Sister Trip to Chichén Itzá

My sister and I are on a quest to visit every one of the 7 wonders of the world, so we finally made it to Mexico to visit the beautiful Chichen Itza last weekend. It was such a short flight from NYC and the weather was perfect. It was the ideal “end of summer” celebratory trip. We jetted down to Cancun early Saturday morning, with the rest of the day to walk around. We walked to the beach nearby, where we sat for over an hour just chatting about life, soaking up the sun, and relaxing. Then we headed for delicious smoothies, ceviche and guacamole at some little local places, followed by a little dip/pool time. The infinity pool at our hotel was so beautiful - you would have thought we were back in Dubai with that view! We went to bed early, so excited to wake up the next morning for our Chichen Itza adventure.

The trip to Chichen Itza did not disappoint. The grounds were enormous and it was sweltering. We learned so much from our guide about the Mayans and how they lived at Chichen Itza before they left due to a drought. The architecture of the buildings were astounding, as were the huge lizards that we randomly spotted! But the best part of all was undoubtedly the main ruin, which was huge and so neat to see in real life. There are 365 stairs leading to the top. Of course, we couldn’t walk on it, but it was breathtaking to see in person. We made sure to get all the pics, from all the angles!

Afterwards, we went to a delicious local Mexican buffet lunch in Kaua (a tiny little town nearby). We had a delicious aloe green drink and were treated to a really cool show. Then we went to Ik Kil Cenote, one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. It far surpassed my expectations, and the best part was getting to jump of the cliff and into the cool, refreshing, fish filled water hole! I chickened out the first time I tried to jump off, but gathered my courage and jumped on my second attempt. Meanwhile, my sister had no problem jumping right in, no hesitations! We basked in the beautiful sunlight streaming through the top of the cenote, treasuring the fact that we were in the middle of Mexico on a random Sunday swimming in a waterhole.

We ended the day with a quick stop at Valladolid, the most charming Mexican colonial town. There was Mexican music and dancing in the little square, in addition to several vendors selling churros, ice cream, and other specialties. It felt like a scene from a movie, especially with all the colorful buildings nearby and the positive energy surrounding the square. The sun was setting and it was the perfect ending to a long, exhilarating day.

Despite the beautiful scenery and buildings, the best part of the trip was spending hours on end talking to my sister about everything in life - careers, family, friends, childhood, our past, our future, our dreams, relationships. It was so refreshing to be in a bubble, just the two of us, with no distractions. My sister is one of the most precious people in the world to me, and I am so grateful that I get to be her big sister for life. It was a pinch-me moment to realize that everything I wanted our relationship to be when I was younger, it has become. Traveling together in our 20s/30s, living in a fabulous city together, being completely content talking about everything and nothing all at the same time. She is, and will always be, the apply of my eye. Another amazing sister trip (and visiting another wonder of the world) is officially in the books! Xoxo