Schools in, Vacations done!

Today is the first day back to school! This is also my last semester for my bachelors and I am so excited to be done with it. Actually, I'm a bit excited, but also a bit scared. Like, what happens after I graduate? Where do I apply? Who wants to hire me? All these questions! But for now it is just the first day of school.







I haven't done the cliche question of, "What did you do for your summer vacation?" since grade school so I'm going to share it with you. I'm usually one of those people that stays home all summer and works her bum off to pay for books, parking, school supplies, etc.







This summer though was one of the best summers, EVER! I didn't work all summer, but only some of it, and I didn't just stay in the states. This summer my family and I went to Cancún. This remarkable place is located in Quintana Roo, México. I can't explain how magnificent this place is. I've been to México before because my parents are from there, and I'm still so amazed by how beautiful it is. The weather was super hot and humid, but it was amazing! I honestly went out for three hours and tanned one shade darker, which isn't a surprise because I tan easily but never that quick.







We went to Playa del Carmen, which is pictured right above. It is a little island that is around 30 minutes from Cancún. The area is really nice and there are locals around, but there are also a lot of golf cart business locations. It takes a long time to go around the whole island if you plan on walking, so if you do end up going, just rent the cart. As you can tell, the water is so clear and blue. There were a lot of iguanas as well.

 One day we went to a park called Xcaret, which is a very well known park in Cancún. It is a self-described ecotourism park. They have dolphins, leopard, sea turtles (big and small), sharks, etc. It is not a zoo, but a place where they take care of these animals so they aren't harmed by the tourism. I had so much fun here and I ended up exhausted mid day. There is a long river that you can swim in, and it was exhausting. They also have a lot, A LOT of food. You would imagine they would because of the amount of people who visit the park each day. They really give you a little taste of Méxican culture. There a show called "Xcarete México Espectacular", which is kind of a presentation of the history of México and a little taste of what sports the Mayans would play. Its amazing! I'll put a few pictures below of Xcaret.











I want to say that this lady is dressed in Oaxaca clothing. This isn't how they always dress, but it's how they dress for festivals or celebrations. Each state in México is different and have their little bit of history.

She was one of my favorite performers in the show because she put so much energy into her performance. She also seemed to really enjoy it. 

Look at these costumes! aren't they fantastic?

Here is some of the typical jewelry you can find in México. It's common along the beaches of México but also in places where there isn't a beach.

The picture below is my sister and I para sailing. We saw turtles from above and just the water and view was amazing! Everything was amazing!