Mexico Trip - Traveling, Merida, Celestun

I dream of beautiful Mexico on these frigid January days we are having in Utah right now. I am so grateful we got to experience this wonderful trip over Christmas break with my family. It was a once in a lifetime experience! Our Mexican vacation started VERY early on Christmas morning. Luke was kind enough to stay up all night and take us to the airport at 3:00am for our flight to LAX. We got through security and to our gate in plenty of time. All was going well until the guy at the desk tried to bump our whole family from the flight because they overbooked it. We would have missed the whole trip if we didn't get on this flight. Prayers were answered and another family chose to take a direct flight to Maui and we got on at the last second. My parents were on the plane already and so relieved when we boarded right before the doors closed. We all had to sit in random places all over the plane and the kids had to figure out flying alone basically, but I was just happy we were on board. We had a super long layover in LA, but again we were happy the flights were not cancelled because of all the staff shortages from COVID-19.

Finally we got on our flight to Mexico City. Timmy and I got all situated to get some much needed rest.

We arrived in Mexico City and waited for several hours in the customs line, but made it through okay to meet some of my family for a shuttle to our hotel. We were grateful for a place there at the hotel to get dinner. This was Christmas Dinner. It was the longest Christmas day we had ever had and we were exhausted. But glad we made it to meet my family for the start of our Evans family Mexico trip!

We got a tiny bit of sleep and then headed out at 4:00am for another plane ride form Mexico City to Merida. It was nice to have family to hang out with while we waited. We started realizing at this point how Mexican time is a little different than what we are used to. Everything takes longer and runs later than expected.

After a few hours delay we flew over the brown sprawling capitol city to the green jungles of the Yucatan.

Where, one of the best parts of the trip was waiting for us....our bus and great bus driver! Melanie and Ruben had rented a large and comfortable bus for the whole Evans family to ride around together for the rest of the trip. It was so comfortable with reclining seats, air-conditioning and a bathroom!  We all promptly took a nap.

Our first stop was pretty close to downtown Merida where we stopped to see the temple. In the church building next door, they were halfway through sacrament meeting, so we snuck in to take the sacrament and sing some hymns in Spanish. It was such a nice experience. 

It was the last Sunday of 2021, so Timmy's last day as a primary member. The primary of this ward was giving their kids these Christmas bags full of treats. They gave all the primary kids in our family a bag. It was so sweet!

We checked out the Merida temple and took some pictures.

I love Mexico at Christmas time because there a nativities to be seen everywhere. This was the one on display at the temple.

Then we headed to downtown Merida to have a look around and find somewhere to eat.

The city center had the cutest nativity ever!

We found a place to eat. It was not as delicious as we were hoping and it took forever, like three hours, but it was a cool old building. Here we started to understand that eating out was not going to be a quick experience like we are used to at home.

Finally lunch was over and we were off walking the streets of Merida back to the temple for our bus.

We got to the bus and drove a couple of hours to Celestun where we checked into our hotel and ran down to the beach to catch the last few minutes of sunset. This beach faces West (being located on the West side of the Yucatan peninsula) and we only had one night here so I am happy we made it for the sunset!

Arriving at the ocean for the first time in a very long time, with the sunset in the background was a beautiful moment for me. I really love the ocean. 

I am so glad we quickly threw on our swimsuits before rushing down there. Playing and floating in the water on this evening was my favorite part of the entire trip!

I found that I floated easily in the salty water and I loved just bobbing there in the calm waves, watching the sun go down, and soaking up the salt. I thoroughly enjoyed all the beauty and joy present there.

It got dark and we walked a small ways down the beach to our favorite restaurant of the trip right there in the sand under the palms.

Mark and Timmy both tried a different octopus dish.

Afterward we got a delicious traditional dessert of the Yucatan. They are called Marquesitas, and it is a crepe/waffle type rollup filled with caramel, cream, jam etc.

The next morning the boys and I woke up early to go comb the beach for shells and anything else we could find.  Timmy was the smart one to put on his swimsuit. Brian and I went in clothes and regretted that decision after getting wet.  This was our cute little hotel. I think my family booked the entire place!

At the beach is was a foggy morning but still fun as we started finding some cool shells.

The cousins and other Evans family members started trickling out of the hotel to join us.

Then Timmy came upon the find of the trip. A huge conch shell with a live and large hermit crab.

Then it was time to pack up at the hotel and wait for the breakfast before heading out on another adventure. It was another bit of a wait for the food, but mine was a delicious plate of Mexican eggs.

Then it was off for a boat tour to see flamingos and Mangrove forests. We got on boats and sped across the bay to find the flamingos. Seeing flamingos in the wild was a real treat. We loved watching them fly.

Then we headed into a very cool Mangrove forest.

Where we saw huge termite mounds on the trees, and a little crocodile.

Timmy was one of the few brave enough to go swimming with the crocodiles!

After the boat tour we visited with the pet raccoons. We had to get a picture of my mom feeding a raccoon. Usually her raccoon interactions at the ranch are not so friendly on her part.

After the boat tour we had a little bit of time on the beach back in Celestun. It was beautiful and we could have stayed much longer.

But everyone was hungry and we had a reservation at the beach restaurant again. 

The boys discovered horchata. It was so good at every place we went.

They also discovered Arrachera, the really good Mexican steak.

This place was famous for it's octopus, so that's what they'll never forget.

After our meal we had to say goodbye to Celestun. It was time to move on to other adventures. The next big items to see would be Mayan ruins and cenotes. On our way to Uxmal, we went through a series of tiny and cool Yucatan towns. Many people still lived in houses built in the same thatched roof and oval style as they were built in ancient Mayan times. It was nice to watch out the bus window and get a glimpse of a wonderful culture so different from our own. It was also nice to take a nap on our comfortable bus.