Thank you Mr Gravol!!! OMG what a day we've had. Up bright and early to get down to the ferry to Cozumel. Planned to catch the 9:30 but either the 8:30 was late or the 9:30 was early and we were underway by 9:00 a.m. The good news is that we made it but the not so good news is that the seas were soooo rough even Lynda (who is a sailor at heart and loves wild seas) said she thought we might go over a couple of times! I was oblivious to it all though as for the entire 45 minutes I molded myself to my reclining chair, focused on the music that was playing over the speaker above me, breathed deeply as the air conditioner did it's job, and imagined that each to and fro of the trip was nothing more than me swinging in a hammock at the beach. LOL!!! Okay, so it was a stretch but heh....thanks to that and Mr Gravol I made it across the water without leaving my breakfast on the boat!
Seriously, the wind was wild! The sea was wild! and here we were with tickets for a snorkel cruise! Sheesh - what a day to have that as our activity. But...by 11:00 our boat was ready to go and we were aboard. It was an easy decision for me to stay back with another couple and just enjoy the glass bottom while Lynda and 4 others (plus their guide) jumped overboard at two separate locations. I watched them snorkel in the waves and was oh so thankful that I was inside the boat! At the same time as I was watching them snorkel...I was also watching the lightening show that was taking place to the east (across the island). I could see our captain keeping a close eye on that storm too and it was no surprise that there was no third location for snorkelling this morning! As well, the couple who stayed back on the boat with me weren't really having much fun. One of them was pretty green around the gills from the minute we left the wharf and by the time that lightening show was underway she was into full blown seasicknesses. Watching her didn't help ease my queasy stomach either so again....I was in a hammock and the wind was nothing more than a breeze and the salt spray was just the mister that was keeping me from overheating....yep....I had as much exercise as the folks in the water did. The only difference was that I was exercising my imagination and they were exercising their bodies. LOL! :-) On the upside of all this....we did see some perfectly azure water under that glass bottom and at one point when the sun hit the water just right...we even saw it from the boat!
Once we were back on dry land we made our way to pick up our rental car. There was our little VW convertible waiting for us. It was pretty cue but.....once we heard it running and looked inside....we decided to take up the rental agent's offer of a different car for the same price. The one he gave us was a little bigger and had air conditioning. It was also a manual but heh....it also had a full roof and windows that rolled up and remember....there was a lightening storm just an hour ago and we're heading in the direction that the storm was coming from!
It took me a couple of blocks to get the hang of the clutch but once we were underway...it was all good. We headed straight across the island (14 km) and then turned south along that open coast. Again, when the sun hit the water just right....it was that perfect Caribbean blue and against the white sand...it was BEAUTIFUL! There was still lots of sea grass on the beaches and the water was sooo rough that it was covered with foaming white caps and massive waves but nonetheless....it was gorgeous!
We stopped at a few lookout points along the way and managed to suffer through a wonderful late lunch of shrimp and fish at a beachfront restaurant. The only problem we ran into was that had we known we would have reversed our trip direction and headed south right out of Cozumel Centro. The reason being is that everything, and I mean everything, closes at 5:00 so we didn't get to see a couple of things that we'd wanted to see. Had we reversed direction we would have been able to see and do all that we'd hoped. But....not going to complain too much as the result of our shortened trip was a much calmer sea for the ferry back to Playa del Carmen. It was still a rocking and a rolling and I was still in my hammock (having swallowed yet another gravol) but we found a window of time where the seas were the calmest they'd been all day! By the time we arrived back in Playa the wind had picked up and the seas for the next ferry were much wilder.
Once on dry land and in my case slightly dizzy/woozy/whatever we promptly made our way to a little French Bistro where we had the best coffee of our entire trip along with an almond croissant that was literally "to die for"!
Wandered the pedestrian street on our way back to Hotel Sahara and knew it was time to leave Playa when our server from last night called out to Lynda by name. That is our signal that we've been in a place long enough...when people start remembering you by name. :-)
I mentioned about the big party going on across from our hotel last night and there it was again tonight so this time we decided to head over to check it out. It turned out to be a Mexican fair celebrating the art and food of Oaxaca. Unfortunately we weren't hungry at all but we did find a couple of little purchases and spent some time watching a couple perform on the dance floor.
From there it was a short walk back to the little Italian deli where we get our complimentary breakfast. Again, we picked it up "to go" so we could have it before we get on the bus to Cancun in the morning. This time they had cake so we've got our sandwich and a piece of cake along with a drink for the morning. As for the coffee that is included....Lynda is saving hers for the morning (remember we have a microwave) and I enjoyed mine with the last of the Baileys tonight as I was typing this blogpost. :-)
Our bus in the morning will take us to or at least near the airport in Cancun where we'll stop long enough to confirm our flight time for the 1st. Something crazy has happened here...according to the internet, my computers internal clock, and Mr Google we're supposed to be just one hour different from BC time (since the clocks sprang forward) but....it seems that Quintana Roo (the state) hasn't followed the rules the rest of MX has and we're back to two hours difference. The result is that the print out of our ticket home has one time but the email confirmation we got today says a different time...so....we need to go to the Westjet counter, set our watches and confirm that time we should be there on the 1st! Jeez....life was so much easier when there were no time schedules to keep!! LOL!! :-)
just two sleeps to go.....till next time,
L & L
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
March 29, 2015
Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancun...what a nice little place. Looks like lots of people have made a day trip from Cancun resorts but there is also definitely a lot of local vibe here too. We drove right past Playa del Carmen on our way north this morning thinking it would be better to just go as far north as PM and then work our way back. The traffic becomes increasingly busier and crazier about the same time as we begin to near Playa and it doesn't lighten up all the way to PM. It is really good highway all the way but as the traffic increases so does the challenge of driving in it. At times three lanes looks like five wide when you look in the rearview mirror...vehicles don't really follow lanes here. They are actually very good drivers in that they are constantly observing what is going on around them...in the front....in the back....and on both sides. At the same time as they're good in some ways...they're bad in others. No one gives anyone else the right of way and everyone speeds like crazy! Once you get the hang of it though...it's okay.
Found a great little place for late breakfast/early lunch in Puerto Morelos and enjoyed walking along the beach where there were some giant sandcastles depicting the last supper and other images in keeping with Easter. Many many Mexican tourists here too! They are everywhere on the beach, flying kites, hauling their coolers filled with food and drink, and settling in for the day. This weekend is the start of the two week spring break here in Mexico that coincides with Easter (Semana Santa) so everyone is taking vacation and they're all heading to the beach to do it! Here the beaches are sugar fine pure white sand but again there is tons of that sea grass (seaweed). Here we find a sign that has been posted by the city that explains the sea grass is natural (not garbage) and that it in fact serves a purpose in protecting the beaches from erosion and as a habitat for sea and beach life. This is the first sign we've seen anywhere that even acknowledges that the sea grass is there! We also learn later in the day that for about two years now this sea grass is present pretty much everywhere on the Caribbean coast year round. Prior to two years ago...it came occasionally but not all the time. For the past two years the big hotels have staff that clean the beach daily and they bury the sea grass as they collect it. I have to wonder when they will run out of room to bury it!
Also in Puerto Morelos we saw something else that was very cool. You've heard of the leaning tower of Pisa...well PM has a leaning lighthouse tower. It was knocked into it's current leaning position in 1987 during a major hurricane and since that time has withstood two more hurricanes that were equally as devastating and it hasn't budged from it's new leaning angle.
This afternoon we made our way back to Playa del Carmen where lady luck shone on us yet again. What are the odds that our hotel would be within a block of where we had to return our rental car?! Well it was!! :-) Checked into the Sahara Hotel and were shown to our room which is large enough to host a party! We have 3 beds (1 queen, 1 double, and 1 twin) so we can even play musical beds in the night if either of us has any trouble sleeping. LOL! Our room also has a little table with chairs, a mini fridge, a microwave and a sink so we kind of still have a kitchen. We are kicking ourselves as we left a couple packages of microwaveable popcorn at our place in Tulum thinking we'd not have any more microwaves along the way. Oops! This is perfect though as we've got what we did bring with us all set up and we're settled in here for two nights. Our hotel is in a great location and in fact there is some kind of major bash going on right across the street in a big square tonight so...while I say it's a good location now...I might not be saying that if the party continues into the wee hours of the morning.
Once settled into our room we got the car returned and whew!!! we passed the inspection. I have to admit that I did have some apprehension as when we left Felipe Puerto Carrillo several days ago, and after that huge storm we had there overnight, we peeled the advertising sticker that covered the rear window off the car in an attempt to improve the visibility. In the process of it laying in the back seat it got a little tear and when we tried to reinstall it....I'm being generous when I say that it is highly unlikely that the advertising company will ever hire us to install those stick on signs! There were a few wrinkles and maybe it wasn't quite straight any more but heh....what a stupid thing to put on a rental car! Anyway....all is well that ends well and we made it past inspection and I got my open visa slips returned - whew!!!
I should back track a little here and tell a tale on Lynda. Part way between Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos this morning we had to go through a police check on the highway. As we approached the road block Lynda shared her usual reminder to "don't look them in the eye" and I replied..."I won't" ....BUT....this time they waived us over to the side of the road so I had to look the guy in the eye when he came to my window. He was a lovely young man and after a little back and forth in Spanish it became apparent that he was concerned that our safety was in jeopardy. He pointed to my seatbelt and said "it is important". I replied..."Yes, it is." He looked a little uncomfortable and then he said, "it is an infraction" and he pointed to Lynda at which time she realized that she had completely forgotten to put her seatbelt on this morning! Honestly, that is a first and wouldn't you know...today would be the day that the police were on the lookout for just such a memory lapse. In the end...we were given the choice to either pay at roadside or follow him back to Playa del Carmen where we could pay at the police station. If we followed him back to Playa the fine would be double what it is at roadside and so...we paid the $700 pesos and he returned my licence and gave us permission to proceed. Yikes! what a way to finish off our trip! Honestly, we were talking about it tonight and we're pretty sure that this final week is going to cost more than the last six weeks combined! Oh well....this is where the comment, "I'm old and I have plastic" comes into play. LOL! :)
Back to this afternoon...we decided we'd spend a little time getting ourselves organized for the next couple of days so we don't find ourselves missing out on anything because of how busy it is here. We visited the ADO station and purchased our bus ticket for the 31st to the Cancun airport (where we should be able to get a shuttle to our hotel in Cancun) That ticket cost just over $300 pesos for the two of us. Once we had those tickets in hand we headed over to the ferry terminal to buy tickets to Cozumel (for tomorrow morning) and at the same time we got ourselves signed up for some activities for our day on the island. We'll be met at the ferry terminal on Cozumel by Martha who will deliver us to the boat that will take us on a two hour snorkel/glass bottom boat trip out over the reefs off the shore of Cozumel. Depending on weather we will visit at least two reefs. Lynda is looking forward to the snorkelling and I am looking forward to the glass bottom boat! LOL!! I will be sitting back enjoying my complimentary cervesa while Lynda and others get up close and personal with the creatures of the sea. I may have a change of mind once I'm out there but to tell the truth...it is doubtful and I'm happy to enjoy the glass bottom experience again. I had one of those on Lady Elliot Island (Great Barrier Reef in Australia) before and it was great! In fact, if you've ever heard my story about snorkelling on Lady Elliot....you'll appreciate just why the glass bottom boat is my preference over communing with nature in that snorkelling kind of way!
Once we're finished with our boat/snorkel experience we'll be delivered back to the terminal at mid-day at which time we will pick up our VW convertible (how fun does that sound-wahoo!) which we will use to explore the rest of the island. According to Alexandra (the agent who set up our tours on Cozumel for us) this is where we're going to find those deserted white sand beaches and azure waters we've been looking for so we have fingers and toes crossed...we're ready to find them! Time is running out! We only have a couple of days left.
Once all our 'business' was complete we spent the next couple of hours wandering the pedestrian street (10th Ave I think it is) that has soooo many people on it! At one point Lynda commented...."look ahead of us...doesn't this look like we're in the Vancouver Sun Run or something?!" She was right...as far as we could see in front and behind there was a sea of people people people! We located a restaurant that had 4 margaritas and a plate of nachos for $150 pesos as their special - that was bait enough for me. I'd been ready for a drink ever since trying to find where to return the car in this city where street signs are poor at best. We polished off those 4 margs and the nachos and were lubricated enough to order 4 more. Yummy! :-)
When it was time to pay our restaurant bill it became apparent that we were going to have to hit another ATM so....we set off to find a bank. Lucky again, there is one right across the street from our hotel! Once we were flush with cash again we set out to find the place where we could get our "included breakfast" with a mind to pick it up tonight so we could take it for on the boat to Cozumel in the morning. Our breakfast consists of a sandwich, a piece of cake, a juice, and a coffee. They had run out of cake so we got two sandwiches instead and since the juice comes in a cup we were able to switch that out to water or pop. Lynda is going to warm up her coffee in the microwave in the morning and I put baileys in mine and drank it tonight. :-)
So far we've had no luck in getting wi fi connected in this hotel so I don't know when I'll be able to post this blog but....at least it is done and I will get it up when I can.
Till next time,
L & L
Found a great little place for late breakfast/early lunch in Puerto Morelos and enjoyed walking along the beach where there were some giant sandcastles depicting the last supper and other images in keeping with Easter. Many many Mexican tourists here too! They are everywhere on the beach, flying kites, hauling their coolers filled with food and drink, and settling in for the day. This weekend is the start of the two week spring break here in Mexico that coincides with Easter (Semana Santa) so everyone is taking vacation and they're all heading to the beach to do it! Here the beaches are sugar fine pure white sand but again there is tons of that sea grass (seaweed). Here we find a sign that has been posted by the city that explains the sea grass is natural (not garbage) and that it in fact serves a purpose in protecting the beaches from erosion and as a habitat for sea and beach life. This is the first sign we've seen anywhere that even acknowledges that the sea grass is there! We also learn later in the day that for about two years now this sea grass is present pretty much everywhere on the Caribbean coast year round. Prior to two years ago...it came occasionally but not all the time. For the past two years the big hotels have staff that clean the beach daily and they bury the sea grass as they collect it. I have to wonder when they will run out of room to bury it!
