Six Months Ago...

Six months ago was the last "normal" day of my life.

One Month Ago...

One month ago... 12/16/2012... Shawn and I spent our first full day back from our honeymoon and our LAST normal day together.  It was like many other Sundays.  We met Jerry and Icarus for brunch at Market Cafe and spent the rest of the day catching up on programs on the DVR.

Sadly, we did not know how our lives would turn upside down the next day.

Grateful

I am grateful that I was able to experience marriage to the man that I love... my friend... my partner.

I am grateful that Shawn and I were able to share so many experiences together.

One month ago...

One month ago...  Shawn and I were having the time of our lives.  We were in the middle of our honeymoon.  On this day in December, we were zip-lining.  It was thrilling.  Shawn truly had a wonderful time.  I could see it in his face.  

Who knew that our lives would change so drastically in just a few days.

Shawn enjoying his fajita lunch.

Tears

It has been mostly tears in my eyes these days.

My world did end in 2012.

2012

2012... Started as the best time of my life.  I wed the love of my life.  

2012... Ended as the worst time of my life.  I laid to rest the love of my life.

Cancún Honeymoon

Shawn and I took our Colin Weddings Cancún Honeymoon on December 10-15, 2012.  We had a wonderful time!

We stayed at Le Blanc Spa Resort -- an all inclusive resort that was rated the #1 resort in Cancún/Yucatán  by Condé Nast Traveler readers in 2012.

When we arrived at Le Blanc, we were greeted by the friendliest staff.  Each floor has a butler to ensure guests have everything they need.  After our butler gave us an extensive tour of our room (bedroom, bathroom, mini-bar, jacuzzi, etc.), he presented us with a complimentary bottle of champagne and Honeymoon cake:

After the butler left, Shawn and I took in our first view of the gorgeous Cancún beach from our french balcony.  The water is very blue yet clear.

And here is a photo of our awesome room.

During our honeymoon, we had a mix of relaxing days and excursion days.  I describe some highlights below.

Dining and Spirits

We had plenty to eat and drink during our honeymoon.  The hotel has several restaurants and bars.  Since Le Blanc is all inclusive, we tried to eat most of our meals at the resort.  But we did stray a little bit.

Our only dinner outside of Le Blanc was at La Habichuela Sunset.  The original restaurant is located in central Cancún, but we opted to visit Sunset which is closer to the hotel.  We started dinner with margaritas, of course!

Shawn and I both had tasty meals.  I started with the Softshell Crab Tacos and Shawn started with the Lobster Bisque.  For our main course, I ordered a whole grilled fish and Shawn ordered the Surf-and-Turf (for the "Surf", the dish had both lobster tails and shrimp!)  I have ordered a whole fish before and the bone has usually been left in.  In this case, the fish looked in tact but the bones were removed!  Very well done!  The fish could have come with a Veracruz sauce (tomato and olive and some other things), but the waiter did not recommend the sauce.  After inquiring about it, he recommended having it on the side.  I am glad he recommended it.  The sauce would have masked the fresh tasting grilled fish.

Our dinner at Lumiere was our most notable meal at Le Blanc.  Lumiere is Le Blanc's french restaurant.  It is their only restaurant that requires smart casual attire and reservations.  Lumiere has a choice of 3 tasting menus -- each 9 courses.  The regular tasting menu had a combination of meat and seafood dishes.  The other two were Seafood and Vegetarian.  Shawn and I both opted for the Seafood menu.  I posted the pictures of each course on Instagram.  To view the courses, click here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The menu was accompanied by three wines:  a chardonnay for appetizer courses, a Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) for the main courses, and a semi-sweet white wine for the cheese and desert courses.  

I never had Mexican coffee before.  It is like Irish coffee, but they use tequila instead of whiskey.

It was very good but a bit on the sweet side for my taste.  As you can see from the photo, the rim of the mug is covered with sugar.  The making of Mexican coffee is quite a show.  Click here to watch the video I took when my coffee was being made.

