighty city is very humbling to experience. If you are ever in the Mayan Riviera, go out of your way and make sure you climb this thing.<\/p>\n

\"on-our-way-up\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

The Nohoch Mul pyramid at Coba<\/p><\/div>\n

We did \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

The pyramid is almost 2km away from the parking lot, but there are rickshaws for those that dont' want to walk.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Looking<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

Looking down those ancient steps.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you can, try and visit early in the morning when the crowds are scarce. Then you will be able to hear the jungle from atop the pyramid.<\/p>\n

If you don’t, you might have to hear this:<\/p>\n

\"From<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

From the top you can see for miles.<\/p><\/div>\n

Isla Mujeres\u00c2\u00a0 (more coming soon)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lucky<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

Lucky shot I snapped with our little point-and-shoot<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s a lad who loves the water!<\/p>\n

\"Time<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

Time to get wet!<\/p><\/div>\n

Loves limes too!<\/p>\n

\"Mmmmm<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

Mmmmm . . . limes are yummy!<\/p><\/div>\n

Xcaret\u00c2\u00a0 (more coming soon)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We each have fun in our own way.<\/p>\n

\"We<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>

We take vacations to relax, right?<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s some pics from our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico in February 2008. Day One We flew from Buffalo through Newark to Cancun (saved a ton of money on airfare, but had to stay a night in a hotel in Newark because we missed our connecting flight), and finally took the bus from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":10,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17,"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/17"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vanmeggelen.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}