Mexico Day 3

We were up very early as we were to catch a van to go to Chichen Itza.  It was a three hour ride to the site, located in the heart of the Yucatan and the jungle.  Our guide Julio, was fantastic in conveying information about the Maya, the flora and fauna of the jungle and the history of the area.  On the way there we stopped at a coop where we bought cartouches with our intials on them in the Mayan language. We had a tour of the ruins and then were left to our devices for a bit of site seeing. It was very, very hot and dry and the paths were lined with vendors who were rather pushy.  They all were selling these clay whistles that sounded like jaguars. We met up with the group to eat lunch at a restaurant on the grounds.  There were men and women who danced with beer and trays on their heads.  Maisie seemed to really get a kick out of this.  Again, like everywhere in Mexico the restaurant was open air and surrounded by exotic birds and lizards.

Once back on the van we made a stop at a cenote, which is a water-filled cave where the roof has collapse.  The one we stopped in was 15 meters deep except where the roof had fallen in the middle so we did not go in because Maisie does not know how to swim yet.  We sat on the edge and had guppies nibble the dead skin off our feet-this is a Mexican spa treatment when getting a pedicure.  there were also some larger algae eating fish in the pool, but they seemed to just be curious and not interactive.  I twas a relief from the heat to be sure.

From here we went to one of the oldest Spanish cities in Mexico, Vallodolid. It was beautiful.  We visited an colonial mission church and some shops.  We bough vanilla and chocolate, two important products for the region.

We arrived back to the hotel around 12 hours after we left.  We had our usual al fresco dining experience, enjoyed the kid's mini disco in the "saloon" and off to bed.  I for one was grateful we had nothing but sun and surf planned for the next day.

Mexico Travelogue Day Two

On the second day, the first full day for us in Mexico, Maisie and I got up with the sun and to the exotic caws and calls of Yucatan grackles and maybe a Spider Monkey or two and headed to the beach.  It was still windy and the surf was big and present, but the air was warm and the sun golden.

  Maisie had found a drink glass on the beach and was entertaining herself with filling it with the white sand and then rinsing it in the Sapphire gin colored sea.

I turned and faced the resort and there were two VERY large birds soaring across the lightening sky- a pelican and a wood stork.  They were striking mostly due to the pterodactyl-like appearance in the cloudless sky.

After a wonderful al fresco breakfast buffet, we were in a taxi and off to Playacar, the town center to catch the ferry to Cozumel and to our planned excursion, the Atlantis Submarine and a look at the MesoAmerican reef and Yucatan Trench.

Some of the crew on Atlantis

On board the sub

Our little Ichtyologist

In town, we saw a lion cub, which was very exciting even while being sad, knowing this was not a natural life for such a majestic creature.

After the submersion on The Atlantis, we had lunch at a restaurant and had time to do a little shopping.

Waiting for the ferry to Cozumel

on the boat to the sub

inside the restaurant

After another lovely dining experience on the veranda, an hour of The Simpson's in Spanish and still feeling the time change and the effects of leaving home at 4 am we were in bed early, leaving the sliders open to the warm night air and jungle sounds.