Also in Puerto Morelos we saw something else that was very cool. You've heard of the leaning tower of Pisa...well PM has a leaning lighthouse tower. It was knocked into it's current leaning position in 1987 during a major hurricane and since that time has withstood two more hurricanes that were equally as devastating and it hasn't budged from it's new leaning angle.
This afternoon we made our way back to Playa del Carmen where lady luck shone on us yet again. What are the odds that our hotel would be within a block of where we had to return our rental car?! Well it was!! :-) Checked into the Sahara Hotel and were shown to our room which is large enough to host a party! We have 3 beds (1 queen, 1 double, and 1 twin) so we can even play musical beds in the night if either of us has any trouble sleeping. LOL! Our room also has a little table with chairs, a mini fridge, a microwave and a sink so we kind of still have a kitchen. We are kicking ourselves as we left a couple packages of microwaveable popcorn at our place in Tulum thinking we'd not have any more microwaves along the way. Oops! This is perfect though as we've got what we did bring with us all set up and we're settled in here for two nights. Our hotel is in a great location and in fact there is some kind of major bash going on right across the street in a big square tonight so...while I say it's a good location now...I might not be saying that if the party continues into the wee hours of the morning.
Once settled into our room we got the car returned and whew!!! we passed the inspection. I have to admit that I did have some apprehension as when we left Felipe Puerto Carrillo several days ago, and after that huge storm we had there overnight, we peeled the advertising sticker that covered the rear window off the car in an attempt to improve the visibility. In the process of it laying in the back seat it got a little tear and when we tried to reinstall it....I'm being generous when I say that it is highly unlikely that the advertising company will ever hire us to install those stick on signs! There were a few wrinkles and maybe it wasn't quite straight any more but heh....what a stupid thing to put on a rental car! Anyway....all is well that ends well and we made it past inspection and I got my open visa slips returned - whew!!!
I should back track a little here and tell a tale on Lynda. Part way between Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos this morning we had to go through a police check on the highway. As we approached the road block Lynda shared her usual reminder to "don't look them in the eye" and I replied..."I won't" ....BUT....this time they waived us over to the side of the road so I had to look the guy in the eye when he came to my window. He was a lovely young man and after a little back and forth in Spanish it became apparent that he was concerned that our safety was in jeopardy. He pointed to my seatbelt and said "it is important". I replied..."Yes, it is." He looked a little uncomfortable and then he said, "it is an infraction" and he pointed to Lynda at which time she realized that she had completely forgotten to put her seatbelt on this morning! Honestly, that is a first and wouldn't you know...today would be the day that the police were on the lookout for just such a memory lapse. In the end...we were given the choice to either pay at roadside or follow him back to Playa del Carmen where we could pay at the police station. If we followed him back to Playa the fine would be double what it is at roadside and so...we paid the $700 pesos and he returned my licence and gave us permission to proceed. Yikes! what a way to finish off our trip! Honestly, we were talking about it tonight and we're pretty sure that this final week is going to cost more than the last six weeks combined! Oh well....this is where the comment, "I'm old and I have plastic" comes into play. LOL! :)
Back to this afternoon...we decided we'd spend a little time getting ourselves organized for the next couple of days so we don't find ourselves missing out on anything because of how busy it is here. We visited the ADO station and purchased our bus ticket for the 31st to the Cancun airport (where we should be able to get a shuttle to our hotel in Cancun) That ticket cost just over $300 pesos for the two of us. Once we had those tickets in hand we headed over to the ferry terminal to buy tickets to Cozumel (for tomorrow morning) and at the same time we got ourselves signed up for some activities for our day on the island. We'll be met at the ferry terminal on Cozumel by Martha who will deliver us to the boat that will take us on a two hour snorkel/glass bottom boat trip out over the reefs off the shore of Cozumel. Depending on weather we will visit at least two reefs. Lynda is looking forward to the snorkelling and I am looking forward to the glass bottom boat! LOL!! I will be sitting back enjoying my complimentary cervesa while Lynda and others get up close and personal with the creatures of the sea. I may have a change of mind once I'm out there but to tell the truth...it is doubtful and I'm happy to enjoy the glass bottom experience again. I had one of those on Lady Elliot Island (Great Barrier Reef in Australia) before and it was great! In fact, if you've ever heard my story about snorkelling on Lady Elliot....you'll appreciate just why the glass bottom boat is my preference over communing with nature in that snorkelling kind of way!
Once we're finished with our boat/snorkel experience we'll be delivered back to the terminal at mid-day at which time we will pick up our VW convertible (how fun does that sound-wahoo!) which we will use to explore the rest of the island. According to Alexandra (the agent who set up our tours on Cozumel for us) this is where we're going to find those deserted white sand beaches and azure waters we've been looking for so we have fingers and toes crossed...we're ready to find them! Time is running out! We only have a couple of days left.
Once all our 'business' was complete we spent the next couple of hours wandering the pedestrian street (10th Ave I think it is) that has soooo many people on it! At one point Lynda commented...."look ahead of us...doesn't this look like we're in the Vancouver Sun Run or something?!" She was right...as far as we could see in front and behind there was a sea of people people people! We located a restaurant that had 4 margaritas and a plate of nachos for $150 pesos as their special - that was bait enough for me. I'd been ready for a drink ever since trying to find where to return the car in this city where street signs are poor at best. We polished off those 4 margs and the nachos and were lubricated enough to order 4 more. Yummy! :-)
When it was time to pay our restaurant bill it became apparent that we were going to have to hit another ATM so....we set off to find a bank. Lucky again, there is one right across the street from our hotel! Once we were flush with cash again we set out to find the place where we could get our "included breakfast" with a mind to pick it up tonight so we could take it for on the boat to Cozumel in the morning. Our breakfast consists of a sandwich, a piece of cake, a juice, and a coffee. They had run out of cake so we got two sandwiches instead and since the juice comes in a cup we were able to switch that out to water or pop. Lynda is going to warm up her coffee in the microwave in the morning and I put baileys in mine and drank it tonight. :-)
So far we've had no luck in getting wi fi connected in this hotel so I don't know when I'll be able to post this blog but....at least it is done and I will get it up when I can.
Till next time,
L & L
Saturday, March 28, 2015
March 28, 2015
Well this morning we finally found some really lovely white sand and there was a big wide beach of it too! It was in front of a hotel called Los Corales down in that very LONG strip of hotels we drove past a couple of days ago. We knew there had to be something to keep all these skebillions of people coming back and there it was. The staff were busy cleaning the thick layer of seaweed off the beach (a massive undertaking that it looks like they have to do daily!) and on the beach areas that were finished we could get a feel for what all those photos depict....pristine white sugar fine sand beaches. But....the water still hasn't co-operated! To be fair today was really windy after the wild thunder and lightening storm we has last night so the sea was very choppy and pretty black looking. It was perfect for the kite surfers though and it was a real treat to be able to watch them up close. Their colourful kites created a new kind of rainbow as the surfers zipped in and out from beach to horizon with the occasional high flying jump thrown in for good measure. It was fun to watch them and as we lounged on the cushioned beach chairs we'd claimed as our own it felt good to be at the beach again.
Also this morning while we were down in hotel row we met Phoenix, the peacock, who put on an amazing show for us. (photos below) We'd snuck into the parking lot that he calls home and I guess he was either okay with us being there or really angry with our trespass based on the show we got.
Once we'd had enough of the wild winds on the beach it was back to our private little oasis that feels even more private when returning form the busyness of hotel row. Again, we were the only people on our property so had the pool and the yard to ourselves. The yard is all walled so you don't even see anything that might be going on outside the property and as a result if feels very exclusive. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool, reading, and catching a few zzz's as the mood struck. Oh ya...there was some tequila and baileys over ice in there somewhere too. LOL :-)
Gotta pack up again tonight as we're on the road again tomorrow. Departure day is drawing so near now...it's hard to believe! Still have 4 nights to go though and think often about the many many people who come here with a total of 7 nights for their whole vacation! We recognize just how lucky we have been!
till next time,
L & L
Also this morning while we were down in hotel row we met Phoenix, the peacock, who put on an amazing show for us. (photos below) We'd snuck into the parking lot that he calls home and I guess he was either okay with us being there or really angry with our trespass based on the show we got.
Once we'd had enough of the wild winds on the beach it was back to our private little oasis that feels even more private when returning form the busyness of hotel row. Again, we were the only people on our property so had the pool and the yard to ourselves. The yard is all walled so you don't even see anything that might be going on outside the property and as a result if feels very exclusive. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool, reading, and catching a few zzz's as the mood struck. Oh ya...there was some tequila and baileys over ice in there somewhere too. LOL :-)
Gotta pack up again tonight as we're on the road again tomorrow. Departure day is drawing so near now...it's hard to believe! Still have 4 nights to go though and think often about the many many people who come here with a total of 7 nights for their whole vacation! We recognize just how lucky we have been!
till next time,
L & L
Friday, March 27, 2015
March 27, 2015
Well...we've officially gone and done it....we shifted from travellers to tourists. The move was confirmed today when we donned wrist bands and hopped aboard a train to get the rest of the way into the site where the Tulum ruins sit atop the cliffs at the waters edge.
Wandering around the ruins was HOT and there were so many people that it felt more like Disneyland than Mayan ruins! Giant iguanas lazed in the shade of the trees that dotted the grounds where we fell into line with at least 1000 others to follow the marked paths through the site.
Lynda visited this same location in 2002 and at that time it was a dirt road leading into the site, there were no gates or entrance fees to be paid, and her group of 4 were the only people there! What a difference 13 years can make!
When we made our way back out (by return train of course) we noticed that amidst the demonstration of Mayan dancers (including the guys who hang upside down by ropes swinging from a giant pole) there was a Starbucks, a Subway, and a Quiznos. Yep...there is definitely some American influence in this part of Mexico!
We enjoyed an ice cold beer while sitting on swing seats at a bar and then retrieved our car from the back of same bar where we'd left it parked for the fee of $50 pesos. To get our car out the drivers for a shuttle van and a taxi had to be found and then they had to move their vehicles before we could even begin to move. This place is crazy busy!!! People people everywhere!
So yes...we looked over the edge from the ruins in search of that perfect azure water and white sand beaches but alas...still no luck! The water looked very muddy for about 15-20 feet from shore and on the beach there is soooo much seaweed littering it that it really doesn't look very appealing at all. Supposedly this year there is more seaweed than ever before and no matter how fast they clean the beaches, the algae returns with each wave as it comes washing in. The result is that there is a solid line of seaweed that is several inches thick and 2-3 feet wide lining the entire shore. It is as though there is a thick black line drawn in the sand about 3 feet from the waters edge everywhere you look.
We spent the rest of the day checking out every little road that goes off the highway between here (Tulum) and Akumal which is another very touristy place. We are definitely into the part of MX where tourism is king and traditional customs take a back seat. While in Akumal we stopped in for a bite to eat at a beach bar/restaurant and as we've become accustomed to luck was with us again and we were seated in what I would dub as the best seat in the house. We were tucked in at the edge of the seating area, right up against some jungle plants, with nothing but a palm tree, a pile of dead coral, and the sea in front of us. Our table was completely in the shade and we had an unobstructed view. Yep, we're sure loving this lady luck that seems to have attached herself to us for this trip yet again!
Some of those roads we traversed between here and Akumal today led us into exclusive resorts, others into areas lined with private residences along the waterfront. Many of those roads were pretty rough and all of them had more topes (speed bumps) than necessary, which was maybe the most authentically Mexican thing about today.
Just before we got back to our apartment, the clouds rolled in and the thunder and lightening show started. By the time we'd arrived home the skies had opened and we were in a torrential downpour. It lasted for a few hours (thank heavens we have this roomy place!) and then turned into a drizzle. My hunch is that tomorrow will bring more blue skies and sunshine and a nice clean car as a bonus.
Hasta luego amigos,
L & L
Wandering around the ruins was HOT and there were so many people that it felt more like Disneyland than Mayan ruins! Giant iguanas lazed in the shade of the trees that dotted the grounds where we fell into line with at least 1000 others to follow the marked paths through the site.
Lynda visited this same location in 2002 and at that time it was a dirt road leading into the site, there were no gates or entrance fees to be paid, and her group of 4 were the only people there! What a difference 13 years can make!
When we made our way back out (by return train of course) we noticed that amidst the demonstration of Mayan dancers (including the guys who hang upside down by ropes swinging from a giant pole) there was a Starbucks, a Subway, and a Quiznos. Yep...there is definitely some American influence in this part of Mexico!
We enjoyed an ice cold beer while sitting on swing seats at a bar and then retrieved our car from the back of same bar where we'd left it parked for the fee of $50 pesos. To get our car out the drivers for a shuttle van and a taxi had to be found and then they had to move their vehicles before we could even begin to move. This place is crazy busy!!! People people everywhere!
So yes...we looked over the edge from the ruins in search of that perfect azure water and white sand beaches but alas...still no luck! The water looked very muddy for about 15-20 feet from shore and on the beach there is soooo much seaweed littering it that it really doesn't look very appealing at all. Supposedly this year there is more seaweed than ever before and no matter how fast they clean the beaches, the algae returns with each wave as it comes washing in. The result is that there is a solid line of seaweed that is several inches thick and 2-3 feet wide lining the entire shore. It is as though there is a thick black line drawn in the sand about 3 feet from the waters edge everywhere you look.
