Our Mexican Adventure

After surviving a recent onslaught of visitors, 4 different sets in a 3 week period, we decided that we needed to make a day trip somewhere for some rest and relaxation. After reading about Cenote Azul in our friend Michele’s blog recently, we thought it would be nice to take a quick Saturday afternoon trip to one of this area’s natural wonders. Unfortunately, it turned out to a be very busy day at the cenote, making relaxation difficult. On the bright side, the cenote is very scenic, and the water is crystal clear. For snorkelers, there are plenty of fish to see, including some foot long catfish. For the adventurous, there is a ledge to jump off, 15 feet above the water.

Cenote Azul (map location) is located 15 miles south of Playa del Carmen. The cost is 50 pesos ($5 USD) per adult, and 30 pesos ($3 USD) per child.

We plan to return to this and some of the other cenotes after the high season traffic calms down over the next two months.

Here are some photos. The rest are in our photo gallery.

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A few weeks ago, we celebrated my 35th birthday. For us adventurers, there is no better way to celebrate such an occasion than to load up our trusty Civic and go out exploring. It was time for a for a quick weekend road trip. We didn’t even let the fact that we hadn’t had an oil change in 7,500 miles get in our way! All this in the spirit of fun and adventure. Oh yeah… we also needed SOMETHING to write about on this “Adventure” blog which has been stagnant for so long.

About 3 hours north of Cancun, there is an island called Isla Holbox (IS-la HOL-bosh). This was to be our destination for the weekend. We headed out a little less prepared than usual for this trip - we’re a wee-bit out of practice! We got off to a late start, ended up taking a wrong turn that forced us to go 20 miles out of our way, and eventually had to drive in reverse on the highway shoulder for at least half a mile to reach a missed turn-off - which is not as unusual or unsafe as you might think, here in Mexico. Ha! What do I know? I’m practically Mexican when I drive these days!

Due to the late start, we had to spend our first night on the mainland in a town called Chiquila. We ate some awesome sopes de puerco (pork sopes - kind of like an open-faced taco) from a woman in little red Coca-Cola stand. 45 pesos ($4.25 US) for 4 sopes and 2 soft drinks. This turned out to be our only good dining experience of the weekend! We were dying for an ice cold cerveza , but finding a beer in this town on a Friday night was not gonna happen. There were no open bars and the only store in town did not sell beer.

Since we didn’t feel like crashing some sort of religious gathering, the only thing vaguely exciting in the town that Friday night, we headed back to our hotel. 200 pesos ($18) rented us a decent room with a ceiling fan. Unfortunately, even with the fan on high, we still could not get a comfortable night sleep, lying in our sweat-soaked sheets. The next morning, we had invigorating cold-water-only showers… in a shower with a fuse box and light switch! I may be wrong, but I think there was still room in the shower for a small TV, or possibly a toaster… maybe I should have filled out that comment card afterall.

Escaping the shower unscathed, we made our way over to Isla Holbox via the 9 Hermanos (9 brothers) ferry. The island is about 7 miles long and 1 mile wide, and has a population of about 1600. The streets are mostly sandy paths, and the main form of transportation is taxi golf carts. Here are some of the unique houses on island:

Isla Holbox is a small community, who’s main industry is fishing. During the past 5 years, tourist traffic has started to pick up as more and more people find out about the whale shark tours. The whale shark season typically runs from July-September, but we heard that people had already spotted some sharks. Being low season, we hoped to sneak onto Isla Holbox without reservations and find a decent hotel room for an affordable rate. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side, and we ended up finding that rooms were already running at high season prices around 700 pesos ($66) a night. To make matters worse, these were their mosquito-netting-over-the-beds rooms. Yikes! We eventually found a beautiful room at Casa Iguana overlooking the Gulf of Mexico for 800 pesos ($75) a night. A bit pricey — for us locals, anyway, but it was my birthday, so we splurged. At least we didn’t have to sleep under mosquito nets.

By the way, the mosquitos on Isla Holbox are rumored to be vicious. I was extremely worried because mosquitos appear to love me. It must be my sweet personality. Libby isn’t bothered for some reason. Hmmm…. Oddly enough, the mosquitos annoyed me less than some annoying critters called sand fleas. These little buggers hide in the sand, and attack you without mercy. The sunblock and bug spray combination left a nice sticky residue to collect bug samples all over my body. Yippee! Anyhow, because of those nasty creatures, our weekend beach time was limited to a grand total of 10 minutes. Thank goodness we have a nice beach (without fleas, thank you very much) only a few blocks away from home here in Playa del Carmen.

