The Mayan Ruins of Tulum - Part 1

I visited these ruins on a scorching hot morning, even though we got there very early... I'm sure I would have enjoyed the visit even more if the sky had been a little cloudy.

In spite of the heat and the lack of shade, I loved the site and I was delighted to see how well kept it is.

Orange and green all over

This is Villa 57, where I stayed during my vacation in Mexico. The Grand Bahia Principe Akumal has some of the best kept grounds I've ever seen at a big resort.

 Colourful and clean, the resort is quite pleasant to walk around in.

Rainy morning

It was a rainy morning and we decided to go shopping for souvenirs. We hopped on one of the little carts that take people back and forth between the various stops inside the Grand Bahia Palace complex, and got out at "The Hacienda".

Sure enough, there was a downpour on the way and we didn't have to wait long to witness a rainshower of epic proportions! This photo was taken just a few minutes before we had to take cover - luckily, we were already almost done with our shopping of "truly Mexican recuerdos"... :)

Bye-bye, til tomorrow

This visitor at the beach of Grand Bahia Principe Akumal was anything but shy and it came and went as it pleased - which pleased the tourists immensely. They sometimes flew above our heads in groups of three or four and it never ceased to amaze me how such big birds managed that degree of gracefulness. Now I'm definitely a fan of pelicans :)

As the clouds go by...

Just chillin' and watching the sky :)

My kind of summer picture

I got back from the Riviera Maya about a week ago and I'm now starting to sort through the 200 or so photos I took during the week I spent there. So, expect a few more in the coming days...

This is one of the beaches of the Grand Bahia Principe Akumal resort where I stayed - a very beautiful and quiet beach, even more so underneath stormy skies.

Hasta siempre!

The last I saw of Havana was an ample view from the fortress they call "La Cabaña" (The Hut). The sky was heavy with stormy clouds, the light promised an electric storm about to strike and the air was wonderfully charged...
I loved Havana and I plan on going back with more time to explore it properly, the way such a beautiful and interesting city deserves to be discovered.

Hasta siempre!

Peeking out the window...

... on my way to Cuba, I caught a glimpse of the Bahamas.

This is one of the many photos I took out the window since I was hopelessly drawn to that "red engine casing/clouds in the background" combination during most of the tiresome 8-hour flight...

The thin stripes of land down below stirred up my imagination and look forward even more intensely to the warm waters of Varadero, which I had been missing dearly since 2001.

A few hours later we finally we landed in Cuba - the place to be for great sea- and skyscapes!

Jamaica... it could be Paradise

I came back from Jamaica a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing - the Caribbean Sea will always have a special place in my heart :)
And it could have been a trip to Paradise. Don't get me wrong: Jamaica is absolutely amazing, a place where Nature has spared no efforts and came up with a true masterpiece! And it's nobody's fault that I can't call it Paradise: why did I have to live in Europe, which makes me have to endure an 8+ hours flight to get there?... And why can't I afford to fly 1st class? ;) Nobody's fault, really...
If you haven't been to Jamaica (I stayed in Ocho Rios) I highly recommend it if you're a fan of the ocean. The ocean and the people - I loved them. I'm very sorry that I didn't get to see a real thunderstorm while I was there. That's what I was really hoping for since day one... Maybe next time :)

Tags: Jamaica, vacation, Caribbean, ocean, sea, beach, photo, blog, blue, turquoise, paradise, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco