Goeth When the Ice Man Cometh: Yucatan, Mexico - Christmas 2013

I have been home from Mexico for almost three weeks now.  This account of my trip is my best reconstruction from memory and it's a long one.  So to the three faithful readers of my blog, you might want to crack open a bottle and settle in.  Thanks for the visit.

I managed to get out of Toronto on December 21st in between a small ice storm and what turned out to be one of the most significant ice storms to hit southern Ontario in recent memory.  At 6am I skated down the street to the bus stop and took the bus and subway to the airport.  Most of the flights out of Pearson were operating more or less on time except for mine because the aircraft was delayed in Calgary.  So I had the pleasure of waiting an extra three hours in Terminal 3 before I got to board the first flight to Thunder Bay.  I did eventually get to Thunder Bay and then on to beautiful and hot Cancun.  I arrived at the hotel just before 7pm and flagged down a guy wearing a G Adventures T-shirt and told him who I was.  I say 'flagged down' because he was literally practically running all over the lobby and perhaps slightly stressed out.  His name is Alejandro (Alex) and his computer had just broken down in Playa del Carmen the previous day.  After our first group meeting he had to take off back to Playa del Carmen to pick up the computer and he was desperately hoping that it was repaired.   I had dinner down the street at a popular Mexican fusion restaurant (think Kelseys for Mexicans) and then an early night because our hotel location was pretty dull and we were all pretty tired.

The next morning, we had an early departure to Chitchen Itza.  The area is enormous and kind of like Angkor Wat...in the sense that the pyramid is the main attraction but is only one feature of a large majestic city.  Our local guide Phillipe was one of the best I have ever encountered.

The Great Pyramid of Chichen Itza of course!

 He did a very good job of explaining not only the history and topography of the Mayan region, but he also talked about the spiritual and religious contexts of what were were seeing.  The Ball Court in particular is one of my favourite parts.  It had these facinating carvings all along the court depicting the protective gear the players would wear as well as the human sacrifice of the captain of the 'losing' team.

Truly awe-inspiring carvings in the Ball Court at Chichen Itza

 Phillipe did an excellent job explaining how 'losing' might be seen as winning for these people because they had been trained for many years both physically and mentally to accept that to be sacrificed was a huge honour.  He compared the idea to modern martyrs of any type who are willing to die for a cause.  Phillipe then went on to suggest that his mother-in-law would be a good candidate for such a sacrifice.

The pyramid itself was so cool.  The Mayans would build upon the structures of previous Mayans (they would move away and back every 52 years).  Inside the large pyramid is another smaller pyramid!  The architecture is so brilliant with a deliberate acoustic so that the high priest could be heard by the throngs of people who would gather.  If you stand at the base of the pyramid, and also in the ball court, and clap your hands, there is a fabulous and percussive echo that sends a bird-like sound into the sky.  The structure is also built so that on the equinoxes, at 4:30pm, the shadows cast a series of zig zags that look like a serpent hat climbs or descends the great staircase of the north face of the pyramid.  During those two days, there are tens of thousands of people who go there just to see that.  Of course the scientist in me knows that due to the wobble of the Earth on its axis that event is now offset by a couple of days but that doesn't stop the pilgrims.  We had to walk through several gauntlets of vendors selling all kinds of stuff including wooden toys that make very obnoxious jaguar sounds.  I do not have any friends that I hate enough to buy that particular toy for their children.

We also walked through trees along what would have been avenues and visited other beautiful buildings.  I enjoyed looking at the 'Snail' building thus named because of its dome shape.  It had several windows facing in all directions experts agree that it was probably used to study the skies.

The Escarol (Snail) building was probably used for Astronomy

After getting some photos in during a couple of hours of free time, another traveller, Laurence (a girl from Belgium) and I made our way back to the restaurant by the entrance gate and enjoyed the shade and a bottle of beer before getting back on the public bus to take us to Merida.  Alex told us that when the bus pulled into Merida, we would see him run to fight for taxis and run he did.  Our hotel in Merida was an absolutely stunning old Spanish hacienda with an open couryard with gardens and fountains.  The tiny rooms had no exterior windows and my roommate Tammy and I learned quickly that the 'window' that we did have faced the corridor and that people could see right in!

Our hotel in Merida

The hotel was located in the heart of downtown and we walked across the square to a touristy but convenient restaurant for dinner.  After a full day of travelling and walking in the sun, and taking in the splendor of Chichen Itza, we were all content to have our second Mojito, and then retire in leisure to our hotel.  This is a picture of me and Tammy enjoying our first night out.