Back to the story… After we dropped off our luggage, we set out to book our tour. Our friend, Jason, from Fantasea Dive, had recommended a tour operator called Willy’s Whale Shark Tours. We heard Willy’s had some fun guides - some with mohawks and some with strange names like Elvis. Our guide, Juan, had neither. Nevertheless, he was a great guide, and he did his best to explain things in English for us gringos who still speak primarily English.

Our tour started bright and early the next morning. We headed Northeast for a little over an hour, to a point where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea meet. From what we gather, the whale sharks come back each year to feed on the abundant plankton in the area, a phenomenon likely caused by the mixing of the two bodies of water.

Just as I started to doze off, the boat filled with excitment as one of the other tourists located our first whale shark. Everyone became very active. A few people climbed on top of the boat to get a good angle for picture taking, while others started preparing their flippers and snorkeling masks. Game on!

The whale sharks in this area are protected, and only two people and their guide can enter the water at a time. Libby and I anxiously awaited our turn to jump in and snorkel with these big fish. Yet, even then, the concept seemed a bit odd — jumping in the water next to a 45 foot long fish, a fish with the word SHARK in its name, and snorkeling along side of it, but that’s why we were there. Besides, we had heard that whale sharks are docile, and only feed on plankton and small fish since they have no teeth. Wrong! We’ve since learned that they do have teeth… up to 300 rows of them. However, they don’t really use them. Well, at least not on people. We hoped. As far as them being docile, that remains true. The biggest danger is swimming too close and getting hit by their powerful tails.

We were ready to go. Our first attempt didn’t go very well, as the whale shark quickly swam away from us. The second was a little better for me, as I decided to kick a little harder to keep up with the shark, in an attempt to take a few underwater shots. And, although most people are only guaranteed 2 attempts, we were lucky enough to go a third time. It was amazing. The whale shark slowly and gracefully raised and lowered its body, instead of swimming quickly away. This allowed us to swim along side the whale shark for close to 10 minutes. It was an amazing experience to be so close to such a large animal in it’s natural environment. I wonder if the whale shark even knew we were there, or whether it had just eaten too much to really care.

Back on board, we said goodbye to our new friends and headed back to Isla Holbox. As an unexpected bonus, halfway back to shore, we found ourselves surrounded by a group of 10-15 playful dolphins. They seemed to be in a hurry… maybe they headed out for their turn to swim with the sharks.

As the day winded down, we bought some cold beers and sat on our terrace overlooking the beach and the water. The spectacle that we saw was kind of surreal. People were cruising the beach in their golf carts, ATVs and motorcycles. Upon closer inspection, we realized that many of the motorcycle riders were approximately 7 years old. We even saw a 4 or 5 year old racing around on a gas powered mini ATV. I joked with Libby that Isla Holbox must be the training ground for Mexican drivers. They give their kids some type of unsafe vehicle and unleash them on the beach… if they survive for a year, they get their license. Aha! One mystery solved.

All in all, it was a fun adventure and a great way to spend my birthday.

Hasta luego!

Photos from our trip

Wikipedia Page on Whale Sharks

Book your tours here:
Fantasea Dive
Travel RM

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John, Remon, and Andy

Our friends Heather and Andy from Downers Grove were in town this past week. Although the weather was rainy and uncomfortably humid, we hopefully managed to keep them entertained.

Early on in their visit, Andy mentioned a recent fishing trip he had been on. John wanted to try out sport fishing, and Andy was game, so they planned a trip for early the next day. With the help of their guides Remon and Francisco, they managed to bring in 3 Mahi Mahi (dorado) - two weighing about 15 pounds and the other about 25 pounds. John spent an hour and 20 minutes pulling the big guy in — his hands we so tired and shaky that he had to ask Andy to open his celebratory beer for him.

John and Andy gave two of the fish to Remon and Francisco and kept the other for dinner. They took their catch to a restaurant on the beach called La Tarraya and asked them to prepare a nice feast for the 4 of us and our local friends, Heather, Michael, Steve and Sara. The restaurant did an amazing job grilling the fish and serving it in a garlic butter sauce. Everyone ate more than they needed and we still had some leftovers.

Later in the week, the four of us were down in Tulum so Heather and Andy could see the ruins. While we were there, we thought we’d check out the Gran Cenote (Admission was 80 pesos/person). The cenote was smaller than those at Hidden Worlds, but amazing nonetheless. We definitely recommend a visit.