We spent the rest of the day checking out every little road that goes off the highway between here (Tulum) and Akumal which is another very touristy place. We are definitely into the part of MX where tourism is king and traditional customs take a back seat. While in Akumal we stopped in for a bite to eat at a beach bar/restaurant and as we've become accustomed to luck was with us again and we were seated in what I would dub as the best seat in the house. We were tucked in at the edge of the seating area, right up against some jungle plants, with nothing but a palm tree, a pile of dead coral, and the sea in front of us. Our table was completely in the shade and we had an unobstructed view. Yep, we're sure loving this lady luck that seems to have attached herself to us for this trip yet again!
Some of those roads we traversed between here and Akumal today led us into exclusive resorts, others into areas lined with private residences along the waterfront. Many of those roads were pretty rough and all of them had more topes (speed bumps) than necessary, which was maybe the most authentically Mexican thing about today.
Just before we got back to our apartment, the clouds rolled in and the thunder and lightening show started. By the time we'd arrived home the skies had opened and we were in a torrential downpour. It lasted for a few hours (thank heavens we have this roomy place!) and then turned into a drizzle. My hunch is that tomorrow will bring more blue skies and sunshine and a nice clean car as a bonus.
Hasta luego amigos,
L & L
Thursday, March 26, 2015
March 26, 2015
A rather uneventful day after all the excitement of the B & E yesterday! But...I will say that there is a really good photo of the outside of our place below. It gives a sense of the tranquility of this little oasis. You can see the green fabric waving in the breeze up at our rooftop patio too. It is gorgeous up there...big lounge beds in the shade with an amazing breeze that never really dies down. We spent some time today up in that rooftop area as well as lounging around our pool and enjoying the fact that we are the only people in our property. (ie: we have this whole place to ourselves!)
Also spent some time exploring the beach area just east of the town of Tulum and YIKES! are there ever a lot of hotels and a lot of people!!! It was some kind of culture shock for us given where we've been these past couple of months. That little road seemed to go on forever and ever and the whole thing was crammed with beachfront hotels and other shops, restaurants, and hotels on the other side. I had heard there were a lot of them but never in my wildest imagination would I have believed there were as many as there actually are! It sure reinforced for us just how thankful we are that we are located where we are. In a totally private location with none of the busy'ness that is present everywhere else we've seen here.
At the end of the final section of bumper to bumper hotels and people we hit a gravel road (the arch and gravel road pictured below) and once through it we were in a national park and if we'd have driven for about 50 km on that road...supposedly we'd have come to a really beautiful location and possibly even some manatees but...we went as far as possible with our car (about 20 km) and then had to turn back as the road was definitely not made for cars! A 4 wheel drive was the only thing that would have taken us any further! Regardless it was a really nice drive. The road was shaded by the jungle canopy hanging over on both sides, we passed only a couple of other vehicles, and occasionally the jungle opened up just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the sea.
Speaking of the sea and the beach in front of it....we're still waiting to see the beaches that are shown in all the photos of Tulum. So far, everything we've seen has been covered in sea grass that has washed up and today there was lots of wind and waves so...it sure didn't call us to run down to the shore and jump in. Tomorrow we have a specific destination in mind that is close to the Tulum ruins (about 20 km north of here) and that is supposed to be the stuff those famous photos depict. It is called Puerto Maroma and we've got our fingers and toes crossed that it induces the sigh that is attached to the experience of seeing such natural beauty.
Made good use of our kitchen tonight. Rice with fresh pineapple, BBQ chicken, onions sautéed in a whole bunch of butter, and some tomatoes with chilis all mixed together to make something good enough to say that "I'd make that again!" The bonus is that there are enough leftovers that we'll be having it again tomorrow or the next day too.
Tonight the plan is to see if I can get netflix off my ipad and onto the big flatscreen. Wifi is plenty strong here and so we should be able to find something to watch. Last night (after Mama Mia finished around 6:00) we couldn't find anything but zombie crap and super crazy game shows! Lets see just how techie I can be....and if not....then we'll be watching the iPad screen wishing it was larger. LOL!
Lynda just brought over some cut up fresh sandia (watermelon) so I gotta go cuz this is dessert and I already know how sweet this watermelon is cuz I had some of it yesterday. :)
Till next time,
L & L
Also spent some time exploring the beach area just east of the town of Tulum and YIKES! are there ever a lot of hotels and a lot of people!!! It was some kind of culture shock for us given where we've been these past couple of months. That little road seemed to go on forever and ever and the whole thing was crammed with beachfront hotels and other shops, restaurants, and hotels on the other side. I had heard there were a lot of them but never in my wildest imagination would I have believed there were as many as there actually are! It sure reinforced for us just how thankful we are that we are located where we are. In a totally private location with none of the busy'ness that is present everywhere else we've seen here.
At the end of the final section of bumper to bumper hotels and people we hit a gravel road (the arch and gravel road pictured below) and once through it we were in a national park and if we'd have driven for about 50 km on that road...supposedly we'd have come to a really beautiful location and possibly even some manatees but...we went as far as possible with our car (about 20 km) and then had to turn back as the road was definitely not made for cars! A 4 wheel drive was the only thing that would have taken us any further! Regardless it was a really nice drive. The road was shaded by the jungle canopy hanging over on both sides, we passed only a couple of other vehicles, and occasionally the jungle opened up just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the sea.
Speaking of the sea and the beach in front of it....we're still waiting to see the beaches that are shown in all the photos of Tulum. So far, everything we've seen has been covered in sea grass that has washed up and today there was lots of wind and waves so...it sure didn't call us to run down to the shore and jump in. Tomorrow we have a specific destination in mind that is close to the Tulum ruins (about 20 km north of here) and that is supposed to be the stuff those famous photos depict. It is called Puerto Maroma and we've got our fingers and toes crossed that it induces the sigh that is attached to the experience of seeing such natural beauty.
Made good use of our kitchen tonight. Rice with fresh pineapple, BBQ chicken, onions sautéed in a whole bunch of butter, and some tomatoes with chilis all mixed together to make something good enough to say that "I'd make that again!" The bonus is that there are enough leftovers that we'll be having it again tomorrow or the next day too.
Tonight the plan is to see if I can get netflix off my ipad and onto the big flatscreen. Wifi is plenty strong here and so we should be able to find something to watch. Last night (after Mama Mia finished around 6:00) we couldn't find anything but zombie crap and super crazy game shows! Lets see just how techie I can be....and if not....then we'll be watching the iPad screen wishing it was larger. LOL!
Lynda just brought over some cut up fresh sandia (watermelon) so I gotta go cuz this is dessert and I already know how sweet this watermelon is cuz I had some of it yesterday. :)
Till next time,
L & L
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
March 25, 2015
On the road again....and what a great road trip it was. Approximately 200 km from Bacalar to Tulum and we spent the better part of the day making the trip. We stopped at roadside vendors to purchase fruit for the next few days. Watermelon, pineapple, mame, oranges, and mangoes...all freshly picked, warm and sweet from the sun. Yummy! We drove down roads that in the end...went nowhere except to butt up to a fence blocking any further progress. We drove down roads that took us into tiny villages that were seemingly deserted. We explored other little villages where the locals looked at us as though we had two heads...oh just a minute...we might have well had....we are giants in the land of the Maya after all! :)
Eventually, we arrived in Tulum and thanks to some very good directions were able to locate the apartment we'd rented for the next four days. I say thanks to some very good directions because the "road" we had to turn down to find our place doesn't look like much of a road....I'd describe it more as a back lane and one that might require 4 wheel drive to boot! On the upside, we have no traffic on our "road" so it couldn't be any more quiet. We are just 1/2 block off the main highway (and the centre of town). We are just 1/2 block from the corner where you start the drive down to the waterfront and the beautiful Tulum beaches found there. All in all...it's a perfect location!
As well, we've "upgraded" for this stop on our tour. We have a full apartment complete with full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. There are just five apartments on the property so even if it fills at some point during our stay...it will never feel crowded. We have a private rooftop deck with a large lounging area complete with cushions and curtains to stave off the sun. There is also another private deck that overlooks the pool right off our living room. We even have a big flat screen TV and cable so for the first time in months watched a movie tonight and as I'm typing this, Lynda is watching Mike and Molly which is giving her cause to chuckle at their antics. WTH...now she is watching some crazy/hilarious Mexican game show where people are having to strip every time they answer a question incorrectly! I'll do my best to stay focused on my typing though. LOL! :)
Speaking of chuckles and hilarity...we were experiencing our fair share of that this afternoon after we returned to our apartment from the grocery store. Of course we had ice (for the drinks we were dying to pour) as well as enough groceries to take care of breakfasts, snacks, and at least one dinner for our time here. Oh ya...I snuck in a bottle of Baileys to complement the coffee too. :) Anyway....Lynda had the keys to our door (which is one story up so there are an abundance of stairs to carry our groceries up!) and as I came back with a second load from the car...she said, "I can't get this door to unlock!" I climbed the stairs and gave it a try as well and with no better luck. Initially I was mad enough to even put my shoulder into the door with a mind to open it by force (as the only lock was the door handle) but...as I gave that a second thought...I considered the potential consequences of doing that in a foreign land! So...instead we decided to break in via the open window above the stairs going up to our apartment. Fortunately there were no other people on our property to witness our antics AND Lynda removing her skirt. Yes Darlene and Gail...she was wearing her red skirt! That red skirt would have some great stories to tell if it could talk! She removed her skirt so she wouldn't get tangled up in it during the B & E! For a minute I wondered if she'd maybe done something like this before because she really is quite good at planning it all out! She also laid her skirt across the window sill in the hope that it would help to protect her from scratching herself as she scrambled/crawled/hung/slithered/grunted her way through the open window.
So....I steadied myself on the stairs just below the window; pushing my butt against the wall and my hands on the railing. I held my breath and braced so she could step/kneel on my back to have a chance at getting high enough to "flop" the top half of her body through the open window (she'd been able to take the screen out). Fortunately it was a large window so there was no fear of broken glass etc and after she'd hung there long enough to grab a couple of cushions off the couch and push the couch just far enough away from the window that she could "fall" onto the cushions on the floor. When I asked her if I could do anything to help as she "hung" there half way in and half way out...and in her underwear....she replied, "just don't look" and I assured her I wouldn't! :) LOL! She made it the rest of the way into the apartment and was able to open the door from the inside. We laughed and laughed and then we poured a couple of stiff drinks. Thankfully we had purchased a LARGE bag of ice so not all of it had melted during our antics. In 30+ temperatures...a bag of ice does not last long!
What a day! Arrangements have been made for the locksmith to be here at 8:00 a.m. to replace the lock and get the deadbolt lined up as that is the one we'd prefer to use. Lynda's red skirt has a new story to tell and tonight it holds a place of honour in the closet as a key element in her successful B & E this afternoon. :) Who knows what it will see/do tomorrow.
Till then....
L & L
photos are of roadside vendors en route to Tulum as well as the "road" into our apartment the outside views we found when we got here.
Eventually, we arrived in Tulum and thanks to some very good directions were able to locate the apartment we'd rented for the next four days. I say thanks to some very good directions because the "road" we had to turn down to find our place doesn't look like much of a road....I'd describe it more as a back lane and one that might require 4 wheel drive to boot! On the upside, we have no traffic on our "road" so it couldn't be any more quiet. We are just 1/2 block off the main highway (and the centre of town). We are just 1/2 block from the corner where you start the drive down to the waterfront and the beautiful Tulum beaches found there. All in all...it's a perfect location!
As well, we've "upgraded" for this stop on our tour. We have a full apartment complete with full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. There are just five apartments on the property so even if it fills at some point during our stay...it will never feel crowded. We have a private rooftop deck with a large lounging area complete with cushions and curtains to stave off the sun. There is also another private deck that overlooks the pool right off our living room. We even have a big flat screen TV and cable so for the first time in months watched a movie tonight and as I'm typing this, Lynda is watching Mike and Molly which is giving her cause to chuckle at their antics. WTH...now she is watching some crazy/hilarious Mexican game show where people are having to strip every time they answer a question incorrectly! I'll do my best to stay focused on my typing though. LOL! :)
Speaking of chuckles and hilarity...we were experiencing our fair share of that this afternoon after we returned to our apartment from the grocery store. Of course we had ice (for the drinks we were dying to pour) as well as enough groceries to take care of breakfasts, snacks, and at least one dinner for our time here. Oh ya...I snuck in a bottle of Baileys to complement the coffee too. :) Anyway....Lynda had the keys to our door (which is one story up so there are an abundance of stairs to carry our groceries up!) and as I came back with a second load from the car...she said, "I can't get this door to unlock!" I climbed the stairs and gave it a try as well and with no better luck. Initially I was mad enough to even put my shoulder into the door with a mind to open it by force (as the only lock was the door handle) but...as I gave that a second thought...I considered the potential consequences of doing that in a foreign land! So...instead we decided to break in via the open window above the stairs going up to our apartment. Fortunately there were no other people on our property to witness our antics AND Lynda removing her skirt. Yes Darlene and Gail...she was wearing her red skirt! That red skirt would have some great stories to tell if it could talk! She removed her skirt so she wouldn't get tangled up in it during the B & E! For a minute I wondered if she'd maybe done something like this before because she really is quite good at planning it all out! She also laid her skirt across the window sill in the hope that it would help to protect her from scratching herself as she scrambled/crawled/hung/slithered/grunted her way through the open window.
So....I steadied myself on the stairs just below the window; pushing my butt against the wall and my hands on the railing. I held my breath and braced so she could step/kneel on my back to have a chance at getting high enough to "flop" the top half of her body through the open window (she'd been able to take the screen out). Fortunately it was a large window so there was no fear of broken glass etc and after she'd hung there long enough to grab a couple of cushions off the couch and push the couch just far enough away from the window that she could "fall" onto the cushions on the floor. When I asked her if I could do anything to help as she "hung" there half way in and half way out...and in her underwear....she replied, "just don't look" and I assured her I wouldn't! :) LOL! She made it the rest of the way into the apartment and was able to open the door from the inside. We laughed and laughed and then we poured a couple of stiff drinks. Thankfully we had purchased a LARGE bag of ice so not all of it had melted during our antics. In 30+ temperatures...a bag of ice does not last long!