We participated in wine tasting and tequila tasting.  I found the tequila tasting the most interesting of the two because I had done wine tasting in the past and (except for a margarita), my knowledge of tequila is little.  Tequila comes from the agave plant.  The plant grows best in Mexico's climate.  You can Google "agave wiki" to find more about the plant.  Real tequila must be 100% agave and from Mexico.  It is like champagne is not champagne unless it is from France.  There are different types of tequila:

• Silver - Silver (or white) is not aged. It is bottled directly after distilling.  Silver is used for mixed drinks like a Margarita.  It has a kick to it, hence the use of lime and salt after doing as shot.
• Reposado - Reposado is aged in oak barrels for up to 1 year.  Previously used barrels from whiskey distilleries like Jack Daniels are often used.  Reposado has a tinted color due to the aging process.
• Añejo - Like Reposado, Añejo is aged but up to 3 years.  Like fine whiskey and scotches, tequila becomes smoother as it ages.  Añejo is not for marking margaritas!  You should not drink it as a shot.  Instead, you should sip Añejo like you would whiskey or scotch.  Enjoy the smooth, smokey flavor!
• Agavero - Agavero is tequila liquor.  It is nice as an after dinner drink.

Excursions

Shawn and I scheduled two excursions during our honeymoon:  a visit to Chichen Itza and Zip Lining.

Chichen Itza

Welcome to Chichen Itza!

We visited Chichen Itza on 12/12/12.  No, not the end of the world.  That's 12/21/12.  In any case, 2012 does not mark the end of the world.  The Mayan calendar is cyclical.  2012 marks the end of one cycle and the start of a new one.  The Mayans believed that life is cyclical.  What has happened before will happen again.

The ruins are amazing.  It is difficult to comprehend that people built pyramids.  Or did they get help???

  

There is actually another pyramid inside the main pyramid.  These pyramids can be found across Mexico and Central America.  I won't bore you here.   Lots of interesting facts about them if you Google it. 

Parts of the main pyramid have not been restored.  Also, they used to let you climb the pyramid.  They stopped permitting this because people were steeling pieces of it.

I took the below two photos using two different exposures on my iPhone.  Which do you prefer?

In Christian society, snakes are considered evil.  In Mayan society, they are not.  Images of snakes can be found everywhere!

I don't recall the purpose of this building.  At the very top-center, you can see a figure of a person.  Images of people in this pose is quite common.

The Mayans like their sports. Her is an outdoor arena.  To score, they had to shoot a 10 lb. ball through the rings you see on the left and right of this photo. (The photo on the left is a close-up.)  Spectators sat above the wall on the right.  The playing teams sat by the left wall.  The ruler sat at one end of the arena (in the center of the below photo.)  

The photo on the left is a closer look at the ruler's section. 

It is believed that the winner was sacrificed to the gods and not the loser -- you sacrificed your best for the gods!

The Mayans were very intelligent people.  But they were also violent.  They also met a violent demise at the hands of the Christian Spaniards who tried to convert them to Catholicism.  The choice was conversion or death.  Many died.


Our lunch was mainly comprised of local cuisine.  I can't tell you what we ate, but the meal contained pork and chicken.  We enjoyed the meal along with a nice, cold local beer.

There was entertainment during lunch, too.  Check them out here.  Amazing how they can spin on these little boxes and keep the bottles on their heads!

After lunch, we visited a local sink hole.  Sink holes are popular in the area.  We did not swim in this one, however.

Zip Lining in Selvatica

We enjoyed an exciting time zip lining across the jungle.  Zip lining was thrilling.  The time flew by (no pun intended.)  I was afraid that the harness would hurt, but they did not.  After zip lining, we visited a sink hole.  We swam in this one.  

Because of the activity, we could not bring cameras.  We bought photos but the CD was empty :(  I have emailed the company to see if they can send me a zip file of the photos.  If they can, I will update this page.  For now, here a few photos that I have:

Shawn enjoying his lunch.

Birds gotta eat, too!

 To learn more about this excursion,click here.

Spa

Le Blanc's spa offers many different types of massages as well other spa treatments like facials, pedicures, etc. They even had the treatment where the little fish nibble off the dry skin from your feet!  We did not try it, however.  Shawn and I opted for a couples massage.  It was very relaxing to start off the week being pampered! 

Bon Voyage

This section contains some aerial photos leaving Cancún.

Can you see Le Blanc in this photo?

In closing...

The people at the hotel, tour guides, and zip line folks were all extremely friendly.  They all seemed genuine.  This was a wonderful honeymoon and a memorable experience!

Two memorable photos from Le Blanc:

Morning Sunrise

Main Pool

Panoramic view from our French Balcony at Le Blanc

Christmas Tree in Le Blanc Lobby

And by the way, Merry Christmas! 

Or... Feliz Navidad!

Why Large Companies Fail to Retain Talent

Two interested articles from Forbes:
1.  Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail To Keep Their Best Talent
and it's follow-up article:
2.  Why Top Talent Leaves: Top 10 Reasons Boiled Down to 1