Me and Tammy in Merida

Our second day in Merida, we opted for a tour of some local cenotes.  There are virtually no rivers or streams in that part of Mexico but instead there is an enormous undergound water system carved out of the limestone that covers the area.  There are thousands of these lovely water holes, or cenotes all over.  Some of theme are open to the sky, while others are partially or fully enclosed in caves.  Our little tour visited three of them.  The first one was the biggest.  We descended down steep stairs to a platform where we could store our bags.  And then we were able to swim in this lovely clean and crystal clear pool that had enough natural light to see well, while still being in complete shade.

The descent into a lovely cenote

Me, Chris, Anika and others at the cenote

 I even managed to climb up into a little grotto, and dive back in, nearly losing my bathing suit in the process (I did not bring practical bathing suits to Mexico).  Tammy, Laurence, and I used each other's cameras to snap photos...or at least they did.  I managed to go into a pink bag that looked like Tammy's red bag, find the camera, and take several photos of her sitting and smiling.  Turns out that the owner of the other bag was another G Traveller with a different group that had an itinerary parallel to ours for a short while.  I did get her email to fix the problem and I would have loved to have seen my face when Tammy told me that she suspected that I had taken those photos with someone else's camera.

The second cenote was much smaller and just a pool in a cave.  What was interesting was the cave formation itself.  And the third cenote was only a single ladder descending into darkness.  The pool at the small was apparently very small and there was a group of tourists who were kind of slow to get out.  One of the members from our group who went down described it as the Playboy grotto (many girls in bikinis and lots of squealing).  I kind of got a bit bored waiting and it had started to rain and was glad when we all headed back to the village and had lunch together.  Apparently the restaurant in the village had not been open for long so things were slow.  By the time we got back to Merida there was only enough time to change and get ready for dinner.

Me and Laurence in a peculiar little train car that transported us around cenotes

We all followed Alex to one of his favorite places which served delicious authentic regional food.  The marinated pork that I had there marked the beginning of my love affair with the fresh and delicious flavours of Mexico.  There is a local green vegetable called chaya that is similar to spinach which I admit I enjoyed in margerita form....perhaps twice...I don't remember.

The following day was Christmas eve day and I got up early and went for a sunrise run through the town of Merida.  The architecture in the downtown area is from the Spanish colonial period and the streets are arranged in grids so it was easy to find my way.  I passed the large church with people inside praying, and eventually I had to slow down and stop because there were too many people on the sidewalks.  I would not mind spending a bit more time in Merida some day because it is a lovely historic town that has great tourist amenities and friendly people.

The other G group was led by a friendly and bubble girl from Brampton, Ontario named Ally.  Her group and our group joined forces and booked a private coach bus to take us to Palenque.  I could not find Palenque in my Yucatan guidebook and this is because it is outside of the Yucatan and in the nearby Chiapas region closer to Guatemala.  We stayed in a campground area of sorts called Mayabell where there is a combination of cabanas and tent or RV camping, coupled with an absolutely fantastic open-air restaurant/bar/coffee shop that is open for business all day.  Our first night there was Christmas Eve.  I opted for a delicious fish dinner over the generous Christmas dinner option they had listed (there was so much food) but I was very nervous while waiting for it because Palenque is basically a no wifi zone, and the ice storm that I had narrowly avoided had cut power to my house for the two days that I was in Merida.  I was worried about my pipes freezing, my cat, and my tenants having to move into a hotel.  I first asked Alex if I could use his cell's data plan to get on the internet to check on things.  Of course the signal was too weak to load the stupid hotmail web page so I asked Alex if I could phone home and pay him back for the charges.  Amazingly, from the jungle of Mexico I was able to phone Dominick to check in and he told me that the power had come back on and that everything was fine.  I had so much adrenaline that I think it took me at least 30 minutes to come down.  I acknowledge that the coronas, mojitos, and ultimately the exquisite tequila eventually got me where I needed to be.  Tammy and I went for a midnight dip in the pool and then it was Christmas, 2013.

On Christmas Day, we met with or local guide Edgar who took us to the fabulous ruins of Palenque in Palenque National Park.  These ruins pre-date Chichen Itza but have the most stunning natural landscape, carvings, and architecture of the entire Mayan period.  In many places, there was the original stucco from over 1200 years ago!  Walking around dwarfed by these soaring white stone buildings - stained with old cinnabar and moulds of every colour, surrounded by the first lush green mountains we had seen - created one of the most special memories of the whole trip.