Our latest visitors have now departed, and although we’d like some time to unwind from 3 sets of guests in 2 weeks, we need to start searching for a new apartment. Yes, our plan was only for a 6 month stay here in Mexico, but we like it so much that we’re going to try and stay just a little bit longer. More on that in the coming weeks.

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We are playing tourist guide this month. Two days after John’s parents left, our friends Mahesh and Nikki, arrived for their third trip down here. Apparently, we guided these tourists a little too well on their first trip. We can’t keep them away now. It’s an affliction that affects many visitors to Playa del Carmen. Can’t Stay Away from Playaitis.

Before they even saw the beach on their first trip, they were enamored with our neighborhood (which reminded them of Mahesh’s birth country of India), tacos al pastor and our bath towels. Yes, I said bath towels.

“Where did you get these bath towels?”

“Um, Sam’s Club.”

“These are awesome. We can’t find towels like this in Chicago.”

“Really?!”

So, on this latest trip, we made a little exchange. Six brand-new super white bath towels from Playa del Carmen’s Sam’s Club for 4 shakers of popcorn salt. Well, there was some cash involved too. Towels aren’t THAT cheap in Mexico!

After we made the exchange, we did some more normal tourist things. Nikki, Mahesh and John went scuba diving in Akumal. Libby went snorkeling. Nikki, Mahesh and John saw about 5 turtles and a lobster along with the usual coral and myriad of fish. Libby saw 5 turtles, 2 stingrays, and 1 spotted eagle ray. Hmmm … considering Libby didn’t pay a cent for snorkeling, she made out.

The next day was to be a beach day. However, mother nature decided to finally provide us with a much needed downpour. It had been over a month since the last rain. The drought combined with dead vegetation downed by last year’s hurricanes resulted in wildfires all over the Yucatan peninsula. Although we were unaffected in Playa del Carmen, areas of Cancun and Mérida, were polluted with smoke and ashes.

Tourists were understandably dismayed by the cloudy and rainy weather, but locals welcomed it. Our group made the best of it. We parked ourselves on beach loungers under palapas (for a fee) and drank the day away. It would rain off and on. Libby discovered that if you are in the ocean when it starts raining, you don’t get any wetter. Funny how that works.

Libby’s Snorkeling Pictures

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John’s parents recently visited us during the steamiest week we’ve had this year in Playa del Carmen. (If you don’t believe that it’s not the heat, but the humidity, visit the Yucatan peninsula this summer!) No problem. We’ll just spend lots of time swimming to cool off. Except that, as John’s mom pointed out, they “aren’t really beach people”. Yikes! What do you do in Playa del Carmen when you’re trying to beat the heat, but don’t want to go to the beach? You go to a cenote. But John’s parents had visited a cenote on a previous trip, and that one was enough for them. Yikes! So we enjoyed the natural beauty and culture of the Yucatan peninsula, and sought refuge in air-conditioning and pools when we could.

We started with the natural beauty. After reading our blog entries about the road to Punta Allen (here and here), John’s parents (okay, just his dad) wanted to do the same trip. Except this time, we decided to stay overnight. So we headed off, bright and early, down the Boca Paila road towards Punta Allen. John and Libby were surprised to see how much progress had been made in re-grading the bumpy dirt road. Not so bumpy anymore. John’s mom, on the other hand, found the road to be more of an adventure than she had bargained for. Between the dirt road and the swaying lookout tower along the way, she must have been very relieved to finally arrive in Punta Allen.

At least until she saw our accommodations … simple cabin, more or less on the beach, no A/C, no fan, no breeze (have we mentioned that it’s hot & humid?), mosquito nets over the beds and a not so clean bathroom. Very .. ummm … rustic. After an unremarkable dinner, we had a restless sleep in the incredibly still and humid air. But we were rewarded the next morning with a great boat excursion. We saw turtles, a stingray, dolphins, pelicans, frigates, boobys (the birds, the other kind are more frequently sighted in Playa del Carmen) and various other birds. Mom approved. Then we dropped the parents off at the beach, so that John and Libby could spend some time snorkeling the reef. Although we didn’t see anything special as far as marine life, the coral here was very pristine. It was in much better shape than what we’ve seen around Playa del Carmen, Akumal and Cozumel.