What a day! Arrangements have been made for the locksmith to be here at 8:00 a.m. to replace the lock and get the deadbolt lined up as that is the one we'd prefer to use. Lynda's red skirt has a new story to tell and tonight it holds a place of honour in the closet as a key element in her successful B & E this afternoon. :) Who knows what it will see/do tomorrow.
Till then....
L & L
photos are of roadside vendors en route to Tulum as well as the "road" into our apartment the outside views we found when we got here.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
March 24, 2015
This blogpost will be a pretty short one cuz all we did today was laze around the pool or down by the edge of Cenote Esmerelda (the cenote that is part of Laguna Bacalar and that is right in front of our hotel), roll into either of those bodies of water just long enough to cool down, and then climb back out and onto a lounge chair in the shade. Yes...shade is the place to be. We've seen our share of sunburned bodies in our travels and neither of us wants to be one of those lobster coloured victims!
There is a bit of background on Laguna Bacalar that we uncovered today and that you might be interested to hear about. This lake is considered to be the most beautiful in all the world. You might wonder how they arrived at that decision and in fact...there was a science to it. Photos of many many beautiful lakes were laid out on a large table and people from all walks of life and cultures were asked to choose the most beautiful. Almost all of the people participating in the study chose Laguna Bacalar! Researchers cannot explain it but the evidence supports the claim that there is no other place quite like it on earth. The sad part is that it is in danger because of the attraction to visit it. As it becomes more popular, more tourism finds it's way here and because there are minimal (if any) laws governing human interface with the lake...it is close to being identified as officially "at risk".
The beauty of the lake really does boil down to the many shades of blue that you can see at any given time. The colours literally shift and change before your eyes as clouds pass overhead or as the sun shines from a different angle or the turbidity in the water changes or the depth of the water or the breeze....it all factors into the shifting hues of blue. There is also a whole bunch of research on how the colour blue comes from the water as opposed to the eye but....all I know for sure is that this lake is absolutely stunning and we both continue to comment on how lucky we feel to have it as our view!
After a stressful day of lounging, we managed to make our way into the town where we had another great meal...umm hmm...shrimp again. After that meal we had on the way back from Chetumal the other day neither of us ever thought we'd be able to eat another shrimp but....I guess we've recovered from that foolish thought.
Tomorrow we're off to Tulum where we've rented an apartment for four nights. I'm pretty sure it will have wi-fi so we'll keep up with this communique but...if you don't hear from us...it just means I was wrong and we'll be out of touch for a few days.
Till next time,
L & L
There is a bit of background on Laguna Bacalar that we uncovered today and that you might be interested to hear about. This lake is considered to be the most beautiful in all the world. You might wonder how they arrived at that decision and in fact...there was a science to it. Photos of many many beautiful lakes were laid out on a large table and people from all walks of life and cultures were asked to choose the most beautiful. Almost all of the people participating in the study chose Laguna Bacalar! Researchers cannot explain it but the evidence supports the claim that there is no other place quite like it on earth. The sad part is that it is in danger because of the attraction to visit it. As it becomes more popular, more tourism finds it's way here and because there are minimal (if any) laws governing human interface with the lake...it is close to being identified as officially "at risk".
The beauty of the lake really does boil down to the many shades of blue that you can see at any given time. The colours literally shift and change before your eyes as clouds pass overhead or as the sun shines from a different angle or the turbidity in the water changes or the depth of the water or the breeze....it all factors into the shifting hues of blue. There is also a whole bunch of research on how the colour blue comes from the water as opposed to the eye but....all I know for sure is that this lake is absolutely stunning and we both continue to comment on how lucky we feel to have it as our view!
After a stressful day of lounging, we managed to make our way into the town where we had another great meal...umm hmm...shrimp again. After that meal we had on the way back from Chetumal the other day neither of us ever thought we'd be able to eat another shrimp but....I guess we've recovered from that foolish thought.
Tomorrow we're off to Tulum where we've rented an apartment for four nights. I'm pretty sure it will have wi-fi so we'll keep up with this communique but...if you don't hear from us...it just means I was wrong and we'll be out of touch for a few days.
Till next time,
L & L
Monday, March 23, 2015
March 23, 2015
This morning after the blanket of fog lifted off the lake we enjoyed the stuff that dreams are made of! Our two hour tour around the Bacalar Lake was spectacular. Edwin was our captain and we were the only two on the boat that departed from the Casa de Tortuga (house of turtles) where there was a pirate flag flying on the dock and tents packed into the large yard that led right down to the water. Lynda and I were doubly thankful for our room at Hotel Laguna Bacalar as we are way past tenting it! Casa del Tortuga is actually a hostel which explains the crowd assembled there and the smoky haze we walked through to get to the dock. I'm exaggerating a little there...it wasn't really a haze...just a small cloud.
It's actually hard to describe our time on the water as I'm not sure words would do it justice. There was one point when we were swimming around at the Canal de Pirates when Lynda and I just looked at one another and said..."Wow! There are no other words!" (yes, there is a place where pirates used to come and sit just out of reach for the cannons from the old Spanish fort in Bacalar but I'll get to more on that location in a minute.)
The view from our hotel balcony is magnificent but being out on this "rainbow of blue" takes magnificent to a whole new level. Here is an overview of the areas we visited by boat this morning.
First stop was the Cenote Negro. We sat atop the place where the shelf of the lake drops down into the cenote. The water is crystal clear and so you can see everything beneath the surface. The depth goes from 2 meters to more than 90 meters instantly so the colour changes from azure to black - hence the name Negro.
It's kind of hard to explain how there are multiple cenotes in this one lake but...there are and you can see where the water coming into one cenote bumps up against the main part of the lake or another cenote.
Right in front of our hotel is Cenote Esmerelda and it is conical in shape. At it's centre it is so deep that they haven't even got a depth on it (assuming I understood Edwin correctly - LOL) At Esmerelda we were able to see water coming into the cenote at its surface. It is coming from an underground source but because the land slopes up from the waters edge you can see it's entry point. Edwin says that the original source is believed to be in the mountains but I am thinking...who really knows since it is being fed from underground and those underground rivers could be fed from some ancient source deep within the earth. Regardless, I'll say it again....this place is the stuff dreams are made of! In face, Edwin who is 20, moved here from Cancun where his family all still live. He came here for the quality of life...smart boy!
Another stop on our tour was a little island that is home to a plethora of birds. Supposedly the pink flamingos also nest here but we didn't see any of them today. Lots of other very large birds though. My guess is that they might have been some kind of heron.
Our favourite stop on the tour was the Canal de Pirates though and as there was just the two of us on the boat we were able to spend extra time there. Edwin ran the boat aground on the sand bars that border the canal. The sand is like powder and pure white. Edwin showed us where there was special sand for exfoliating your skin so we dove right into that task. We waded through the shallow water and reached down to take sand off the bottom of the canal. This special sand is not as white as the rest of it and it doesn't smell very good either! It is filled with sulphur. We asked Edwin how they ever figured out that the sand in this spot was different and he said it is because if you look at the exposed edges the sand on this side is darker and has a tinge of red whereas the sand everywhere else is pure white. He is absolutely right...it is....but I'm still amazed that someone figured this out! Until you pull the sand up off the bottom and start rubbing it on your body there is no smell at all.
Once we had finished our exfoliation we wandered back out to the deeper water to rinse off. No matter how deep we went the water was just as crystalline as it had been in the shallows. In fact, when I was neck deep in water I could still see that the remnants of the polish from my pedicure in Zanzibar so clearly that it was a reminder of just how much I need to spend some time on my toes!
We floated and swam and peered through masks to see the tiny fish that call this place home. We waded and exfoliated and washed and dreamt of ways to make this last forever. We knew without question that neither of us will ever forget the perfection of this place...it truly is the stuff dreams are made of...you know that perfect postcard you've seen or that image you've conjured up for your meditation or in a romance novel...yep...that one...well we were there today and we LOVED it!!!
After we left the Canal de Pirates we toured along the edge of the lake back to our end destination and along the way Edwin pointed out another cute little hotel where there were hammocks under a palapa down at the waters edge. It is called Casa de Corazon (house of the heart) and we knew we needed to go there to check it out as we're pretty sure we're going to be here for at least two more nights that originally planned. Easy to see how someone might come here and forget to leave!
We stopped in at the Casa de Corazon and although we were tempted... the room there was much smaller than the one we're in and the bathroom much too tiny for the giants that we are so we decided to stay where we are instead.
So...it's back to the hotel and the pool where a lounge chair and my book are calling.
Hasta luego.....
Had the pool and adjacent loungers all to ourselves this afternoon...kind of feeling like this is our own private oasis so....we booked ourselves in for a fourth night which means we will stay in Bacalar until the 25th.
Decided we'd better spend some time strategizing on just where we will stay for our final nights in the Yucatan as we don't want to find ourselves too far from the airport on that final day! So....we're booked into a hotel in Cancun on the 31st and will use that day to visit Isle Mujeres and the city before our flight home on the evening of the 1st. We also managed to find a place in Playa del Carmen for the 29th and 30th which will give us an opportunity to check out Cozumel at the same time. We still have our car until the 30th when we return it in Playa and having wheels sure makes it easy to do some exploring! Spent some time online tonight trying to find a place in Tulum for 4 nights (25-29) but...no luck just yet. We're kind of thinking we might just take our chances and go there with the plan that something will "speak" to us when we see it. We don't need anything on the beach but are hoping for a pool. We'll spend a lot of our time in Tulum checking out the neighbouring towns etc so...don't need to pay the big bucks to be right on the beach!
It will be what it is though so we're not gonna sweat it too much. We've got two more nights here which means all day tomorrow will be a poolside kinda day as I think we've about explored all there is to explore in the little town of Bacalar. When we head out on the 25th we'll go with the intention of having our lucky streak continue and trust that we'll stumble upon a perfect spot somewhere between here and Playa where we need to be on the 29th. It's kind of hard to think in terms of having to be anywhere as we've been free-wheeling it for so long now! But...the time is drawing near...so need to begin to shift back in the direction of structure. LOL!
Till next time,
L & L
photos are of:
- Lynda and I covered in the exfoliating sand at the Canal de Pirates beside our boat (and holding the P3 cuz it's been travelling around the world with us these past few months)
our hotel...our balcony is the one past the umbrella that is closed.
a look across the water (from the boat) at our hotel (the white one).
the front of Casa de la Corazon from the boat...the view that caught my attention and called us to check it out for availability and prices.
It's actually hard to describe our time on the water as I'm not sure words would do it justice. There was one point when we were swimming around at the Canal de Pirates when Lynda and I just looked at one another and said..."Wow! There are no other words!" (yes, there is a place where pirates used to come and sit just out of reach for the cannons from the old Spanish fort in Bacalar but I'll get to more on that location in a minute.)
The view from our hotel balcony is magnificent but being out on this "rainbow of blue" takes magnificent to a whole new level. Here is an overview of the areas we visited by boat this morning.
First stop was the Cenote Negro. We sat atop the place where the shelf of the lake drops down into the cenote. The water is crystal clear and so you can see everything beneath the surface. The depth goes from 2 meters to more than 90 meters instantly so the colour changes from azure to black - hence the name Negro.
It's kind of hard to explain how there are multiple cenotes in this one lake but...there are and you can see where the water coming into one cenote bumps up against the main part of the lake or another cenote.
Right in front of our hotel is Cenote Esmerelda and it is conical in shape. At it's centre it is so deep that they haven't even got a depth on it (assuming I understood Edwin correctly - LOL) At Esmerelda we were able to see water coming into the cenote at its surface. It is coming from an underground source but because the land slopes up from the waters edge you can see it's entry point. Edwin says that the original source is believed to be in the mountains but I am thinking...who really knows since it is being fed from underground and those underground rivers could be fed from some ancient source deep within the earth. Regardless, I'll say it again....this place is the stuff dreams are made of! In face, Edwin who is 20, moved here from Cancun where his family all still live. He came here for the quality of life...smart boy!
Another stop on our tour was a little island that is home to a plethora of birds. Supposedly the pink flamingos also nest here but we didn't see any of them today. Lots of other very large birds though. My guess is that they might have been some kind of heron.
Our favourite stop on the tour was the Canal de Pirates though and as there was just the two of us on the boat we were able to spend extra time there. Edwin ran the boat aground on the sand bars that border the canal. The sand is like powder and pure white. Edwin showed us where there was special sand for exfoliating your skin so we dove right into that task. We waded through the shallow water and reached down to take sand off the bottom of the canal. This special sand is not as white as the rest of it and it doesn't smell very good either! It is filled with sulphur. We asked Edwin how they ever figured out that the sand in this spot was different and he said it is because if you look at the exposed edges the sand on this side is darker and has a tinge of red whereas the sand everywhere else is pure white. He is absolutely right...it is....but I'm still amazed that someone figured this out! Until you pull the sand up off the bottom and start rubbing it on your body there is no smell at all.
Once we had finished our exfoliation we wandered back out to the deeper water to rinse off. No matter how deep we went the water was just as crystalline as it had been in the shallows. In fact, when I was neck deep in water I could still see that the remnants of the polish from my pedicure in Zanzibar so clearly that it was a reminder of just how much I need to spend some time on my toes!
We floated and swam and peered through masks to see the tiny fish that call this place home. We waded and exfoliated and washed and dreamt of ways to make this last forever. We knew without question that neither of us will ever forget the perfection of this place...it truly is the stuff dreams are made of...you know that perfect postcard you've seen or that image you've conjured up for your meditation or in a romance novel...yep...that one...well we were there today and we LOVED it!!!
After we left the Canal de Pirates we toured along the edge of the lake back to our end destination and along the way Edwin pointed out another cute little hotel where there were hammocks under a palapa down at the waters edge. It is called Casa de Corazon (house of the heart) and we knew we needed to go there to check it out as we're pretty sure we're going to be here for at least two more nights that originally planned. Easy to see how someone might come here and forget to leave!
