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Photo by my mum Jane Bettany.

My last trip to the Mayan Riviera marked my sixth trip to Mexico. Every time I am in Mexico, I am always warmed by the beauty, kindness, and generosity of the people. Here are a few pictures of people I met, or passed by that I captured in Akumal and Tulum.

I saw a small school and library from the road and walked into the courtyard. I saw this tiny boy playing with blocks in front of a bright blue wall with an aquarium mural. I was just able to grab this shot before he ran off.

She was soooo shy and I had to pester her for quite a while for her to allow me to take a photo of her. But she was still so shy and giggling, so I quickly snapped this candid while she looked away.

nomnomnom these kids were shucking these coconuts so quickly with their teeth!

Super fantastic Hollywood tribute show at the Grand Sirenis Resort where I was staying. It was almost as fun as the sweet Pixar themed blacklight show they put on the next night.

There is a lot of development going on in the Mayan Riviera down near Tulum. i really hope they don’t develop too much. It would be such a shame to destroy the natural beauty of this area. These construction workers were not really thrilled at me taking pictures of them. A leedle bit of attitude.

En español:
Mi último viaje a la Riviera Maya marcado mi sexto viaje a Mexico. Cada vez que estoy en Mexico, siempre me ha calentado por la belleza, bondad y generosidad del pueblo. Aquí están algunas fotos de gente que conocí, o pasado de que me capturaron.

Like a typical geeky overachiever, I had a very grandiose plans for blogging/vlogging on my Mayan Riviera trip. I was psyched. I packed all my gear and cables and set off into the sun.

But like the cruel fate of reality, the Mayan gods were against me from the get go. They toyed with my emotions, liquored me up, and booted me off the ledge into a giant sink hole of doom. I know. Intense.

Within 30 seconds of arriving at the ultra modern, lo-tech resort hotel, I encountered my first major hurdle.

Me: do you have wifi?
Reception dude: Que?
Me: Internet?
Reception: No.
Me: No??? *eyeballs pop out of my head*
Reception: Si.
Me: Si? *eyeballs return to head* You have internet? Computers?
Recption: Only in one place.
Me: Donde??
Reception: Down in the bottom of stairs derecha uhh… there you will find computers… you need to pay 7 USD for 30 minutes
Me: zoink.
Reception: Que?

This situation was less than ideal as the lobby was a 15 min walk from my room and carrying that amount of gear in the ridiculous, sticky, muggy heat was beyond lame. Plus, I really didn’t want to spend my holiday in the hotel’s business centre.

Then the worst thing that could ever happened, happened: My blog went down. Crashed & dunzo. All my pages vanished and were 404ing and I couldn’t post. Thanks to all my twitter pals for offering to help, but this problem was seriously tricky. Tricker with 3 pina coladas clouding my mind. Luckily, an uber coding monkey was there to save the day.

So after that fail, I just let go of my vacation blogging plans and headed to the beach with Wired and my iPod. Then I watched Sir Digby Chicken Caeser with my new friend.

Today was Mother Earth’s big day. Coincidentally, it was also my mother’s birthday. Hizzah. Happy Birthday! This has been an amazing trip with you!

Last year I spent Earth day rollerblading around Jericho Beach in my home town of Vancouver (yes I actually bladed on the sand, lived to regret it, got the photos to prove it).

This year, I spent the day at Xel Ha, an amazing ecological water theme park in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. I swam alongside sting rays and 8 ft long chomp-jawed fish (official name) and colourful fish that nibbled on my leg a little and really skinny, silvery fish with a sword nose. I named him Sir Anthony Wiggins. He was quite posh and a bit uptight.

Another thing that’s awesome about Xel Ha is that they have a sunscreen swap program where you trade your icky dolphin/fish/etc killing sunscreen for biodegradable lotion which won’t kill Sir Anthony Wiggins. Yeah!

Three cheers Mother Earth!!! She deserves a hug. *hugs and kisses sand… pleh…*

How did you spend Earth Day? I hope it wasn’t throwing batteries into a duck pond.

Congratulations to our new Champ: Emily Wong of Ninja vs Penguin. Her ninja penguin was certainly a hit. How can you not love a ninja penguin? Impossible I think.

