It's time to go home. We've been away from home since January and need to go home to check on our house, see the orthodontist and work on taxes. Needless to say, this is not a very exciting trip to write about. The good side is that we will get to see our families.

After 5 weeks of language school, we were ready for a break! We felt ready to venture out away from Cancun and decided to rent a car. So, with the help of the Lonely Planet guidebook and a map, we set off. The places we visited included Tulum, Coba, Chetumal,Calakmul, Campeche, Merida and Valladolid. I have put some of our photos in the Gallery.

We have been homeschooling for 5 years now. As required for Matthew's highschool credit, we have been slowly plowing thru a spanish language program on DVD/workbook, from The University of Arizona. Well, after our arrival to Mexico, it became very apparent that we were not prepared to actually use our limited language skills with native speakers! Thus, began our search for qualified spanish language instruction.
Lucky for us, there happened to be a very good school in Cancun. After an email, a telephone call and a visit, we were official students of El Boque del Caribe language school.
Each morning we would take a taxi from the marina to the ferry. Then ride to Puerto Juarez and take another taxi to school.
This was our first experience with a language school. But it will certainly not be our last. We had a great time, and met some interesting people from many parts of the world. We have learned more from our instructors than we would have learned on our own.

We finally had a chance to see Chichin Itza. It is approximatly 2 1/2 hours north west of Cancun. Our trip was very comfortable with air conditioning, and stops for the restroom. While on the way we stopped and had a great lunch provided by the tour agency. The trip gave us a chance to see some of the interior of this area, something that is difficult unless we rent a car. Which is something that we are putting off until after our spanish improves!
Chichin Itza is considered to be the most important city of the Mayan people before 1200.
I could go into a several page history lesson, but for times sake I'll just enclose pictures.

Quintana Roo is a sparsely populated state that has a strong Maya heritage. The state is bordered by Guatemala and Belize on the south, by the Caribbean Sea on the east, by the Gulf of Mexico on its northern tip, and by the states of Yucat�n and Campeche on the west. Quintana Roo occupies a third of the Yucat�n Peninsula, which is an essentially flat limestone surface with almost no aboveground rivers and little topsoil. Quintana Roo covers an area of 39,376 sq km (15,203 sq mi). The state's capital city, Chetumal, is located in the southern portion of the state, across the border from Belize. The state's population in 2000 was 873,804. Spanish explorers made their first landing in what would become Mexico in 1517 at Cape Catoche, at the northern end of modern-day Quintana Roo. Located off the east coast of the Yucat�n Peninsula, Isla Mujeres, where we are currently located, is one of the many beautiful Caribbean Islands that belongs to Mexico. The ancient Maya people built a city on the island many centuries ago. The abundance of salt found on the island supplied much of the Maya empire. Isla Mujeres got its name when explorers found the ruins and discovered large amounts of figurines shaped like women.

Bullfighting is a Mexican passion though less wide spread than soccer. Fights take place mainly in major cities, and mostly during celebrations. Though a lot of people think it to be cruel, and crude "sport" it is a major part of Mexican history. To the fans of bullfighting, it is as much a ritualistic dance as a fight.
There are usually six bulls in a fight, a bell is rung when the first bull leaves the pen. After the bull leaves the pen a few toreros spend a few minutes tiring the bull. Then two picadores on heavily armored horses enter the ring and jab long lances into the shoulders of the bull, to weaken it. After that the toreros come back and attempt to stab the bull with long colorful darts. The matador them comes into the ring among a thunderstorm of applause and has to attempt to kill the bull within a sixteen minute period, with a sword. If he succeeds he is awarded with honor, but if he fails the results can be bad for his career.
Our experience with the bull fight in Cancun was that the show before the bull fight was better than the fight. I don't think our family will be strong patrons of bull fighting. But, while traveling and trying to experience cultural events we try to keep an open mind.