Thursday, April 20, 2006

We had to wake up early on Thursday because we decided to go snorkeling as a
group.  John and Libby rented a 2nd car because there's no way we were going
to fit 7 people into theirs.  Then we drove down to Akumal, where there was
a lagoon with lots of fish and coral to see.  There was just one problem.
You weren't supposed to wear sunblock because it contains oils that kill the
fish.  Although I was told this beforehand, I decided that I'd just be
careful and not use any.  Raf and John tried to a put a little on their
faces and shoulders after we paid the entrance fee but they got totally
busted and some dude asked them to take a shower.  They were really watching
like hawks, which we didn't expect.  So everyone went snorkeling for a
while.  I did for a little while and then came out and sat down in the shade
so I wouldn't get burned too badly since it was mid-day.  Afterwards, we
took a break and went to a nearby restaurant off the beach called La Buena
Vida (The Good Life).  It didn't quite live up to its name because it took
them forever to take our orders and to bring us our food.  There were these
2 tree towers you could climb up and they had a really nice view of the
beach and ocean.  Unfortunately, Amanda was hit in the head by some kid who
dropped the bucket down when she was trying to take a picture of us.  She
was alright though and the little guy later came by to apologize.  When the
food finally did come, it was pretty good.  Raf and I shared some kind of
nacho plate and spinach enpenaros (I think that's what they were called)  
[Ed note: Empanadas]. I don't think I'd ever had spinach before so that was 
the 3rd new food I tried.

Next on our agenda was to go cenote snorkeling in an underground cave with
fresh water.  I believe the place was called Hidden World Cenotes, which is
the site of the IMAX film "Journey Into Amazing Caves."
http://www.hiddenworlds.com.mx/  A cenote is a water-filled limestone
sinkhole of the Yucatan.  When we got there, we had to pay our entrance fee
and rent a wetsuit because the water is very cool underground.  Libby passed
because she had experienced it a few times already.  Then we had to get on
the back of this "vehicle" and be driven to the cave entrance.  This
"vehicle" was pretty scary.  In fact, when a couple of my relatives visited
John and Libby a couple weeks ago, my cousin's husband Kyle saw this thing
and said "We are all going to die today."  I was kind of thinking the same
thing.  It's basically like you are standing on the back of this makeshift
pickup truck holding onto a couple wooden rails.  I think a good name for it
would be the death-wagon!  Anyway, it's a good 10-15 minute drive up and
down these hilly, dusty roads to get to the cave opening.  As my brother Dan
said, it was seriously like riding the American Eagle rollercoaster at Great
America!  This would not have been legal in the US.  We eventually did get
to the cave and after our guide gave us instructions, we went in.  It was
amazing down there.  Obviously there were stalactites and stalagmites
because it was a cave, but it was really cool to see the rock formations and
everything deep below as we swam through it.  And while there weren't many
big fish, our guide explained that all of the fish in here were blind.  In
fact, without the flashlights and some of the propped lights, it would
obviously have been pitch black down there.  He also said some of the areas
we went through were in the IMAX movie they filmed.  Halfway through our
snorkeling, our guide said we could swim around in this one area for a bit.
Natalie made an open challenge on who could dive down the deepest.  Natalie
talked some smack and then got about half as far down as John and Raf did,
so we gave her a hard time and she blamed her poor showing on her lungs and
smoking!

After we were done there, our awesome guide said that he could take us to
this really cool cenote nearby if we were interested.  So we got back on the
death-wagon and he drove us there.  It was this cool opening in the ground
that looked like a small pond.  The ground and rocks under water were very
slimy and covered with algae.  There was also a rope-swing there which we
all took turns swinging on and jumping into the water.  We did this over and
over again for about 15 minutes!  It was really a lot of fun!  When we were
done and back at our starting point, we turned in our wetsuits and John gave
our guide a nice tip since he went above and beyond his normal duties.

Next, we tried going to another cenote that John knew of nearby.  There were
a couple shady guys outside the entrance though and they wanted us to pay an
entrance fee just to check it out for a few minutes.  John said we should
come back later when it's dark because usually nobody is here then.  So then
we drove to nearby Tulum for a little while and looked through some of the
small local shops.  Tulum is supposed to be another up-and-coming area like
Playa Del Carmen, so maybe you'll hear of it in a few years.  John said they
are building an international airport there.  I was now starting to feel
sunburned and tired, so a few of us in one car headed back home.  John, Raf,
and Natalie went back to the cenote place and the shady guys were gone so
they made the big jump in and swam around for a few minutes.

By the time we got home and started getting ready for dinner, my sunburn had
become visible and I was unfortunately beginning to feel the burn!  I had to
put aloe vera and lotion on frequently the next few days.  Anyway, we went
out for Italian food at Pasta Luego.  The bread and pasta we all had was
very good.  Afterwards, we were walking towards DJ's when we bumped in to
him at Cabalova, where there was a 40th birthday party going on.  After a
few minutes, we went to DJ's bar anyway and we met up with him.  It had been
a long, tiring day, so we just chilled out there for a while and didn't stay
up too late.  We walked home and got back a little after midnight and went
to sleep.

View pictures for the day here.