Mist drapes a mountain near the ruins of Palenque

Only a very small percentage of the ruins at Palenque have been reclaimed for the jungle and are safe to explore.  The palace is so impressive because the aquaduct system is still intact and there were baths and toilets.  Like at Chichen Itza, local vendors had spread out their wares for sale.  But unlike Chichen Itza, it was all made by the local Maya.  I bought a couple small things including a hand-painted likeness of the son of Puucal (the greatest king in Mayan history).  I think it will go nicely in the cottage along with the other special memories there.

The afternoon back at the cabanas was quiet.  Everyone sort of dispersed in all directions.  It had been raining on and off all day so I spent some time at the pool, some time enjoying a book and a coffee, and some time just wandering around.

Around the table from front-left:  Alex, Tore, Rita, Anika, Tammy, Colin,
Laurence, William, Christian, Alejandro, me, Anna, Edward

That night we all gathered at the restaurant and enjoyed the live music and good food.  After dinner, Alex, Ally, and Edgar surprised the groups with a series of fireworks (that don't work even for expert Mexicans in the humidity of the jungle), and a pinata.

Ally with Chili the Pinata

The next day turned out to be one of the most memorable for me.  I booked a massage thinking it would be a typical sort of de-stressing affair.  What I didn't know was that the masseuse who was available that particular morning is a specialist in holistic spiritual massage and works in Spain and in the world-class yoga retreat in Tulum (I looked it up-it is highlighted in the Lonely Planet as one of the best in the world)  I won't go into details but I will just say that I went in a little apprehensive and came out so happy.  I didn't even mind that I had missed the departure for the jungle walk (I hear it was muddy and rainy anyway).  I floated around kind of happily discombobulated for a while until it was time for us to go visit the local Mayan village for our optional day excursion.  I knew that we would see a local village and then some waterfalls but again, I didn't quite realize what I was getting myself into.  Edgar picked us all up and we drove to a local village where were were shown how they made tortillas, local girls tried to sell us handicrafts (I bought two), and one of the village leaders gladly showed us all of the birds (parrots, chickens, turkeys, baby pigeons) that shared their streets.  It reminded me of so many of the poor villages I have seen in other parts of the developing world.

Alex with Edgar's contact at the
Zapatista Mayan village

We then went to a clearing near a small waterfall where an open-air bbq luncheon was being prepared.  I am glad to know that Edgar used local vendors to personally buy the food, and hired local people to help prepare it.  I am also sure that he paid his contacts at the village for our visit.

This meal then became the best meal I ate in Mexico.   They had laid out freshly-grilled beef, local scallions, cactus, tomato, and all served in as many soft tacos as we could eat.  I only ate three and I wish I could go back now and eat ten.  Edgar then stepped out into the water and waded out to the edge of a waterfall.  Some of us followed him: me, Tammy, Anika, Colin, the 13-year old Edward, and Alex.  But the rocks were so sharp and covered with small mussels that it was too painful to continue in bare feet so I turned back (that's ok though because the best was yet to come).  I then watched Edgar leap off the edge and disappear into the pool below.  I also watched some of the others follow.

My disappointment at not following the others off the edge stayed with me for a while until we reached the second waterfall.  We left our bags with our chef Emily and dove into the smooth water at the top of large series of waterfalls.  I then swam to the edge and stood looking out over the rushing water.  Edgar then began to walk down the falls choosing a path where it was not too steep and gestured for us to follow him.  Alex shrugged and said in a well-rehearsed tone of resignation "The things I do for my job", and followed him down.  I very nearly didn't do it.  I very nearly turned around and went back to sit with the others until I saw Laurence begin the descent and then that was it.  The rocks here were worn smooth by the water but not slippery, and there was always several inches of fast-moving water rushing over my feet threatening to pull them out from under me.

The lovely fresh waterfalls near Roberto Barrios (we think) village

Trip highlight for sure

But that never happened.  The local children (all Zapatistas) were running up and down the waterfall like they were born to it (oh wait...they were) and several of them took turns standing at certain points to show us where to go, blocking the flow of the water for us, and even sometimes holding our hands as we inched our way down.  Yes, I let an ten-year old boy help me.  In some places, the village leader told Edgar certain instructions - and he then passed them on to us.  Things like "You have to run and jump here".  And at the bottom of every section of waterfall we had to get a running start to jump far enough to land in the deep water.

