Mayan Ruin Tour

 Today we toured the ancient Mayan ruin cities of Tulum and Coba. I loved wandering around the sites marveling at the obvious skill and study that went into both designing and building them, but also to understanding them over a thousand years later. I will never have a passion for any of that, but I'm so grateful for those who do so that I might benefit.

Tulum, was especially busy as it sits right next to the ocean and offers some pretty gorgeous visits. I can understand why so many flock to see it. What I found most meaningful about the experience though was seeing all the tour groups with nametags, not with their names on them, but the name of their tour guide. Obviously, it would be a lot easier to identify others within your group and for your tour guide to identify that you belong if you have her/his name on your shirt. I thought about how this is such a power metaphor for taking Christ's name upon ourselves. He is the way, the truth, and the life, our ultimate tour guide leading us back to our Heavenly Parents. Through Him we see all the sights there are to see in life and understand the meaning behind them. 

To take the analogy a step further, there were times when I didn't want to follow our guide. I wanted to take some extra time to look at the thing he had just been explaining, or I wanted to explore a different part of the ruins. There were times when I looked up and didn't see him and instead had to look for the other members of my group to help guide me back to where I needed to be. We all do this - get caught up in distractions, and I am so grateful for family, friends, and leaders who have, over the years, lovingly pointed me back to my Savior.

The structure in Coba with the amazingly carved and preserved stone in front of it. Fun fact, instead of building new buildings, sometimes they just built on top of existing structures. That's why archaeologists cut strips into the steps - to test the theory.

Us in front of the temple? Maybe it was a tomb? I can't remember, it was cool though.

We also visited a Cenote, which is an underground chamber or cave which contains permanent water. I jumped in, twice. I was so proud of myself. Of my sisters, only Nichole and I jumped in, I was super brave.

Our tour group. The man standing next to me was our tour guide. The people standing next to him are his biological mom and her husband with whom he has reconnected with in the last couple of years. It was pretty amazing to be able to share the day with them.