Cancun Photos

Just got back from Cancun this evening. I'm not going to do a big report, but here are a few choice pictures:

The beach at my hotel, the Hilton Cancun:
We arrived at sunset on Wednesday. I spent a few hours on Thursday relaxing on the beach, sipping a fresh lime daiquiri.


On Friday, I decided to be adventurous and take the ferry to Isla Mujeres. I took the Cancun city bus to a ferry terminal downtown, getting off at the wrong stop and briefly wandering around in a less touristy area of Cancun before getting back on the bus.

By the port:

It was a 25 minute cruise to Isla Mujeres:

I had lunch on the island: a filet of of fish "isleño" style. The island is a popular jumping off point for diving and snorkeling tours, so the beaches were littered with small watercraft.

The sun was getting low during my cruise back to Cancun, so I took the opportunity to get some "sunset on the water" pics.

On Saturday I took a tour bus out to Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan archaeological site.

Ball court: the game you'd secretly rather lose, because the WINNER gets sacrificed to the gods.

A sunken pond located a few minutes walk away from the main complex. Supposedly, female sacrifices were draped with jewelry, tied hand and foot, and thrown into the deep waters. Tons of jade and human bones have been retrieved from this pond. Those sheer cliffs lined the entire perimeter of the 50-some meter diameter pond...

The main attraction, the great pyramid of Chichen Itza. The chamber on top holds a statue where human hearts were sacrificed. Unfortunately, visitors are no longer allowed to climb the pyramid. Too many people have fallen off the steep steps or vandalized the stones.

A lesser pyramid. There were far too many pyramids to see in the 3 hours I was there. Notice the snakes forming the railing of the steps (see the heads at the base of the pyramid).

One more of the largest and most famous pyramid.

On the way back to Cancun we stopped at a cenote and climbed 91 steps down to swim in a beautiful cave lined with stalactites. The water was cool and refreshing after the heat of walking around the Mayan site.

I got in a few more hours on the beach on Sunday before we had to head to the airport. It was overcast and rainy, but it was still warm and pleasant to jump waves in the sea.

These are the views from the balcony off my hotel room.

Thumbnails with links to all of my pictures (close to 200) from this trip are here.

New York Photos

Photos from my trip to New York last weekend are posted here.

Some of the better ones:

Circle Line 3-Hour Cruise around Manhattan Island:


























Rockefeller Center:





Walking in Central Park:




At the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art):


Guggenheim:






We were hurrying along toward a subway stop and all of a sudden I see "Lever House" out of the corner of my eye.


More architecture. I'm blanking, but I know it's a famous skyscraper.


Sunday night on the observation deck at the Empire State Building.

Saturday Sightseeing

After finishing up our work today, We went downtown to do some more touristy stuff. We got there only moments before an architectural riverboat tour narrated by a docent from the Chicago Architecture Society. I think I went overboard with my camera during that tour, considering that I somehow managed to leave the charging cord at home. After the incredibly educational 1.5 hour boat ride, we walked down Michigan Ave to the Water Tower, one of the few buildings still standing after the great Chicago Fire and designated a monument to the victims. John Hancock center was nearby, so we took the elevator ride up to the observation deck for a 94th story view of the city. The evening ended with dinner at a nice restaurant by the water tower.

It was pretty overcast today, so the lighting wasn't always the greatest in my pictures. I've therefore taken some creative license with coloring and filters...

From the riverboat tour-

Hancock Center

From the observatory

Chicago Tribune Building