Tuesday, 11/20/12 Tulum and Takah

So, I'm sitting out here by the pool on Wednesday at noon, temp around 85, cool breeze in the shade, clear skies with the occasional puffy cloud, ocean covered in flashing diamonds and defines the true value of blue, tall fresh squeezed OJ close at hand and I have my computer on my lap trying to relate how absolutely amazing a day can be - I'll try but no promises.

Up around 6:30, dressed, breakfast and a pick up at 7:50 by Gray Line for our upcoming adventure. A 16 passenger Mercedes with our faithful driver Xavier and intrepid guide Carlos.  Aboard already were a couple, Mike and Renee from Tacoma and 7 Chinese students, Owen who is a grad student at Ohio State and 3 women and 3 men from Dallas studying at Texas Tech.  I lay this out simply because at 7:50, we were complete strangers and at 6:00 P.M., it felt like we were all good friends.  I am truly sorry that I did not catch the names of 6 of the Chinese students.  I may not know your names but your smiles will stick with me for a long time.

It's a long ride out to Tulum, about 2 1/2 hours - time spent reading, listening to my ipod, sleeping and beginning to get to know our fellow adventurers.  Carlos gave us a 15 minute course on Tulum, a city founded some 5000 years ago by the Mayans.  One interesting fact was that when the Conquistadors  showed up, they asked the locals the name of the area.  The locals puzzling over these crazy men said Yucatan which in Mayan loosely translates to, "What the hell are they talking about??"  Obviously the Conquistadors did not speak Mayan as they then and forever called this place the Yucatan.

We parked and walked 3/4 of a mile to get to the ancient ruins.  Carlos gave us a lot of facts concerning the ancient city.  The city was designed around the solstice where on December 21st and June 21st, the sun would rise and shine through a window.  The roof of the temple was built a 17 1/2 degree slant - the exact angle that the Earth tilts on it's axis.  These folks were truly advanced - no wonder they looked at the Conquistadors as barbarians - they were.

We walked around the ruins and were in awe of the history and sacredness of this place.  The ruins, the foliage, the beach - all too much to be able to describe.  My only two sadness's - 1. We only had 40 minutes to wander on our own - I needed a minimum of a couple of hours and 2. The batteries in the camera died and we left 15 - 20 shots that may not be on film but will forever be recorded on the soft emulsion of my mind.

The entrance to the city of Tulum

One of the last remaining residents of Tulum

Our guide Carlos - hard to understand his info for me with his heavy Spanish accent, impossible for the Chinese with English as their second language

A surviving sculpture of a sacred god

Marveling at craftsmen of 5000 years ago

A temple roof reflecting a 17 1/2 degree tilt

The beach of Tulum where folks relaxed after a hard day of masonry

On our walk, we began to converse with our bus mates.  We found all 7 Chinese students to be friendly, outgoing, interesting and genuinely funny.  There spirit and joy was infectious as we heard them giggling and singing as we went from place to place.  Mike and Renee were also great to talk to - very real, funny and easy to be around.

We then gathered, did a head count and drove to Takah - a jungle village.  We exited the van, walked a 1/4 mile and loaded into Jeep Wranglers - Kathy driving, me shot gun, Mike and Renee in back and a guide hanging on for dear life on the rear bumper.  We drove through the jungle in 3 Jeeps, us in the lead.  Dense is too kind a word.  A road that basically was one long pot hole, exotic ferns and vegetation, mouths of caves, odd haunting calls from hidden fauna, pools of water covered in lily pads - a very interesting but intense 25 minute drive, (especially due to Carlos stating twice, "There is no insurance, you scratch it, you buy it."  With that in mind, we were super cautious as I and Renee took our turns behind the wheel.

We be rocking

So the trail begins

Looking a bit tense, imagine how I felt.

The road levels out?

One of many caves

Our new friends

We then walked to a jungle lake where we had two opportunities to try our hand at zip lines, each of which stretched across the lake.  Greattttttt fun, even if the jungle still reverberates with my screams, little girl like - just louder.  Our 2nd zip line dropped us off by our canoes which we took out onto the lake.  I keep using the word amazing but that will just have to do.  We cruise down narrow inlets filled with dense undergrowth, lily pads, sunken ancient logs, pristine clear water, caves, flowers, and all kind of ohhh's and ahhh's moment.  The laughter and joy was a shared moment by all.

Mike, Renee and Carlos on the road to more adventure

Our new swimming hole

Wow squared!