Just when I thought were were near the bottom, because I could see the rest of the group on the shore, Edgar told us to follow him two at a time.  So I waited until it was my turn and then swam against the current and ducked right under the waterfall - but there was no one there!  Then I saw a hand reaching out under the water waiting for me.  So I thought 'oh what the hell?', took a deep breath, went under and let Edgar drag me though a little underwater tunnel into a tiny cave.  He then said 'one more', took a deep breath, and went back.  I was expecting Laurence because she was right behind me and was a bit surprised when Alex's head popped up instead.  He had never been to these particular waterfalls and wanted to see what it was like.  Edgar then helped us each out through the underwater tunnel one at a time.

After coming back out, I then got to slide down the final waterfall into the calm pool below.  I then turned around and watched Anika and Alex slide down after me.  Somehow, dancer training be damned, I don't think I did it as gracefully as they did.

We then walked back to where the bus was supposed to meet us but it was late (of course) so we walked up the street to a bridge that went over the river.

A very excited Edward 

R-L Edward, Edgar, Colin, Alex, William, and a villager

Edgar then told us that whoever wanted to jump off could do so.  It was a cool 8 meters down at least so I bowed out but Alex, Edward, his older brother William, and Colin all did it...twice.  I think that it might have been the best day of Edward's life.

That night, we boarded a night bus for our trip to Tulum.  The seats were very comfortable and leaned back very far - and I enjoyed watching a spanish Drew Barrymore on mute.  Even though I was sure I wouldn't sleep at all, somehow 11 hours went by and we arrived in the town of Tulum.  Tulum is a lovely little town on the Mayan Riviera.  The town itself is not on the water but has a great laid back feel with all amenities nearby.  The place where we stopped for breakfast after the night bus had a gorgeous back garden patio (my favorite thing!) with excellent coffee and food, and home made frozen yogourt bars with fruit.  I cancelled my breakfast order so I could have one of those.

Me, Christian, and Anika (thanks to Rita for this photo)

After the long, dark, and boring night bus, the soft natural light, the great food and coffee, the ice cream, the bright pottery and art, and green plants everywhere made everything about Mexico come alive again.

Unfortunately our hotel was not ready for us to check in so we had to change and prepare for the day in the hotel lobby.  We headed to see the lovely walled ruins of Tulum which are located right on the along an escarpment.  To enter you walk through a gate in the wall and emerge into the sunshine with the buildings all around you and the sea just ahead.  Unfortunately it started to rain on us, and then the rain got harder and harder.   Alex was doing his best to walk us around but it got to a point where I could not even take out my camera.

Everything was wet and Alex used what I learned is one of his trademark quips "It's too cold for this Mexican".  We decided that it would probably be warmer in the water, and so it was that my first experience swimming in the clear, cobalt waters of Mexico came under overcast skies and rain.

Alex with a convenient rain jacket

I had to be satisfied with being wet all of the time

But actually it was still so wonderful.  Everybody was still having a great time and I would not trade that memory for anything.  After the swim we walked down to another beach were we got a rare hour of sun, and sat eating and drinking at a restaurant on the surf.  I finally got to try that fantastic cerviche I had read so much about.

The beach by the ruins of Tulum

Some of the impressive ruins of Tulum right on the coast.

When we got back to the hotel Tammy and I laid out all of our wet clothes (which at this point was practically everything because Palenque was so humid that even dry things became damp - thank god for Mountain Equipment Coop and Patagonia quick-dry fabrics - better living through chemistry).  We all went out for dinner at a somewhat expensive but pretty awesome restaurant along the fancy beach strip.  It boasted the 'best fish tacos in the world' and did not disappoint.  After dinner the energetic among us walked to a very nice beach hotel / bar called Papaya Playa for cocktails.  The sky was clear for the first time in days and we were treated to a fantastic sky full of stars.  I had never seen the Pleiades so clearly and directly overhead like I did that night, and I also got a very nice view of Taurus and the red giant Aldebaran in his eye.  All that studying for planetarium shows at the science centre really paid off.

The next day, Alex, Tammy, Laurence, Anna, and her two sons and I set off for a tour of more ruins nearly overgrown by jungle.  As we were lead on our nature walk our local guide pointed out interesting plants and insects, and Edward had a great experience because he got to eat termites - actually I ate one too.