We drove back to Playa del Carmen and spent a full day resting up. We would need it, for the next day, we were heading to Mérida, a city about 3 ½ hours from Playa del Carmen. Unlike the tourist towns of Playa del Carmen and Cancun, Mérida is a real living and working city that just happens to get some tourists who come to enjoy the Spanish colonial architecture and the nightly fiestas in the main plaza. When we arrived, we headed straight for the Anthropology & History Museum on the Paseo de Montejo. The Paseo de Montejo is a wide tree-lined boulevard modeled after the Champs Elysées in Paris. Back in the heyday of sisal production in the Mérida area, many grand homes were built along this area. Most have been beautifully preserved and now house banks and insurance companies, believe it or not.

The Anthropology & History Museum is contained in one of the most beautiful of these old homes. This museum focuses on the history and religion of the Maya people. Upstairs they had a special display of Maya stamps –- clay stones with carved designs which were then dipped into dyes, such as indigo (blue) and achiote (red) for stamping. Libby thought it was really cool.

Next, we took a much needed lunch break in air-conditioned comfort at La Parilla. La Parilla is a chain and has a location in Playa del Carmen. John and Libby have never been there because it’s just way too touristy for us to handle. But at the La Parilla in Mérida, we were the only gringos present. The food was okay, but the most memorable part of the meal came when John ordered Enchiladas Verdes (enchiladas in green sauce) only to get Ensalada Verde (green salad). Note: Need to work on Spanish pronunciation!

After lunch, we checked into our hotel, the Dolores Alba. John and Libby had stayed here before and really enjoyed the respite it offered from the busy city life outside. Last time, we found the pool water a bit too cold, but this time the coolness of the water was much appreciated!

After we cooled off, we headed to Mérida’s Plaza Principal (Main Plaza). The plaza is bordered by the Cathedral, the Municipal Palace (City Hall), the Governor’s Palace, and the Casa de Montejo. These were built with stones from the destroyed Mayan pyramids originally on this site when the Spaniards “founded” Mérida in the 1500s. Apparently, there are some spots where you can see parts of Maya carvings facing out, but we didn’t get a chance to look for these. We visited the Municipal Palace and Governor’s Palace and enjoyed the great art there. We also peeked into the Cathedral while a mass was taking place.

Next, we found a park bench in the plaza and just enjoyed the music, people watching and street food – churros, potato chips, and marquesitas (crunchy crepes filled with edam cheese). Sunday is the day when Mexicans flock to the plazas to eat, socialize, dance and people watch. In Mérida, they have children’s activities during the day (which we missed) and a live band at night for dancing. No one’s embarrassed to dance here! Young and old, skilled or not skilled, they all know how to have a good time. If you’re not in Mérida on a Sunday, don’t worry. There’s a fiesta going on every night of the week.

The next morning, we headed off bright and early again for Hacienda Yaxcopoil. The haciendas of the Yucatan mostly produced sisal, although some were cattle ranches. We had read that this particular hacienda was a restored, working hacienda. What we found is that restored does not necessarily mean brought back to it’s original grandeur. Although the hacienda was not as beautiful and lavish as we might have expected, it was very interesting. We learned a few things from our Spanish-only speaking guide who really tested John and Libby’s Spanish skills. Libby’s head hurt something awful by the end of that tour. Other haciendas have been beautifully renovated and now serve as bed and breakfasts, restaurants and banquet halls, but Yaxcopoil is one of the best for learning about the history of haciendas.

After the hacienda, we moved on to Izamal, known as the Yellow City, because so many of its buildings are painted yellow. We had an awesome Yucatecan lunch at the Kinich restaurant where they make hand-made, stone ground tortillas. These are the best tortillas! Libby is still dreaming about the rellenos negros (turkey, ground pork and hard-boiled egg in a spicy black sauce) she had there.

We had a long drive ahead of us back to Playa del Carmen, but we couldn’t leave Izamal without taking a peek at the famous Franciscan Monastery – painted yellow of course. This is where we met Yosef, the friendly cop who insisted on giving us driving directions and “let” us park on the street. We just needed to give him a little “appreciation” for his help.

The monastery was beautiful, and we were able to see parts of Maya carvings in the stone path leading to the monastery. You guessed it. The Spaniards had destroyed the Maya pyramids here and built the monastery with the Maya stones. Fortunately, two remaining Maya structures still exist in Izamal. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see them. It was back to Playa del Carmen for us. And back to Chicago for John’s parents the next morning. We may have exhausted them, but we hope they had a good time. We know we did.

Punta Allen Pictures
Mérida Pictures

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