This past November, Marcel and I took our first vacation together. Club RSVP reserved Club Med, Cancun for a week of super-gayness events and entertainment.

Excursions

Above: El Castillo, El Templo de Kukulkan, Chichen Itza, Yucatan.

Our first excursion was to Chichen Itza to visit one of the most well-preserved ruins of the Mayan civilization whose pinnacle was from about 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D. El Templo de Kukulkan was in honor of the winged serpent, Kukulkan whom the Mayans revered. 365 steps to the top, 52 squares on each face of the temple testified to the Mayan understanding of our current calendar, although their depiction of the calendar utilized a very different system that counted in sets of 20s. At a certain time in the afternoon, at the right angle, Kukulkan can be seen coming down the temple via an optical illusion. More, acoustics in the plaza before the temple allow one to hear the winged serpent's squawk if one simply claps his hands loudly.

Following are some other photos from our Chichen Itza excursion.

Above: Marcel and me at the top of El Templo de Kukulkan.Below you can see the Plaza of a Thousand Pillars of which we wandered about later.

Above: Mayan Goddess of Fertility, Ix-Chel, on the Isla de Mujeres.

The next excursion we went on was a snorkeling trip out to Isla Mujeres, about 5 km northeast of Cancun. The daytrip began with a catamaran ride out to the island, where "any drink you wanted" was available to you during the trip out and back to the island. I had a couple margaritas that curiously tasted like Dos Equis (XX) with some 7-Up. Marcel, ordered a water, and also got something tasting like Dos Equis. At about the third drink, when I ordered a glass of soda water, the server handed me a bottle of Dos Equis, we figured out that "any drink you want" only went so far if you wanted Dos Equis. Champagne? Dos Equis. Margarita? Dos Equis. Water? Dos Equis. sigh

The catamaran made me nauseated, but after a couple margaritas (Dos Equis) I was flying high on the waves of the Gulf!

One of the nice views of this tiny island was the beach, of course. Our friends, two cops from Maryland, also joined us on this golf cart tour of the island.

Partying

Above: Mark, our favorite G.O. and Marcel at the Foam Party - total madness.

A couple days into the vacation, the Club Med people helped stage the Foam Party, no doubt a specially catered event for our RSVP Group. Mark, our favorite G.O. (Gentile Organizateur) succintly put it, "This is a little beyond my level of comfort." But after a few beers, he was into it.

Above: Me, Marcel and Mark at the Underwear Party.

Preceding the Foam Party was the Underwear Party. We played it safe and had the photographer take the photo above the waist.

Club Med

Above: Marcel, the lagoon at Club Med, Cancun.

Although we did many things on our trip, one of the best things to do was doing absolutely nothing at all. Waking up to the warm air and taking in the fabulous view of the lagoon from our balcony were more than enough to feed my soul. Hanging out at the beach was also another delight, as we sometimes encountered exotic animals, like pelicans that hovered in the wind before spontaneously diving into the ocean for fish, like some naturally occurring bomber.