Costa Maya

 

Costa Maya was an absolutely beautiful place!

And definitely catered to tourists the most.  I'm not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat when I saw this skeleton face walking our way...thankfully he didn't get too close!

The Chaccoben Ruins were extremely impressive.  There were 48 structures in this area!

The big steps found all around the Mayan ruins were used for congregations to gather.

Temples were built over centuries of rulers.  Instead of building new structures, new kings would build on top of an existing temple.  Here you can see two different layers.

Stela Stones were found throughout the ruins.

So much is buried under all the jungle growth

Homes were built around courtyard areas

The markings on this gum tree were made by natives climbing the tree to collect tree sap for gum.

On this adventure, we were privileged to meet Barb and John Clements (seen photo-bombing this selfie).  We hit it off at our first meal.  We found out they had just moved out of our stake in Chicago and moved to my old stake in Florida!  We loved laughing with them all throughout the week, name swapping, and became great friends.

The Yaaxche tree is a hollow tree that connects to the earth and sky.  The Mayan people believed when they completed all their necessary tasks (during life and the afterlife) to the gods, they would go up through the hollow part of the tree to heaven.

We were treated to a lunch with some Mayans of Chaccoben.  This is their backyard where they grow so much vegetation and spices--and they provided a meal from much of their own produce.

These lovely ladies prepared the food and also made all the clothing they wore.

They gave us an opportunity to make our own corn tortillas in their kitchen.

Geoff got to experience freshly picked and sliced mangos!

This tree along our path was marked by Jaguars that roam the area.

Our wonderful Book of Mormon group!

Belize

 Our second day of excursions were in Belize.  Ruins were everywhere--but even more buildings and structures were buried under all the jungle growth.

The Mask Temple

One of the offerings found left for the gods was liquid mercury.  Such a finding shows they had technology to get temperatures hot enough to make steel which is a material mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

The High Temple

We were able to climb this temple!

Jaguar Temple

A Mayan Calendar on site (that sometimes accidentally gets used as a place to sit!)

The roots on the jungle trees were incredible!

We heard howler monkeys all throughout the jungle and we were lucky enough to spot one jumping through the trees.

Cozumel

 

The first Mayan ruins we got to experience were in Cozumel.

Why are selfies so hard for us?

There were three figures sculpted on temples

The Great Creator (you can see the plumes above the head and large feet)

The Descending God (He was always sculpted upside-down to portray that this God came to visit the people).  This was the sculpture I was hopeful to see--so I was excited it was found on our first day of ruins!

The final sculpture was The Power or Energy of God.  I loved that the Godhead was represented in these temples.

There were also areas where washing and anointings were performed as well as baptisms by immersion.

Can you find the huge lizard in this picture?  They would be wandering all over the place!

Book of Mormon Cruise

In the fall of 2021 when things were starting to improve in the world with COVID-19, Geoff and I booked a Book of Mormon cruise in Central America.  We were holding our breath for the next few months as COVID numbers started to rise again.  But luckily all the stars aligned and Geoff and I were able to board the boat with a clean bill of health and enjoy an incredible week together.

Geoff figured out early on that unlimited amounts of food could be ordered at meals and he did not hold back!

Geoff and I had to keep pinching ourselves as we soaked in all the art, music, and festivities of this 'floating city'.

Every evening when we returned to our room, we would find folded surprises such as this dinosaur

or this bear

When we boarded the boat, we were told that our room assignment was changed.  Our window room was upgraded to a BALCONY room which offered us this amazing view.

Every evening, different entertainment opportunities were available such as this juggler, comedians, shows, ice skating, and an impressionist.  We were always able to get whatever show we wanted--the boat wasn't even 50% capacity, it often felt like we had the place to ourselves!

The group that attended the Book of Mormon program only had 8 participants--typically it is over 100!  None of us complained of our small group, we all got to get to know one another quite well and Brother Donald Parry who taught the classes on ship even willingly held other meetings where we could ask and discuss gospel topics.  I was in heaven!

And all of this was possible because Mom was willing to come and be with the children during the week we were away.  The first time we called home during our trip, the kids honestly reported, "We only miss you a little bit!"