Paddling towards a large cavern on the left

Inside the cavern

Stepping up, stepping out

We then had Carlos lead us on to a swimming hole that included a 15 foot cliff that you could jump/dive off.  I was so hot and sweaty that I did not hesitate to jump off the cliff to be met with a instantaneous cool refreshing swim where each and every nerve ending was giving a contented sigh.  It was fun to watch our Chinese friends jump off the cliff trying out new experiences.  One man made the error of doing a belly flop - he survived but I bet his stomach is still a bright red.  Two women screwed their courage up and jumped together - their screams of delight can still bring me a smile.

Enjoying the moment

The laughter and joy!

A 15 foot drop that looks like 30 when your standing on the edge

We changed back to our street clothes and walked a couple hundred yards to our luncheon buffet.  We ate and drank well.  I had to smile as one of the Chinese women called to me, "Jeff, turn around, we want your picture."  We all felt a closeness where even if I don't speak Mandarin, I felt I knew exactly what they were talking about.

Lunch be served

No need for a wishing well, our wishes have been granted

Bouganvilla, in November!

The Gang

Me and the boys

We finally and sadly returned to the van for our 2 hour trip back home.  E mails and blog addresses were exchanged as well as warm good byes.

We were both very happy, very happy - me over being the oldest participant but being able to keep up with twenty plus year old's and not being the weakest link.  We both took long hot showers with a ibuprofen cocktail.   We had a quiet dinner and a stroll out by the pool enjoying the warm, balmy air and sound's of the surf meeting the shore.

What a absolutely wonderful day!!!!!

Downtown Cancun--Monday Nov. 19

We woke up late and admittedly a little sore from our snorkeling adventure of the previous day, so we decided to take it easy and explore a little closer to home. Jeff said that it was easy to get around on the city buses from his experience from his last visit.  We wanted to see the downtown and have an authentic meal.  Oh, and maybe find a casino.  So we headed down to breakfast to fortify ourselves

Unfortunately, we got going late, and I (K) made the mistake of taking my meds on an empty stomach.  The upshot was that I started getting faint and sick while waiting in the egg line, and just when the cook was finishing my omelette and Jeff's sunnyside up, I started to black out.  I managed to make it to our table as the world narrowed to a pinpoint and Jeff went to get the eggs while I tried to compose myself. I ended up puking in Jeff's cereal bowl.  Poor Jeff!  I disintegrated right before his eyes.  After about 5 minutes and some juice and eggs I started to feel better, but we decided to postpone our trip to town.  I fell asleep for about an hour and then off we went.

A word about traffic in Mexico, or at least Cancun.  Everyone goes as fast as they can all the time until they can't and then they slam on the brakes.  It makes for a rough ride.  And there are huge tour buses and city buses and cars and trucks all mixed up together doing this.  Add to that the lack of any stop lights or pedestrian crossings and it can be downright terrifying. Oh, diesel is the preferred fuel, environmental concerns are low on the list which equals breathing - a competitive sport.

So we asked the front desk person which bus to take to get downtown, and which bus to take to get from there to the casino.  She gave us the numbers, but no other information.  We figured it couldn't be that hard (ha--we were like babes in the woods).  The first bus is R-1 and it comes right where it is supposed to be.  The buses seem to have no schedule, but there are lots of them, big and little, and they all have the R followed by a number of their route and a brief listing of where they go.  Anyway, we made it downtown and found a nice restaurant.  The food was Mayan and delicious and they even gave us our "coca light' in a glass bottle!  Then we walked around and saw a few sights, but it was getting late and we decided to find the casino.

On our stroll be met a number of nice helpful folk.  The most interesting individual was Karami, a twenty something tattoo artist.  He told us how all the people hawking goods and trying to catch our attention are just trying to do their job.  To ignore them is to be rude and unkind.  He told us to simply just say, "We are leaving tonight." which allows them to not waste their time on us and allows us to not be rude.  We began to use the phrase, a lot, and it really does work.

Exploring downtown

Pancho Villa memorialized on the wall of the cafe

Coca-Lite in a bottle

Jeff plays hide and seek

We knew we had to catch the R-27 to the Plaza Las Americas (a giant shopping mall much like Valley River Center only 4 times the size) and near there was the casino.  Jeff's Spanish is even worse than mine, so we asked various passersby where we could catch the ventesiete autobus to Plaza Las Americas.  They were very helpful, but we couldn't understand what they were telling us to do.  Finally we found the bus, the Plaza and after a pretty long walk, the casino.  They had all the familiar games, but the gambling was in pesos.  It was cool, quiet and peaceful inside.  Mexican casinos have an isolated smoking area and the rest of the casino is smoke free, which is the opposite from the US.  Anyway, we soon lost our 300 pesos and were ready to find out way home.  We walked back to the Plaza, dodging traffic, and waited for our bus.  We were in a parking garage under the mall, and the fumes from passing buses and cars were clogging our lungs.  Bus R-27 never came.  Finally an official looking guy came by and told us (we thought) that we should go through the mall and there was a bus stop on the other side where R-27 stopped.