I loved all the entries with all my heart and I’ll give all the designers some link love (right after this stawberry daiquiri) and can’t wait til next month to see what everyone will create. (and I will extend next month’s competition for a few weeks so busy designer peeps can have some time to create uber vectors.

Thanks to everyone that voted. There was some serious smack talking going on… It was a little scary at times, but I guess the pursuit of vector glory brings out all kinds of craziness.

PS. Saw the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza yesterday. Was seriously cool. I’ll post some picts later. Right now I’m heading to the beach to do some snorkeling and frolicking in the crystal clear waters. Don’t feel jealous, I’m taking loads of photos and videos so you can all feel like you were here…. but you weren’t so I guess it will still suck for you. I could photoshop you in?

We were friends and then he just attacked me. Jerk.

I know you think you can top this, but you can’t. I thought my British Airways meal was not so sexy, but this was seriously the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve eaten loads of moldy things. Not knowing they were moldy, but finding mold on bread whilst I was eating it. Uhh. I hate that.

PS. Do not fly Air Transat, like, EVER.

Note to self: Remove all “inappropriate” photos BEFORE you open your MB iPhoto library on a plane. *embarrassed*

I was overwhelmed at the number of tabloids aka “celebrity” magazines in Tescos. Yet not one single copy of Wired could be found on their shelves. Lame. I also noticed the number of young girls on buses and trains reading this pappo-trash (I just made up this word. I think it’s kinda neat.) Anyway, I have a strong policy against reading pappo-trash. The day Britters shaved her head, I said good bye to pink, tmz, intouch, instyle, rag o’ the month. I just thought who am I to judge? And gadgets > lame fashion tips. Plus, what fashion tip do I need? How to stay warm and snug in your pajamas in your bed? or Sexy Slippers for work and play? (Assuming you could wear slippers outside. Might be inappropriate. I guess I should stop doing it.)

So why do Brits love their tabloids so much? And can any one explain the photo below? Is it possible that there is a link between fat balls and tabloids? If so, I’m anxious for your reply.

I was a die hard football fan when I was 15. I loved Manchester United, and Team Brasil. Enough to name my lil grey tabby cat, Romario. (He had excellent ball handling skills for a cat). That summer, I bought myself some serious umbro gear and headed to soccer camp. I will admit that my enthusiasm for the sport may have had a teeny weeny bit to do with the cuteness of certain players in the glossy posters I hung in my room. Maybe. But I sure had fun playing that summer, two broken toes and all. How did I break my toes playing football? Well, like the three previous times I broke my toes:

1. Kicking my Grandmother’s metal tea trolley;
2. Kicking the toilet seat whilst dancing in the bathroom;
3. Running into a sliding door;

In the most awkward way possible. Yeah. Coordination. Not. So. Much. My skating coaches were super thrilled when I had to take the first week off summer skating training because I couldn’t fit my swollen, black-and-blue toes in my skates.

Anyway, Man U was the best team then, and always, especially after the 4-nil pummeling they gave Arsenal in the FA Cup quarterfinals. Booyah!

Independent Thought:
If you have taken care to be on cheap cruises rather than the expensive cruise deals, naturally you will also care about the other expenses. Why not try a travel lodge this time instead of staying at expensive hotels?

It was a beautiful sunny day for the Bury St. Edmunds Saturday Market. And I was giddy like an English school girl when I found these hats amongst all the fruit and veg.

Monkey! A sacred animal in British folklore, astrology, and politics, the monkey is considered “a right lovely beast” by loads of British folks.

Look at those baby blues. You could melt any heart with this one-of-a-kind Chaton Chapeau.

This Aslan the Lion hat is a great way to show your Narnia pride.

Best thing about England so far. Mmm. Think I ordered enough? Yeah. Should hold me off till dinner.

PS. you can see in the bottom left corner that I’ve already spilt maple syrup all over the bed. Wouldn’t really be Canadian if I didn’t do something a little crazy with maple syrup.

PPS. It’s foggy and cold. Typical.

Independent Thought:
The best vacation deals are not necessarily the ones that have luxury flights. Take a heavenly cruise. Even a car rental can be fun if you choose it to be so.