Happy Mother’s Day from Mexico! Today we celebrated with our Gannon Merida ABST mom, Laura Giannelli, for taking such great care of us so far and Azucena, the mission of friendship leader, who is joining us today on our overnight trip!

Today was a very exciting, packed day! We left for Chichén Itzá at around 9am and it took longer than expected due to highway construction. We definitely learned the hard way that public bathrooms are less accessible in Mexico! Chichén Itzá was an eye opeing experience. Despite the hot day we learned so much about the Mayan culture from our tour guide! It was awesome to finally see one of the 7 wonders of the world. Some of us practiced our bargaining skills and got some neat souvenirs! Most of us even got handmade cloths from a lady who tagged along with us on our trip to Uayma after we departed from Chichén Itzá. We had the most delicious lunch when we arrived and then José and Azucena took us out to Valladolid, a nearby city, that was holding a festival that evening. It was so beautiful and amazing to see the streets so lively at night.

Even a bird pooping on one of our leaders, Mia, didn’t ruin the upbeat atmosphere of their culture! Once we got back to the church in Uyama, we had the most delicious panuchos made by members of the church. Panuchos are one of the most popular dishes in the Yucantán state and they sure were the best! Then we settled in for the night by setting up our hammocks and sleeping under the stars to rest up for our trip back to Mérida!