We stopped in at the Casa de Corazon and although we were tempted... the room there was much smaller than the one we're in and the bathroom much too tiny for the giants that we are so we decided to stay where we are instead.
So...it's back to the hotel and the pool where a lounge chair and my book are calling.
Hasta luego.....
Had the pool and adjacent loungers all to ourselves this afternoon...kind of feeling like this is our own private oasis so....we booked ourselves in for a fourth night which means we will stay in Bacalar until the 25th.
Decided we'd better spend some time strategizing on just where we will stay for our final nights in the Yucatan as we don't want to find ourselves too far from the airport on that final day! So....we're booked into a hotel in Cancun on the 31st and will use that day to visit Isle Mujeres and the city before our flight home on the evening of the 1st. We also managed to find a place in Playa del Carmen for the 29th and 30th which will give us an opportunity to check out Cozumel at the same time. We still have our car until the 30th when we return it in Playa and having wheels sure makes it easy to do some exploring! Spent some time online tonight trying to find a place in Tulum for 4 nights (25-29) but...no luck just yet. We're kind of thinking we might just take our chances and go there with the plan that something will "speak" to us when we see it. We don't need anything on the beach but are hoping for a pool. We'll spend a lot of our time in Tulum checking out the neighbouring towns etc so...don't need to pay the big bucks to be right on the beach!
It will be what it is though so we're not gonna sweat it too much. We've got two more nights here which means all day tomorrow will be a poolside kinda day as I think we've about explored all there is to explore in the little town of Bacalar. When we head out on the 25th we'll go with the intention of having our lucky streak continue and trust that we'll stumble upon a perfect spot somewhere between here and Playa where we need to be on the 29th. It's kind of hard to think in terms of having to be anywhere as we've been free-wheeling it for so long now! But...the time is drawing near...so need to begin to shift back in the direction of structure. LOL!
Till next time,
L & L
photos are of:
- Lynda and I covered in the exfoliating sand at the Canal de Pirates beside our boat (and holding the P3 cuz it's been travelling around the world with us these past few months)
our hotel...our balcony is the one past the umbrella that is closed.
a look across the water (from the boat) at our hotel (the white one).
the front of Casa de la Corazon from the boat...the view that caught my attention and called us to check it out for availability and prices.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
March 22, 2015
Sitting here this afternoon on our little balcony looking out over the amazing lagoon that makes Bacalar such a special place...I'm feeling pretty lucky! Lynda just left to go down to a lower level (nearer the water's edge) where there are some lounge chairs and one of them will be calling me momentarily but until then...here is a quick update of what we've managed to accomplish already today.
But before I get to today...I should tell you that last night we went out in search of the Reggae/Rock concert but to no avail. The best we could find was some rather sketchy Pirate Cave place that definitely didn't look like it was appropriate for two grandma's from Canada! So....we resigned ourselves to the fact that it was not meant to be and headed back to our hotel. Our luck held out though and at 11:00 on the dot...the show began right across the water from where we're sitting on our balcony and so we had front row seats without having to go out at all! There was a light show in the sky and the music carried across the water just fine. Yep...lucky again!
This morning we were wakened by what sounded like a torrential downpour BUT...there was not a drop of rain anywhere. What we were hearing was the sound of the pool being refilled. I guess last night was the designated night to drain and clean the pool and so this morning the filling began. At first we were upset as we were looking forward to a day of lounging at poolside but it only took a minute for us to realize that this might be a gift in disguise.
We had an early breakfast of cornflakes and banana (thanks to the little fridge in our room and our stop at Super Willy''s Grocery store yesterday) and we were ready to roll.
Today is Sunday and so the perfect day to visit Chetumal (pronounced Chaktemal). Chetumal is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and as it was destroyed for the third and most recent time in 1955 there are no signs of the old colonial buildings that are so common in all the other cities we've visited. When Chetumal was rebuilt after Hurricane Janet in 1955, they constructed the buildings with concrete and materials that would be able to withstand the weather common to this region. It looks like they put a lot of forethought into re-building the city too as there are many public areas along the water and a really lovely malecon (walkway along the water) that goes forever!
We got to explore Chetumal without the busy'ness of weekday traffic and since there are very few tourists in this city...we felt like we had the place to ourselves! From the malecon you look out over the bay and see Belize just across the water. In fact there was a small group of people (about 6) waiting for the fast boat that would take them across the water and into Belize.
Both the malecon and the city are dotted with statues and art pieces that complement the region. From one at the entrance to the city that depicts the Mayan architecture to the fisherman pulling in his net that is set out at the water's edge they were all beautiful. The one that really spoke to us though was the monument that was erected in memory of Hurricane Janet. It is placed in a very large vacant square that is near one of the government buildings. The vastness of the square may lend to the stature of the monument as it is HUGE and POWERFUL in it's impact. We walked around it several times to be able to see all the intricacies that show up with each successive pass. From the soldier pulling someone out of the muddy waters to the sacrificial child Janet is holding and the broken ships to the hands reaching out from under the water it is a moving piece of art.
We even found a drive through Italian Coffee place in Chetumal so....you can see....it was quite a change from the Mexico we've been spending so much time in and yet it was all still very much Mexico and Mexican unlike the cities further north along this coast.
On our way to Chetumal this morning we'd stopped at the side of the highway to purchase some pan de coco (coconut bread) that turned out to be delicious. It was kind of a pastry turnover with coconut inside of it and that held us over until this afternoon on our way home from Chetumal. We were pulling off the highway every time there was another little town just so we could see some of them and to check out their beaches. Speaking of which...there aren't any beaches here that we've seen. I'm sure there are some beautiful little white sand pocket beaches around the lagoon but for the most part it is just the waters edge right up to the land. People either have docks out into the water or enter the water by going from the grass/dirt/rocks/trees into the water. It is much like Okanagan lake in that regard...this water is just a VERY different colour!
Anyway...back to our trip home, one of the little places we pulled into was called Laguna Milagros and there we stumbled upon the Restaurante Brisas del Caribe where we were seated in what appeared to be the best seats in the house. It was an outdoor restaurant and our table was on a platform over the water under a palapa. It was indescribably beautiful! There was music playing in the background and children playing in the water. It looked like the perfect place to have lunch. On the menu they had camarones (shrimp) and so we decided to give it a go and are we glad we did! Lynda had a shrimp cocktail (medium size) and she couldn't finish it there were so many jumbo shrimp in there. I had rice and shrimp cooked with a little tomato and onion and it was amazing! I was able to barely finish my shrimp but that was it for me. We could easily have shared either of those dishes and it would have been more than enough! No matter though...the two huge meals, a michelada (beer with stuff added) for Lynda and a lemonade for me (remember I'm driving) and our bill was still just under $25 CAD! I laugh when I write that I didn't have a drink as I am driving as you can drive up to roadside michelada shops along the highway to get one to go for the road!
Our lunch was perfect but there is a little more to the story of our time in Laguna Milagros too. I parked the car right in front of the restaurant on the grass and there was a little pick up with two young men standing beside the box of the truck right beside us on the passenger side. Friendly Lynda had struck up a conversation with them by the time I got the car parked. She'd noticed that they had four cardboard boxes in the back of their truck that are standard for transporting fighting cocks so she asked the boys if that's what they had in there and without pausing for a second one of the young men had a box open and a rooster in hand so he could show it to her. He was so proud of it. As it turns out the boys had traveled from Palenque, Chiapas and were en route to Cancun where their roosters would be fighting later this afternoon and into the evening. They were confident that all four of theirs would be champions. We wished them luck and gave them the two pan de coco we had leftover from this morning. I hope their roosters do well...that is a very long way to travel to have your rooster die but they have a 50-50 chance that is exactly what will happen!
So...that is what's happened so far today and now that lounge chair truly is calling me so...hasta luego amigos.....
Back at my new favourite place to type this blog....sitting at the little table on our balcony. Just returned from dinner (in our hotel again) where we were one of two tables in the place. We sat outside with the breeze blowing and the stars shining overhead. It is so lovely here - feels just like a vacation. LOL - oh ya...we've arrived at the place in our travels where we've stopped travelling so much and now we're just on a vacation. In fact, just today we realized that we have the same number of days left in our trip as most people have for their entire vacation!
It is so laid back here that it was perfectly okay for us to go down for dinner in our "just out of the shower" attire (I'll leave it to your imagination to come up with just what that is...but I will tell you it is more than a towel!), with wet hair, and flip flops.
This afternoon was spent lounging between sun and shade with the odd dip in the pool thrown in. Made some more headway on our current novels while the warm breezes and the sunshine did their job with the clean laundry that was hanging on our little balcony. (yep...got some laundry done today too) Speaking of pool time...we were surprised to discover that the new pool water was plenty warm. It appears that they pump it right out of the crystal clear cenote that is at the heart of our view. This morning we were disappointed that they were cleaning the pool but tonight we're thankful as we had a great trip and now there is brand new water just for us to swim in.
Tonight after dinner we made arrangements with a friend of our server. He has a boat and at 9:00 tomorrow morning we will meet Giovanni at the Casa del Tortugas to head out on our private two hour tour. Looking out over the water here, there is no doubt at all that we are in for a treat!
Till tomorrow....
L & L
But before I get to today...I should tell you that last night we went out in search of the Reggae/Rock concert but to no avail. The best we could find was some rather sketchy Pirate Cave place that definitely didn't look like it was appropriate for two grandma's from Canada! So....we resigned ourselves to the fact that it was not meant to be and headed back to our hotel. Our luck held out though and at 11:00 on the dot...the show began right across the water from where we're sitting on our balcony and so we had front row seats without having to go out at all! There was a light show in the sky and the music carried across the water just fine. Yep...lucky again!
This morning we were wakened by what sounded like a torrential downpour BUT...there was not a drop of rain anywhere. What we were hearing was the sound of the pool being refilled. I guess last night was the designated night to drain and clean the pool and so this morning the filling began. At first we were upset as we were looking forward to a day of lounging at poolside but it only took a minute for us to realize that this might be a gift in disguise.
We had an early breakfast of cornflakes and banana (thanks to the little fridge in our room and our stop at Super Willy''s Grocery store yesterday) and we were ready to roll.
Today is Sunday and so the perfect day to visit Chetumal (pronounced Chaktemal). Chetumal is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and as it was destroyed for the third and most recent time in 1955 there are no signs of the old colonial buildings that are so common in all the other cities we've visited. When Chetumal was rebuilt after Hurricane Janet in 1955, they constructed the buildings with concrete and materials that would be able to withstand the weather common to this region. It looks like they put a lot of forethought into re-building the city too as there are many public areas along the water and a really lovely malecon (walkway along the water) that goes forever!
We got to explore Chetumal without the busy'ness of weekday traffic and since there are very few tourists in this city...we felt like we had the place to ourselves! From the malecon you look out over the bay and see Belize just across the water. In fact there was a small group of people (about 6) waiting for the fast boat that would take them across the water and into Belize.
Both the malecon and the city are dotted with statues and art pieces that complement the region. From one at the entrance to the city that depicts the Mayan architecture to the fisherman pulling in his net that is set out at the water's edge they were all beautiful. The one that really spoke to us though was the monument that was erected in memory of Hurricane Janet. It is placed in a very large vacant square that is near one of the government buildings. The vastness of the square may lend to the stature of the monument as it is HUGE and POWERFUL in it's impact. We walked around it several times to be able to see all the intricacies that show up with each successive pass. From the soldier pulling someone out of the muddy waters to the sacrificial child Janet is holding and the broken ships to the hands reaching out from under the water it is a moving piece of art.
We even found a drive through Italian Coffee place in Chetumal so....you can see....it was quite a change from the Mexico we've been spending so much time in and yet it was all still very much Mexico and Mexican unlike the cities further north along this coast.
On our way to Chetumal this morning we'd stopped at the side of the highway to purchase some pan de coco (coconut bread) that turned out to be delicious. It was kind of a pastry turnover with coconut inside of it and that held us over until this afternoon on our way home from Chetumal. We were pulling off the highway every time there was another little town just so we could see some of them and to check out their beaches. Speaking of which...there aren't any beaches here that we've seen. I'm sure there are some beautiful little white sand pocket beaches around the lagoon but for the most part it is just the waters edge right up to the land. People either have docks out into the water or enter the water by going from the grass/dirt/rocks/trees into the water. It is much like Okanagan lake in that regard...this water is just a VERY different colour!
Anyway...back to our trip home, one of the little places we pulled into was called Laguna Milagros and there we stumbled upon the Restaurante Brisas del Caribe where we were seated in what appeared to be the best seats in the house. It was an outdoor restaurant and our table was on a platform over the water under a palapa. It was indescribably beautiful! There was music playing in the background and children playing in the water. It looked like the perfect place to have lunch. On the menu they had camarones (shrimp) and so we decided to give it a go and are we glad we did! Lynda had a shrimp cocktail (medium size) and she couldn't finish it there were so many jumbo shrimp in there. I had rice and shrimp cooked with a little tomato and onion and it was amazing! I was able to barely finish my shrimp but that was it for me. We could easily have shared either of those dishes and it would have been more than enough! No matter though...the two huge meals, a michelada (beer with stuff added) for Lynda and a lemonade for me (remember I'm driving) and our bill was still just under $25 CAD! I laugh when I write that I didn't have a drink as I am driving as you can drive up to roadside michelada shops along the highway to get one to go for the road!
Our lunch was perfect but there is a little more to the story of our time in Laguna Milagros too. I parked the car right in front of the restaurant on the grass and there was a little pick up with two young men standing beside the box of the truck right beside us on the passenger side. Friendly Lynda had struck up a conversation with them by the time I got the car parked. She'd noticed that they had four cardboard boxes in the back of their truck that are standard for transporting fighting cocks so she asked the boys if that's what they had in there and without pausing for a second one of the young men had a box open and a rooster in hand so he could show it to her. He was so proud of it. As it turns out the boys had traveled from Palenque, Chiapas and were en route to Cancun where their roosters would be fighting later this afternoon and into the evening. They were confident that all four of theirs would be champions. We wished them luck and gave them the two pan de coco we had leftover from this morning. I hope their roosters do well...that is a very long way to travel to have your rooster die but they have a 50-50 chance that is exactly what will happen!