Into the mall we go, and I was stunned.  The place was absolutely packed with people.  On a Monday afternoon no less.  We made our way through the mall, got lost and another helpful person told us to go to the other end by Sears. At least we understood the word "Sears".  Exhausted, we trudged all the way to the other end and finally found the bus stop.  I was near tears and despairing of ever getting back to the hotel, when I heard someone speaking English.  I almost kissed him.  He and his wife were bilingual nurses from Stanford and they assured us that R-27 would come by, that it would take us back to the Krystal.  So we waited, and waited, and waited.  Meanwhile buses of every size stopped by spewing diesel fumes.  Finally R-27 made it's appearance and we hopped aboard along with our new friends and protectors. 

So our trip downtown was quite a trip!  I never was so glad to get home as I was to get off the bus and find the Krystal.  I did enjoy seeing more of the city, and the casino was fun, but trying to find a way around a strange city when you don't know the language is very stressful.  Thank goodness for all the kind people who helped us on our way.

We swim with the fishes, Sunday, 11/18/12

Up around 8:00 and down to the buffet.  By now, we know the routine, geography and whose section to avoid.  We are advancing to "regular" status.  Lot's of coffee and protein to aide us with the day that lies before us.

We run into Roberto (the agent who sold us tours and provides transportation) in the lobby who asks us what we are thinking regarding proceeding with our plans to go on a snorkeling trip.  The weather is overcast with a stiff wind which is causing more ocean swell.  We decide now is the time  so we return to our room to prepare ourselves for the upcoming endurance contest of "our will" v. the ocean.  Sunblock - check, snorkels - check, towels - check, hats - check, cash - check - no actually it was cash and not a check (ha-ha).

We meet Roberto in the lobby at 10:20 and load up in a Mercedes minivan and off we go.  My confidence is slightly shaken as I observe Roberto crossing himself as we pull away from the curb.  We pick up 6 other crazies and drive out 40 minutes and turn down a dirt/gravel road that defines isolation.  Fears are relieved and tensions abate when we come across a series of buildings which house all the necessary needs surrounding our upcoming adventure.  We get our life jacket and fins and instructions from the dive master concerning "How to snorkel in one easy lesson".  This consists of step one - breath in followed by step two - breath out.  Any questions....let's vamonos.

Lunch

Another beautiful beach

Cloudy but we made our own Sun

Kat showing of her latest acquisition

Kat's favorite pose

Me happy!

We do two dives where the water clarity is good - 30 or 40 feet, water temp comfortable and the undersea flora and fauna is varied and plentiful.  It was truly beautiful seeing schools of 50 - 60 fish swimming around doing what fish do, watching sea fans sway with the current, and watching 24 other folks in orange vests and masks do their thing.  I looked around and realized I was the oldest person on the boat - how depressing, but I kept up and was far from the weakest link in the water.

Even with the extra chop and lack of Sun, it was still an amazing way to spend the day.  After our second swim, we went back to the facilities and showered off and had a very nice lunch with mas cerveza por favor.  Kat and I decided to forego the afternoon swim and just get some beach time.  We were far from alone in our decision.  It was nice as it gave us time to chat with some of the other participant's - a Mormon couple from Utah, a couple from Limerick, Ireland and a couple from the NW woods of British Columbia.  Meeting new folks and hearing their views and idea's make traveling so much more fun.

We got back to the hotel where we took the better part of an hour scrubbing sand from parts of our bodies where we were left to wonder, "How did that get there?"  We took a long nap where the term comatose comes to mind.  Dressed and out the door at 7:15 for dinner at La Muerda.  Once again, a wonderful meal with digestion helped along by our favorite Mariachi band.  Desert was cool as we each had a cup of Mayan coffee which was a 10 minute show involving pouring flaming blue liquor from one glass to another. Very entertaining and oh so delicioso!

We walked back to the hotel and my mind kept saying, Jeff, you're on vacation - let's partay!!  My body was in total disagreement saying Jeff B & B - book and bed.  Well my body could not cash checks my mind wrote so B & B handily won out.