As I mentioned last week, I’m going to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for some posts to tell you about a couple more life events.
While we were struggling with the news of our failed IVF attempt, the chromosomal analysis results, and our chances of a successful pregnancy, we were reimbursed for some of the medical expenses we paid for upfront.
Read more: Getting Away, Part 1After all the bad news, we contemplated using that money to take a vacation. I was torn about it–if we’d need to do another IVF cycle, the money could be used for that. But we weren’t really sure there would be another cycle.
We discussed it and decided, after the year we’d had and even if we did try another IVF cycle, we both needed a getaway. Our bad-news year wasn’t limited to just our infertility journey. Between the two of us, our families had four funerals in the span of a year. We both needed something positive to look forward to.
So, we started vacation shopping and opted for a week in Cancun at an all-inclusive resort, Iberostar Grand Paraiso. The sun, beach, pool, and fruity drinks can go a long way in repairing the body and soul.
We left crazy early in the morning on my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!) and landed in Cancun that afternoon. After getting through customs, exchanging some cash, and ignoring all the timeshare salespeople (I respect the hustle, but yeesh…), we finally made it to our resort. It was gorgeous!
Our room was a lovely suite overlooking the “quiet” pool (no music allowed). My favorite part was the basket swing on our balcony. A fair amount of reading and napping happened on that swing, and it was wonderful.
The quiet pool also became a favorite hangout spot for Nick and me. It was so peaceful, and we often had the pool to ourselves or with only one or two other folks. It’s also where we met some new friends (shout out to Mike and Denise; we hope you’re doing well!).
Our first couple of days were spent enjoying the pool, soaking up the sun, imbibing some delicious cocktails, and eating lots of amazing food. We also booked two excursions–one to visit the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá, complete with a swim in a cenote, and the other a boat tour to Isla Mujeres.
The Chichén Itzá tour was really amazing. It was a day-long adventure that started with an early pick-up at our resort, followed by a two-hour drive to the Ik Kil Cenote. There, we changed into our swimsuits, put on life vests, and jumped in!
I had been warned by a coworker that the water in cenotes is typically quite chilly, but we must’ve lucked out. It was around 70 degrees, and it just felt refreshing.
After the swim, we taste-tested some tequila from a local distillery (super yum!) and then loaded back up on the bus to head to our lunch. After lunch, it was time for Chichén Itzá!
It’s really incredible to see it in person. It’s almost surreal–like a page from a history book come to life. Kukulcan Temple is the iconic temple that comes to mind when you hear about the Mayan world. It’s a temple to the feathered snake god, Kukulcan. (For those thinking that name sounds familiar, it likely does if you just watched “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as the movie’s antagonist, Namor, is also known as Kukulcan.)
The architecture of this pyramid is just incredible. It has four sides, with 91 steps on each side leading to the top. When you add all the stairs, plus the main temple at the top, you get 365–one for each day.
At the summer and fall equinoxes, at an exact time, the sunlight hits the stairs just right to create a zigzag snake body that ends with two large, stone, feathered snake heads at the bottom. The math that went into designing this wonder is completely beyond me.
Nick and I were lucky enough to get a glimpse of this snake as well. While it’s perfectly aligned on the fall equinox, you can still see a close approximation leading up to and after the equinoxes.
But the temple is only one part of Chichén Itzá. There was a temple of the warriors, which also housed a vendor’s courtyard, a temple to venus, a Pok-A-Tok court (Chichén Itzá’s is the largest in the Mayan world), and another cenote.
It was truly an incredible afternoon.
I’ll tell you about our other excursion to Isla Mujeres next week.
IVF That 