So...that is what's happened so far today and now that lounge chair truly is calling me so...hasta luego amigos.....
Back at my new favourite place to type this blog....sitting at the little table on our balcony. Just returned from dinner (in our hotel again) where we were one of two tables in the place. We sat outside with the breeze blowing and the stars shining overhead. It is so lovely here - feels just like a vacation. LOL - oh ya...we've arrived at the place in our travels where we've stopped travelling so much and now we're just on a vacation. In fact, just today we realized that we have the same number of days left in our trip as most people have for their entire vacation!
It is so laid back here that it was perfectly okay for us to go down for dinner in our "just out of the shower" attire (I'll leave it to your imagination to come up with just what that is...but I will tell you it is more than a towel!), with wet hair, and flip flops.
This afternoon was spent lounging between sun and shade with the odd dip in the pool thrown in. Made some more headway on our current novels while the warm breezes and the sunshine did their job with the clean laundry that was hanging on our little balcony. (yep...got some laundry done today too) Speaking of pool time...we were surprised to discover that the new pool water was plenty warm. It appears that they pump it right out of the crystal clear cenote that is at the heart of our view. This morning we were disappointed that they were cleaning the pool but tonight we're thankful as we had a great trip and now there is brand new water just for us to swim in.
Tonight after dinner we made arrangements with a friend of our server. He has a boat and at 9:00 tomorrow morning we will meet Giovanni at the Casa del Tortugas to head out on our private two hour tour. Looking out over the water here, there is no doubt at all that we are in for a treat!
Till tomorrow....
L & L
Saturday, March 21, 2015
March 21, 2015
Happy spring solstice!
While I wish I could say that our concerns about our room were unnecessary and unfair...the truth is that as we bid farewell to our Nescafe scented room in Felipe we can hardly wait to get on the road again. In fact, this is the earliest we've been up in months! We were showered and out the door by 8:00 - about two hours earlier than what has become our standard norm. While my night was spent tossing and turning it doesn't compare to Lynda's at all. When she tried to roll over at about 5 this morning and found she couldn't as she was stuck to the bed...I'm thinking she would have had a moment of panic. The reason she was stuck to her bed was that she had tossed and turned so much that her bottom sheet had completely untucked (they hardly ever have fitted sheets here) and she was laying right on the plastic mattress cover. I guess it is good that there was a mattress cover but...once the lights were on you could see that there were more tears in the plastic than there was plastic left to cover the padding. It was really disgusting and she may have nightmares about it for years to come! I know I would! We figure that she must have been on a new mattress so that was why it had that cover on it. (at least that is what we're going to say so she feels a little bit better about what she was sleeping on. LOL!!
There was no exterior window in our room (which is part of the reason that it smelled so bad I'm sure) and so we just kept checking our watches all night long until it was late enough that we could get up and leave without it still being dark. So...at 8:00 we were off but to get outside the hotel we had to use Lynda's headlamp to find our way out of the hotel! We were down a hallway at the back of the building which was good in one way as it had been very quiet all night and in comparison to the roosters and ADO announcements we'd become used to in Valladolid..this was actually kind of a treat. But....to have to use a flashlight to find your way out of your hotel...now that's taking it a little too far. Once outside the hotel, we were welcomed by a bright sunny morning and the "welcome" went far beyond that too! Where we thought we could just make a quick get-away...we discovered that the police had the block we were parked in (in front of the hotel) all blocked off. It seems there was a celebration underway and so...given that we were "hostages" we walked to the end of the block where the police band was just finishing up and the chief was preparing to do an inspection of the ranks. The police were all lined up (except for the guy who was at the other end of the street blocking our escape route out of town!) and it appeared that everyone passed inspection as it wasn't too long before they broke ranks and traffic was allowed to move again. When we asked the reason for these formalities we learned it was in honour of the spring solstice...go figure!
Once we were "free to go" (ie: the roadblocks were removed) we headed south again with a plan to make our way to Bacalar (just north of Chetumal and the border to Belize) The drive south was uneventful and we enjoyed a breakfast of cookies that we'd purchased the night before while we were walking around Felipe. We arrived in Bacalar just after 10 a.m. and knew right away that this night would be better than the last one.
To that end...here I sit on our private balcony looking out over the Bacalar Lagoon, a fresh water lagoon (cenote or lake), that is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is a dozen shades of blue and the breeze is blowing in off the water so there will be no need for AC in the room tonight. There are louvered and screened windows that open so it will be like sleeping outside. Sigh....yep....this feels like the good thing that comes to those who wait (and last night we were waiting!)
Our room has a little fridge so we've stocked up with some cereal and milk, bananas, a few cookies and some chips..... and of course we have set up a little bar that is home to a bottle of tequila and some squirt too. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon laying by the pool that also affords a view of the magnificent lagoon (that we may go swim in tomorrow but the pool is just so darn handy as it is very close to our room). Tonight we are planning to join in the festivities at the other end of town (thank heavens we have a car!). They are celebrating the spring solstice and the event that is calling us starts at 11 pm tonight. It is a reggae/rock concert in a park and I'm thinking that although it may be a little blue with the smoke that will be hanging in the air...it's going to be a fun show to see!
Bacalar is just as we had hoped...there are very few tourists and those who are here are more local or more typical of 'off the beaten path' type places. We are booked in here for three nights and based on this afternoon...that might turn into 4 or maybe even 5. We also lucked out here as Lynda was able to negotiate a really good rate for us at the Hotel Laguna Bacalar. It was supposed to be $1040 pesos but in the end we got it for $850/night. That works out to be $70 CAD/night or $35/each folks! (insert smiley faces here!!)
We've already had one tequila and fresh pineapple juice (which we bought off a guy pedalling his bike with a barrel of aqua de pina on the front of it) and are just finishing off a tequila and squirt. We could afford to "splurge a little on our room here as we're saving so much on our beverages! Our bottle of tequila cost $150 pesos ($12.50 CAD) and no it's not rot gut...it is El Jimador Reposado so while it's not top of the line....you don't need top of the line when you're mixing it with squirt! LOL!
Better wrap this up as it will soon be time to go for dinner....hmmmmm.....I'm thinking camarones (shrimp) as we sit here on the edge of the mar (sea).
till next time,
L & L
p.s.
here is snap of our view taken from inside our room in Bacalar.
While I wish I could say that our concerns about our room were unnecessary and unfair...the truth is that as we bid farewell to our Nescafe scented room in Felipe we can hardly wait to get on the road again. In fact, this is the earliest we've been up in months! We were showered and out the door by 8:00 - about two hours earlier than what has become our standard norm. While my night was spent tossing and turning it doesn't compare to Lynda's at all. When she tried to roll over at about 5 this morning and found she couldn't as she was stuck to the bed...I'm thinking she would have had a moment of panic. The reason she was stuck to her bed was that she had tossed and turned so much that her bottom sheet had completely untucked (they hardly ever have fitted sheets here) and she was laying right on the plastic mattress cover. I guess it is good that there was a mattress cover but...once the lights were on you could see that there were more tears in the plastic than there was plastic left to cover the padding. It was really disgusting and she may have nightmares about it for years to come! I know I would! We figure that she must have been on a new mattress so that was why it had that cover on it. (at least that is what we're going to say so she feels a little bit better about what she was sleeping on. LOL!!
There was no exterior window in our room (which is part of the reason that it smelled so bad I'm sure) and so we just kept checking our watches all night long until it was late enough that we could get up and leave without it still being dark. So...at 8:00 we were off but to get outside the hotel we had to use Lynda's headlamp to find our way out of the hotel! We were down a hallway at the back of the building which was good in one way as it had been very quiet all night and in comparison to the roosters and ADO announcements we'd become used to in Valladolid..this was actually kind of a treat. But....to have to use a flashlight to find your way out of your hotel...now that's taking it a little too far. Once outside the hotel, we were welcomed by a bright sunny morning and the "welcome" went far beyond that too! Where we thought we could just make a quick get-away...we discovered that the police had the block we were parked in (in front of the hotel) all blocked off. It seems there was a celebration underway and so...given that we were "hostages" we walked to the end of the block where the police band was just finishing up and the chief was preparing to do an inspection of the ranks. The police were all lined up (except for the guy who was at the other end of the street blocking our escape route out of town!) and it appeared that everyone passed inspection as it wasn't too long before they broke ranks and traffic was allowed to move again. When we asked the reason for these formalities we learned it was in honour of the spring solstice...go figure!
Once we were "free to go" (ie: the roadblocks were removed) we headed south again with a plan to make our way to Bacalar (just north of Chetumal and the border to Belize) The drive south was uneventful and we enjoyed a breakfast of cookies that we'd purchased the night before while we were walking around Felipe. We arrived in Bacalar just after 10 a.m. and knew right away that this night would be better than the last one.
To that end...here I sit on our private balcony looking out over the Bacalar Lagoon, a fresh water lagoon (cenote or lake), that is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is a dozen shades of blue and the breeze is blowing in off the water so there will be no need for AC in the room tonight. There are louvered and screened windows that open so it will be like sleeping outside. Sigh....yep....this feels like the good thing that comes to those who wait (and last night we were waiting!)
Our room has a little fridge so we've stocked up with some cereal and milk, bananas, a few cookies and some chips..... and of course we have set up a little bar that is home to a bottle of tequila and some squirt too. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon laying by the pool that also affords a view of the magnificent lagoon (that we may go swim in tomorrow but the pool is just so darn handy as it is very close to our room). Tonight we are planning to join in the festivities at the other end of town (thank heavens we have a car!). They are celebrating the spring solstice and the event that is calling us starts at 11 pm tonight. It is a reggae/rock concert in a park and I'm thinking that although it may be a little blue with the smoke that will be hanging in the air...it's going to be a fun show to see!
Bacalar is just as we had hoped...there are very few tourists and those who are here are more local or more typical of 'off the beaten path' type places. We are booked in here for three nights and based on this afternoon...that might turn into 4 or maybe even 5. We also lucked out here as Lynda was able to negotiate a really good rate for us at the Hotel Laguna Bacalar. It was supposed to be $1040 pesos but in the end we got it for $850/night. That works out to be $70 CAD/night or $35/each folks! (insert smiley faces here!!)
We've already had one tequila and fresh pineapple juice (which we bought off a guy pedalling his bike with a barrel of aqua de pina on the front of it) and are just finishing off a tequila and squirt. We could afford to "splurge a little on our room here as we're saving so much on our beverages! Our bottle of tequila cost $150 pesos ($12.50 CAD) and no it's not rot gut...it is El Jimador Reposado so while it's not top of the line....you don't need top of the line when you're mixing it with squirt! LOL!
Better wrap this up as it will soon be time to go for dinner....hmmmmm.....I'm thinking camarones (shrimp) as we sit here on the edge of the mar (sea).
till next time,
L & L
p.s.
here is snap of our view taken from inside our room in Bacalar.
Friday, March 20, 2015
March 20, 2015
"The Giants are coming, the Giants are coming!" Was all we heard as we were pulled into a tiny taqueria this morning for breakfast. In no time at all the owner/chef had his grandson stack two chairs for each of us...just for safety sake...LOL...we are Giants after all! We did our best to get away but it was like a scene straight out of Gulliver's Travels and we were captured. A complimentary taco was shoved into each of our hands as we were pulled toward the waiting stack of chairs. By this point we had considered our options and resigned ourselves to the fact that this mornings breakfast was going to consist of meat. On the upside it is really good meat. 😊 We each ordered a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice and a torta (sandwich) of the stuff (the meat is pork that has been slow cooked underground in banana leaves and is really very delicious) and gave in to the fact that we were now prisoners.
Our sandwiches and juice really were a good choice for our final breakfast in Valladolid and our memory of the little man pulling us into his taqueria while his grandson stacked chairs will be a memory that we will cherish.
The story doesn't really end there though....the whole time we were in the shop eating our torta the tiny man couldn't stop talking to Lynda. I'd say he was smitten with her...every minute or two he would come back from his station at the counter were he was putting the tacos and tortas together to tell Lynda yet again that this was the only place to get this food. Restaurants don't have it, you can't get it anywhere else...it is purely Yucatecan cuisine and his is the best! And it was very good and it was so cool to see how proud he was of it. The funniest part though is that whenever he would come to give Lynda his spiel he would come right up to her and talk right in her ear. (Remember she is sitting on a double chair and he is standing and hardly has to bend at all to get his mouth to her ear!) she could be in the middle of a bite or drinking from her bottle...he didn't care...he would just come right in for another quick bit of info.
As I resume typing into this blogpost a lot has changed! We caught our bus out of Valladolid at 10:00 and discovered that although we were on a direct bus, our bus route wasn't direct. It took us all the way down to Tulum and then turned north toward Playa del Carmen. We arrived in Playa at about 12:45 and once there we were faced with the dramatic change that our adventure will take us on now that we are in the more popular tourist destinations.
We stopped in at a couple of car rental agencies and once we had prices from them took a cab to the ferry with a mind to heading over to Cozumel for a day or two. En route to the ferry our taxi driver told us that as of the 27th everywhere here will be unbelievably busy as that is the first day of a two week vacation that most of (and perhaps all) Mexico celebrates.
As soon as we heard that our feet started to feel a little frosty (ie: we got cold feet) and found ourselves in the unfamiliar position of having to make a decision about what to do next with time lines attached to that decision. In the end...we just stood there at the ferry dock and decided to flip a coin and let fate decide our fate. The coin decided that we would taxi back to the car rental office and get out of town as quick as we could.