We then entered the Sian Ka'an Biosphere reserve and travelled by motor boat along freshwater lakes, and then through both natural and artificial channels in the Mangroves.  We then came to a point where we got out of the boat, and floated along the natural current through a zig zag of Mangroves.

Anna, Laurence, Alex (in front), Tammy

Even though the experience was pretty touristy, and I didn't get to see many birds because of the intermittent rain, it was still really fun to float along like that.  Too bad that we had to leave our cameras on the boat because I don't have any photos.  Alex then led us to a lunch spot popular with locals and tourists with the freshest tacos and vegetables of the whole trip.  I wish I could go back there right now, at this very second.

That afternoon Laurence and I rented bicycles and biked down to the beach strip.  We were blessed with an afternoon of sun and almost deserted white sand and crystal water.  There is a combination of lovely high-end beach resorts and grassroots 'hippie-village' hostels and I discovered after the fact that one of my grade 11 students had been there vacationing with his family in a really nice hotel right where Laurence and I parked our bikes and hit the beach.  Tulum was hands down the best beach of this tour.  Good food, nice atmosphere, beautiful sand and water, and no yachts.

That night we went to a restaurant closer to town for dinner, and then wandered through a street party.  It was just blind luck that there happened to be this street festival that night while were there.  A big section of the main street was blocked off, there were two music stages (one for funk/jazz and one or DJ electronica) and many artists, both Mexican and international, selling their wares.  We stayed out late and had a great time.

The next morning we boarded the bus to Cancun and then took the extremely tourist-friendly ferry to Isla des Mujeres.  It was a Sunday and the ferry was packed with Mexicans getting away from the city for a day, and tourists looking for a quieter scene in the shadow of Cancun.  There was even a guy with a guitar on the roof of the ferry playing some much-appreciated Mexican classics, some somewhat out of tune Beatles, and a version of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' with all of the verses and words lovingly jumbled.  I think I gave him a dollar.

The afternoon was spent on the busy beach strip of Isla des Mujeres.  I can only imagine how busy Cancun must be if this place is supposed to be quiet.  There were dozens of yachts anchored so close to the shore that I could see the sun glinting off their gold tooth fillings.  I got to swim for the last time, read a book in the shade, had a coffee on the cobblestoned main street, and had  a massage on the beach before walking back to the hotel (well, almost walking back).  I knew it was a half-hour walk and I was pretty sure I knew where I was going so I started heading back by myself.  The sun set and things really do look different in the dark.  I ended up flagging down a taxi who was willing to take me to the hotel.  I got in the front seat, turned around, and saw a young woman and small child in the back.  When I asked him if this was his family, he said no they were passengers.  Apparently this happens often on Isla.   Turns out that I was  only one minute away from my destination anyway.  The driver's name was Roman and we had a nice little chat about the Chiapas state where he was from.

For our final dinner, we went to a really nice place on that cobblestoned strip.  I at way too much fish and seafood, and began the mental process of starting to think about saying goodbye to the group.  I bought Alex a shot of the nicest tequila the place had on offer and thanked him on behalf of everyone.  I don't remember what I said but I sincerely hope that it was coherent and intelligent (hopefully my teacher-trained autonomic sense of public speaking helped me out there).

Last night:  William, Laurence, Alex (Boston), Alex (Alejandro),
Anika,Tammy, and I think you see Christian's foot.

We then went on to a terrific but almost empty rooftop bar and enjoyed some drinks.  Most amazingly, one of the passengers (another Alex) had heard about a beach party going on so I got to spend my last night in Mexico drinking cheap beer, cheaper tequila, dancing on a wooden dance floor, and swinging on hammocks on the beach until about 2am when it - what else? - started to rain.

The last morning, our core group (Anika, Chris, Tammy, Laurence, Anna, William, and Edward) had breakfast at a restaurant down the street, and then we went through the bittersweet process of saying goodbye.  I then left for the ferry docks accompanied by Alex who wanted to get back to Tulum for some R & R before his next tour began.  On that ferry, I showed him how to set his cell phone to be a portable hot spot so that he would be able to use his computer to communicate even when he was in a place outside of wifi range like on the bus or in the jungles of Central America.  I was glad to be able to show him something for a change.  He also helped me save some money because we took one of those illegal taxis to the bus terminal.  I owe you 75 pesos Alex!  Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmitttttttttttttttttttt!

I now have two lovely bottles of nice tequila to share.  Who's in?

As always, thanks for reading.  Please travel.  It makes you smart.

Leslie