So....by 4:00 pm we were back at the same place we'd been at 11:30 that morning. In Tulum having a very late lunch. As we still had a couple of hours of daylight we decided to continue as far as Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
The trip south was on a great highway and the signage is fantastic. At one point we had to pass through a police check and as we approached the zone, Lynda whispered...."don't look them in the eyes". I had to hold myself in check from not bursting into laughter and causing them to think something was going on. I managed to do it and whispered back to her, "but where should I look?" She whispered back, "anywhere but at them" and so I just looked straight ahead at the road in front of me as I saw them wave us through with my peripheral vision. Once past the checkpoint we both burst into laughter as we heaved a sigh of relief. I'm sure nothing would come of it if we were stopped but regardless of whether you're in Canada or Mexico, it is just so much easier when you're not.
Once in Felipe we weren't so sure that was a good idea but....we were here by then and so had to make the best of it. We won't drive after dark and so there is no way that we could make it all the way to Chetumal in daylight so....finding a hotel was the next order of business. We drove around for a bit and located the best looking one. Lynda checked it out and the price was right (450 pesos) so we settled in.
When I say settled in I should tell you that includes opening a jar of instant coffee in an attempt to perfume the air with something other than mildew. It also entails checking beds (which appear to be fine) and then settling in with the first english TV we've seen in months!
Once we'd resigned ourselves to our new accommodation we set out in search of some extra water, a bite for dinner, and a little bit of hope that we might stumble upon another part of town that actually had something of interest to offer during our short stay.
We can tell you that Felipe played a major role in the Revolution but that is about it. We did find a wonderful little tacqueria where they had pastor on the menu so that was our dinner stop. It was obvious that it is the most popular spot in town as the place was packed. I guess I should add that Lynda and I are the only caucasians in the city so we really stand out in the crowd. Add to that the fact that we are giants in this land of tiny people and we REALLY stand out! Needless to say we drew plenty of stares as we walked along the streets but interestingly when you make eye contact many of the locals are quite shy. The ones that we spoke to were very friendly though and so the one good thing I can say about Felipe is that they have great pastor and nice people.
It's almost 9 pm and my book is calling me so I'll sign off for now.
till next time,
L & L
Our sandwiches and juice really were a good choice for our final breakfast in Valladolid and our memory of the little man pulling us into his taqueria while his grandson stacked chairs will be a memory that we will cherish.
The story doesn't really end there though....the whole time we were in the shop eating our torta the tiny man couldn't stop talking to Lynda. I'd say he was smitten with her...every minute or two he would come back from his station at the counter were he was putting the tacos and tortas together to tell Lynda yet again that this was the only place to get this food. Restaurants don't have it, you can't get it anywhere else...it is purely Yucatecan cuisine and his is the best! And it was very good and it was so cool to see how proud he was of it. The funniest part though is that whenever he would come to give Lynda his spiel he would come right up to her and talk right in her ear. (Remember she is sitting on a double chair and he is standing and hardly has to bend at all to get his mouth to her ear!) she could be in the middle of a bite or drinking from her bottle...he didn't care...he would just come right in for another quick bit of info.
As I resume typing into this blogpost a lot has changed! We caught our bus out of Valladolid at 10:00 and discovered that although we were on a direct bus, our bus route wasn't direct. It took us all the way down to Tulum and then turned north toward Playa del Carmen. We arrived in Playa at about 12:45 and once there we were faced with the dramatic change that our adventure will take us on now that we are in the more popular tourist destinations.
We stopped in at a couple of car rental agencies and once we had prices from them took a cab to the ferry with a mind to heading over to Cozumel for a day or two. En route to the ferry our taxi driver told us that as of the 27th everywhere here will be unbelievably busy as that is the first day of a two week vacation that most of (and perhaps all) Mexico celebrates.
As soon as we heard that our feet started to feel a little frosty (ie: we got cold feet) and found ourselves in the unfamiliar position of having to make a decision about what to do next with time lines attached to that decision. In the end...we just stood there at the ferry dock and decided to flip a coin and let fate decide our fate. The coin decided that we would taxi back to the car rental office and get out of town as quick as we could.
So....by 4:00 pm we were back at the same place we'd been at 11:30 that morning. In Tulum having a very late lunch. As we still had a couple of hours of daylight we decided to continue as far as Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
The trip south was on a great highway and the signage is fantastic. At one point we had to pass through a police check and as we approached the zone, Lynda whispered...."don't look them in the eyes". I had to hold myself in check from not bursting into laughter and causing them to think something was going on. I managed to do it and whispered back to her, "but where should I look?" She whispered back, "anywhere but at them" and so I just looked straight ahead at the road in front of me as I saw them wave us through with my peripheral vision. Once past the checkpoint we both burst into laughter as we heaved a sigh of relief. I'm sure nothing would come of it if we were stopped but regardless of whether you're in Canada or Mexico, it is just so much easier when you're not.
Once in Felipe we weren't so sure that was a good idea but....we were here by then and so had to make the best of it. We won't drive after dark and so there is no way that we could make it all the way to Chetumal in daylight so....finding a hotel was the next order of business. We drove around for a bit and located the best looking one. Lynda checked it out and the price was right (450 pesos) so we settled in.
When I say settled in I should tell you that includes opening a jar of instant coffee in an attempt to perfume the air with something other than mildew. It also entails checking beds (which appear to be fine) and then settling in with the first english TV we've seen in months!
Once we'd resigned ourselves to our new accommodation we set out in search of some extra water, a bite for dinner, and a little bit of hope that we might stumble upon another part of town that actually had something of interest to offer during our short stay.
We can tell you that Felipe played a major role in the Revolution but that is about it. We did find a wonderful little tacqueria where they had pastor on the menu so that was our dinner stop. It was obvious that it is the most popular spot in town as the place was packed. I guess I should add that Lynda and I are the only caucasians in the city so we really stand out in the crowd. Add to that the fact that we are giants in this land of tiny people and we REALLY stand out! Needless to say we drew plenty of stares as we walked along the streets but interestingly when you make eye contact many of the locals are quite shy. The ones that we spoke to were very friendly though and so the one good thing I can say about Felipe is that they have great pastor and nice people.
It's almost 9 pm and my book is calling me so I'll sign off for now.
till next time,
L & L
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
March 18, 2015
Spent this morning lounging around the zocalo and then visiting the Cultural Centre adjacent to that main square. The Cultural Centre was once city hall and then it became a private residence (what a house that would be to live in!!), and then it evolved to be a middle school and for about the past 30 years it has been home to the library, a few public offices, and 4 very large murals that depict the history of this city. While at the Centre we learned that Valladolid is actually the place where the revolution began and in honour of that fact and those men who led the movement, one day each year (June 4th I think it was) Valladolid is named as the honorary capital of the state and representatives from all three levels of government come here for the day.
After our time in the cultural centre we cabbed it up to the Convent where we paid 30 pesos each for a wrist band that afforded us entry into the building and onto the grounds. The convent is still active and so there are some parts of the buildings that are off limits to visitors. The site dates back to the 1500's when it was home to a monastery but those buildings have been replaced by the convent that they continue to use today.
The grounds were really beautiful and peaceful and it was interesting to wander through the many hallways and peer into alcoves wondering what all these nooks and crannies were intended for. We never did see any of the nuns but Lynda did find the place where you can ring the bells and at one point when I had made a pit stop in the bathroom...and the bells were ringing....I wondered if she had decided to pull on that rope "just a little". She assured me that it wasn't her but....will I ever really know for sure?! LOL
We spent more time that we had planned at the convent and by the time we were walking back home we were once again in the heat of the day so by the time we hit the corner of Calle 46 and Calle 41A we were ready to get out of the sun and get something to drink. Luck was with us and we stumbled across possibly the best coffee we've had since arriving in the Yucatan. Iced latte was the drink of choice for both of us and that revived us enough to make it back to the hotel and into the pool.
We are now almost the only guests in the hotel so have the pool all to ourselves. I guess it is kind of like living in the Cultural Centre might have been....we have a REALLY big house here! We just don't use very many of the rooms. LOL.
After a quick dip to bring the body temperature back down to where it belongs there was time to lay in the shade and finish off another novel. From there it was a night of work for me. (I have clients scheduled for this afternoon/evening and all day tomorrow) Lynda once again accommodated my need for privacy and confidentiality and vacated the hotel room. Tonight she spent some time in the zocalo, visited the cathedral where she enjoyed some music, purchased our bus tickets for the 20th, and picked up some more water for our room. Tomorrow will be a pretty quiet day with me meeting with clients (yeah Facetime!) and Lynda lounging around the pool so....till next time....
L & L
After our time in the cultural centre we cabbed it up to the Convent where we paid 30 pesos each for a wrist band that afforded us entry into the building and onto the grounds. The convent is still active and so there are some parts of the buildings that are off limits to visitors. The site dates back to the 1500's when it was home to a monastery but those buildings have been replaced by the convent that they continue to use today.
The grounds were really beautiful and peaceful and it was interesting to wander through the many hallways and peer into alcoves wondering what all these nooks and crannies were intended for. We never did see any of the nuns but Lynda did find the place where you can ring the bells and at one point when I had made a pit stop in the bathroom...and the bells were ringing....I wondered if she had decided to pull on that rope "just a little". She assured me that it wasn't her but....will I ever really know for sure?! LOL
We spent more time that we had planned at the convent and by the time we were walking back home we were once again in the heat of the day so by the time we hit the corner of Calle 46 and Calle 41A we were ready to get out of the sun and get something to drink. Luck was with us and we stumbled across possibly the best coffee we've had since arriving in the Yucatan. Iced latte was the drink of choice for both of us and that revived us enough to make it back to the hotel and into the pool.
We are now almost the only guests in the hotel so have the pool all to ourselves. I guess it is kind of like living in the Cultural Centre might have been....we have a REALLY big house here! We just don't use very many of the rooms. LOL.
After a quick dip to bring the body temperature back down to where it belongs there was time to lay in the shade and finish off another novel. From there it was a night of work for me. (I have clients scheduled for this afternoon/evening and all day tomorrow) Lynda once again accommodated my need for privacy and confidentiality and vacated the hotel room. Tonight she spent some time in the zocalo, visited the cathedral where she enjoyed some music, purchased our bus tickets for the 20th, and picked up some more water for our room. Tomorrow will be a pretty quiet day with me meeting with clients (yeah Facetime!) and Lynda lounging around the pool so....till next time....
L & L
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
March 17, 2015
Yep...that's a shot of me shooting Lynda while she is shooting a music video! The next pic is of the two of us in the Cenote Zaci where the video was filmed. You can see the band across the water from where we're standing which gives you an idea about the size of this particular cenote. But before I delve too deeply into that little adventure I need to wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day. While we weren't able to find any green beer to drink we did find some tequila that was in a green bottle so we figure that's just as good considering we're in Mexico.
This morning we took our time deciding on where to go for breakfast and eventually made our way to the restaurant that overlooks the Cenote you see in the photo. It is right in the middle of the city, hence the name, Cenote Zaci (remember...Zaci is the Mayan word for Valladolid). After one of the best breakfasts we've had and while sipping on a cup of coffee we both did a double take when a man who looked very much like Johnny Depp walked into the restaurant carrying a piece of a drum set! He had Johnny Depp's hat, his glasses, his beard, his build, a bit of a Jack Sparrow kind of swagger and yikes.....for more than a minute we thought he actually might be! But alas...we may be lucky but maybe not quite THAT lucky! LOL!! Once we saw him without glasses and hat we could see he was not Johnny but....he could probably get a job as a double.
Once we'd finished our coffee we made our way from the restaurant down the many many stairs deep into the Cenote where we watched the band finish setting up for the shoot. Setting up means changing their clothes, (insert happy face here!), lay out the few props they'd brought, and connect all the wires and cords that would feed electricity to the amps, mics and speakers.
I should back up just a little to say that before we started down the stairs we were approached by one of the men in the band. As it turns out he is the lead singer and I need to mention him as there is one part of this story that features him and that I will get to momentarily. He wanted to show us the little carved character he was carrying down into the shoot. It was intended to represent him and was a tan coloured carved devilish looking fellow. The name of the band is Leon Moreno (Tan coloured Lion) and the name of the song is El Diablito. (Little Devil - hence the carved characters)
While the band was setting up Lynda made friends with the Director, Amulio, which is how she ended up being able to check out the angles for the camera work. In conversation we learned that Amulio's family owns property in the Yucatan that is home to 22 Cenotes! Lucky guy!! We are quickly learning that there are a LOT of cenotes here. Amulio also shared that he has spent the past several years working abroad, mainly in Europe and the UK. He told us that the lead singer in the band is from Guadalajara and that the electric guitarist and drummer are from D.F. (Mexico City).
Now back to the story I promised about the lead singer....I'll begin by saying that he is a nice looking guy with an amazing smile and friendly demeanour. He also had a nice butt and I know that cuz I watched him change into his clothes for the shoot. (insert that happy face again) LOL! Anyway...Lynda and I had moved away from where the band was set up and over to the far side of the cenote so we could watch the performance from the same vantage point as the cameras as it was a setting that was breathtaking! The sun was shining into the cenote and the water was clear aquamarine blue. It was so clear you could see the fish swimming deep beneath the surface. The cave that houses the cenote was mesmerizing both in size and in the fact that by being in there you just knew that if those walls could talk they'd be able to tell some AMAZING stories! From our new vantage point we watched that lead singer leave the "main stage" and wander off along the path that we had just taken. It is a path that is carved out of the rock in the cave and that takes you the entire way around the circumference of the cenote to the other side where there is another exit option. As he walked along that path he managed to add even more mystique to this already magical location as he strummed his guitar and sang a ballad that echoed throughout the cave/cenote. His voice was beautiful, the song was beautiful, and the setting was beautiful. Once again....we recognized it as another opportunity to voice just how lucky we are! Once this magical serenade was over it was time for the video shoot. The producer had asked swimmers and others standing in the vicinity of the "stage" to move out of the shot and amazingly...everyone did. We were treated to a great show as the band performed their song, the cameras caught the action, and the Director was happy with the shots.
We climbed back up (stairs stairs stairs...a common theme in the past few months!) and were met with a couple of bus loads of tourists making their way down to see the cenote. Whew! Were we ever glad we got out just in the knick of time! Having all those people in that magical spot would have ruined the memory for us - once again - LUCKY!
Wandering the streets back to our hotel we found ourselves again cooking in the heat of the day so....once back to our room it was off with the soaking wet clothes and to put our feet up for a little siesta. (yep....it's that hot and we sweat that much!) In fact we've had to come back to the room to dry off twice today...I've just told you about the first time and the second was tonight after dinner. This time it had nothing to do with heat or sweat...this was all about the rain. Tonight we were caught in a torrential downpour. The rain was so strong that in simply running across a street my shirt (unfortunately it was a white one) looked like I was wearing nothing but some wet toilet paper! Not a good look and thankfully Lynda had one of her Hakunamata wraps with her so I was able to put that around my shoulders and regain some modicum of respectability.
That rain tonight came down so hard and so fast that within minutes there was more than 6 inches of water in the streets. It simply had no where to go - it was coming down that fast. Crossing the street we were in water that was mid calf at worst. One can only guess what else might have been in that water so as soon as we were back in the room we gave our feet a good scrubbing! We are hoping that our shoes dry out by tomorrow! Thankfully we're both wearing Keens and they're made for going in and out of water so that won't be a problem but putting them back on wet might not feel very good!
Tonight we also took a tequila tour. It was really interesting. Most tequila we buy in Canada comes from blue agave plants that are between 4-5 years old. At that age the root that is 90% above ground and 10% below (or as the Mexican's say...the pina because it looks like a pineapple) weighs between 30-40 kilos. The company who owned the shop we toured (Los Tres Tonos) makes organic tequila and from what I can figure...organic just means that they leave the agave plant till it is 10 years old. At that age the pina weighs between 80-100 kilos! Our guide Caesar did a great job of explaining the process and then in the tasting room he treated us to some of the really good stuff. It is from plants that are 10 years old and then it is aged on top of that. One was 3 years aged and another was 5 years aged...that 5 year old stuff was SMOOTH!! We also got to taste one that is flavoured with almonds (kind of tequila'ish amaretto) and another that is flavoured with Irish Cream so you got to know that I could have polished off that whole bottle!
On that note....I'll say good night and go to sleep with Irish Cream and tequila laced dreams about handsome young men serenading me in magical Mexican caves.
Till next time....
L & L
Monday, March 16, 2015
March 16, 2015
Well the ADO bus station didn't keep us awake but truth be told....there were some roosters who I would gladly "assist" to the stew pot! As strange as that may sound given that we are in the middle of a city...roosters are aplenty in Vallodolid. My guess is that they are fighting cocks as that is a popular sport in Mexico and based on our observations of the fights in Troncones during the fair there....the owners of those birds treat them like kings! I suspect that those crowing 'boys' last night were calling their owners for a fresh pot of water or a little more corn just cuz they can. LOL
Siesta time but I can't seem to settle down. Must be missing the lull of the sound of the waves lapping up on the beach and the gentle swing of my hammock. Sure am enjoying the opportunity to laze in our air-conditioned room though! It is smoking hot out there on the streets again this afternoon!
Spent this morning and early afternoon wandering around the area west of the zocalo and we will be going back to that zone for sure. Loved the little shops and restaurants along one of the streets (calle 41A) that appears to have been revitalized already. From what we saw yesterday (east of the zocalo) they are in the midst of revitalizing that area too.
Valladolid was officially recognized 3 years ago in 2012 and at that time was awarded the nickname "Magic Town". It is easy to see why that was the name given.....it really is a magical little place. In fact, both Lynda and I agreed this morning that of all the cities we've visited in this region this is the only one that we might consider living in if we were to make the move that so many expats have. Most expats gather in Merida and certainly we saw them in every place we've visited but...Valladolid seems to have more culture and authenticity and appears to be very safe and "tranquillo" (tranquil) from everything we've seen.
Shortly before returning to the hotel we stopped into a lovely little outdoor restaurant called Jardin de los Frailes (Friars Garden) on Calle 41A where we not only enjoyed the food and drink but also made a friend in our waiter, Luis. Luis has been here only 3 months having come from Cozumel so he was able to give us a few tips on reasonably priced places to stay once we reach that coast. We're pretty certain reasonably priced places are going to be few and far between once we've hit the Caribbean so any help we can get is much appreciated!
We also spent some time in a quaint little shop that is really just the front room of the owners home. She is a seamstress and it was fun to chat with her as she showed us some of her handiwork. We had a good laugh when Lynda ended up behind her counter helping her to retrieve and rehang things that are simply too high for her to reach. Remember....we are veritable giants in this land of tiny people and she was happy to be able to make use of our incredible height! LOL...it was a fun morning.
Who knows what tonight will bring....till later....
We're back from an evening of new adventures....well nothing too adventurous but we did manage to set up a tequila tour for tomorrow, participate in a chocolate tour tonight, and enjoy an amazing pasta dinner complete with micheladas for Lynda and tequila, kahlua, and milk for me. In fact....there was more than one drink for both of us tonight...hic.... LOL! Nothing too extreme but I will tell you that when Lynda downed her first beer before the waiter had even left our table after serving our drinks the look on his face was PRICELESS! Honestly, I actually laughed aloud...he was totally shocked. He gave her her beer first and then served my drink...that one was a pina colada (and it was delicious!) I then asked him to explain the difference between a couple of different Michelada type beer drinks they had in the menu. By the time he was finished (only about 2 minutes at most) Lynda asked him for another beer but this time a Michelada... and his jaw hit the table. She just laughed and said, "Canadian grandmas", while he returned to the bar in amazement. Yep...thirsty Lynda made quite an impression tonight! After my pina colada I switched it up to my standby Dirty Mother and I have to say....it was yummy! I guess the server must have figured I was a tequila kind of girl as after we were all finished and ready to leave, he brought over a shot glass and a bottle of local reposado that he wanted me to taste. It was very different...a little sweet and quite smoky. I'm guessing that is what our tequila tour will consist of tomorrow too...being able to taste a variety of types of tequila. At some point I really must find a place where I can try the traditional Mayan liquor...supposedly it is made at least in part from anise and I'm thinking that it might be delicious! In fact tonight at the chocolate tour we were able to taste some pure chocolate (local of course) that was flavoured with that Mayan liquor and it was my favourite. But before I move on from the food part of our evening...I must add that tonight I ordered a rotini dish but what I received was penne. I didn't have the heart to tell them that they have their pastas mixed up....or maybe in Mexico rotini is penne and penne is rotini. LOL....either way it was a treat to have some pasta tonight...that is the first time in a long time and we enjoyed it immensely.
Now back to the topic of chocolate...during our tour we learned that it was the Mayan's who first discovered chocolate and the guy who discovered it was named Chocola Te (my spelling might be off here). In Mayan language Chocola translates to one of three words depending on the context it is used in. It is either Hot, or Dirty, or Bitter and Te translates into either Water or Milk. Put it all together and you get a hot drink that is brown in colour and bitter in flavour. Over time that hot chocolate evolved into what we all enjoy today. Needless to say, it was an interesting tour and our guide did a great job of describing the stages from cacao to nut to the treat we eat today. I'm hoping the tequila tour tomorrow is just as informative and as tasty! I'm sure it will be though as the guy who we talked to tonight was full of information he wanted to share.
Tonight we also learned that Villadolid is home to about 60,000 people which explains why it feels to comfortable. It is a perfect size...big enough to have all the amenities but still small enough that it doesn't have the problems that can come with a big city. We also got confirmation that the area east of the zocalo that we explored yesterday afternoon is getting a facelift similar to the one that we wandered today. It is all as a result of that Magic Town designation from 3 years ago...lots of promotion and potential to grow tourism here for sure. On the downside we also learned that one of the casualties of the facelift that began in 2012 is that many of the traditional vendors who used to be visible in the main zocalo area have been moved out to surrounding neighbourhoods. They've been replaced by someone who may hold more appeal for the visitors as the "facelift" is orchestrated. Tomorrow we will visit one of those old vendors as he is known to make the best version of one of the traditional Yucatecan dishes in the entire city. It is pork that is covered in local spices, sour orange, wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked underground for 4-5 hours. As luck would have it, his new location is about 1/2 block from our hotel!
All in all...it's been another great day and based on what we already have on our radar...tomorrow will be more of the same. So...till next time,
L & L
Siesta time but I can't seem to settle down. Must be missing the lull of the sound of the waves lapping up on the beach and the gentle swing of my hammock. Sure am enjoying the opportunity to laze in our air-conditioned room though! It is smoking hot out there on the streets again this afternoon!
Spent this morning and early afternoon wandering around the area west of the zocalo and we will be going back to that zone for sure. Loved the little shops and restaurants along one of the streets (calle 41A) that appears to have been revitalized already. From what we saw yesterday (east of the zocalo) they are in the midst of revitalizing that area too.
Valladolid was officially recognized 3 years ago in 2012 and at that time was awarded the nickname "Magic Town". It is easy to see why that was the name given.....it really is a magical little place. In fact, both Lynda and I agreed this morning that of all the cities we've visited in this region this is the only one that we might consider living in if we were to make the move that so many expats have. Most expats gather in Merida and certainly we saw them in every place we've visited but...Valladolid seems to have more culture and authenticity and appears to be very safe and "tranquillo" (tranquil) from everything we've seen.
Shortly before returning to the hotel we stopped into a lovely little outdoor restaurant called Jardin de los Frailes (Friars Garden) on Calle 41A where we not only enjoyed the food and drink but also made a friend in our waiter, Luis. Luis has been here only 3 months having come from Cozumel so he was able to give us a few tips on reasonably priced places to stay once we reach that coast. We're pretty certain reasonably priced places are going to be few and far between once we've hit the Caribbean so any help we can get is much appreciated!
We also spent some time in a quaint little shop that is really just the front room of the owners home. She is a seamstress and it was fun to chat with her as she showed us some of her handiwork. We had a good laugh when Lynda ended up behind her counter helping her to retrieve and rehang things that are simply too high for her to reach. Remember....we are veritable giants in this land of tiny people and she was happy to be able to make use of our incredible height! LOL...it was a fun morning.
Who knows what tonight will bring....till later....
We're back from an evening of new adventures....well nothing too adventurous but we did manage to set up a tequila tour for tomorrow, participate in a chocolate tour tonight, and enjoy an amazing pasta dinner complete with micheladas for Lynda and tequila, kahlua, and milk for me. In fact....there was more than one drink for both of us tonight...hic.... LOL! Nothing too extreme but I will tell you that when Lynda downed her first beer before the waiter had even left our table after serving our drinks the look on his face was PRICELESS! Honestly, I actually laughed aloud...he was totally shocked. He gave her her beer first and then served my drink...that one was a pina colada (and it was delicious!) I then asked him to explain the difference between a couple of different Michelada type beer drinks they had in the menu. By the time he was finished (only about 2 minutes at most) Lynda asked him for another beer but this time a Michelada... and his jaw hit the table. She just laughed and said, "Canadian grandmas", while he returned to the bar in amazement. Yep...thirsty Lynda made quite an impression tonight! After my pina colada I switched it up to my standby Dirty Mother and I have to say....it was yummy! I guess the server must have figured I was a tequila kind of girl as after we were all finished and ready to leave, he brought over a shot glass and a bottle of local reposado that he wanted me to taste. It was very different...a little sweet and quite smoky. I'm guessing that is what our tequila tour will consist of tomorrow too...being able to taste a variety of types of tequila. At some point I really must find a place where I can try the traditional Mayan liquor...supposedly it is made at least in part from anise and I'm thinking that it might be delicious! In fact tonight at the chocolate tour we were able to taste some pure chocolate (local of course) that was flavoured with that Mayan liquor and it was my favourite. But before I move on from the food part of our evening...I must add that tonight I ordered a rotini dish but what I received was penne. I didn't have the heart to tell them that they have their pastas mixed up....or maybe in Mexico rotini is penne and penne is rotini. LOL....either way it was a treat to have some pasta tonight...that is the first time in a long time and we enjoyed it immensely.
Now back to the topic of chocolate...during our tour we learned that it was the Mayan's who first discovered chocolate and the guy who discovered it was named Chocola Te (my spelling might be off here). In Mayan language Chocola translates to one of three words depending on the context it is used in. It is either Hot, or Dirty, or Bitter and Te translates into either Water or Milk. Put it all together and you get a hot drink that is brown in colour and bitter in flavour. Over time that hot chocolate evolved into what we all enjoy today. Needless to say, it was an interesting tour and our guide did a great job of describing the stages from cacao to nut to the treat we eat today. I'm hoping the tequila tour tomorrow is just as informative and as tasty! I'm sure it will be though as the guy who we talked to tonight was full of information he wanted to share.
Tonight we also learned that Villadolid is home to about 60,000 people which explains why it feels to comfortable. It is a perfect size...big enough to have all the amenities but still small enough that it doesn't have the problems that can come with a big city. We also got confirmation that the area east of the zocalo that we explored yesterday afternoon is getting a facelift similar to the one that we wandered today. It is all as a result of that Magic Town designation from 3 years ago...lots of promotion and potential to grow tourism here for sure. On the downside we also learned that one of the casualties of the facelift that began in 2012 is that many of the traditional vendors who used to be visible in the main zocalo area have been moved out to surrounding neighbourhoods. They've been replaced by someone who may hold more appeal for the visitors as the "facelift" is orchestrated. Tomorrow we will visit one of those old vendors as he is known to make the best version of one of the traditional Yucatecan dishes in the entire city. It is pork that is covered in local spices, sour orange, wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked underground for 4-5 hours. As luck would have it, his new location is about 1/2 block from our hotel!
All in all...it's been another great day and based on what we already have on our radar...tomorrow will be more of the same. So...till next time,
L & L
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