Tony & Mary's Mexican Holiday of 2003
On the Road to
Ruins: Visiting the Yucatan
Peninsula
On the Road to
Ruins: Visiting the Yucatan
Peninsula
After eight hours on the
plane and our introduction to the Mexican highway we arrived at the resort, Freedom
Paradise. Exhausted, we had a very relaxed dinner in the
open air restaurant outside our room. There was a pretty fountain lit up
nearby and beyond that it was dark and we were yet to get oriented. After
dinner we headed off to bed at the extremely early hour for us of 9:00 PM.
After a long nights sleep
that first night Tony woke up to peek out the curtains. The view that
first morning certainly helped the resort earn some of its stars. Looking
past the white sand beach to see the sunrise over the azure Caribbean was a
beautiful sight. There were coconut palms and thatch roofed cabanas
dotting the beach. Exotic bird calls could be heard and there was a small
lizard (it appeared to be an Anole) in the red blooming bougainvillea by the door.
Mary would get up extra early each day to get the perfect sunrise shot. She was finally successful on the last day.
Breakfast was eaten at the
resort and we easily warmed up to being able to walk away without paying.
The menu was extensive enough to take advantage of the inclusive meals with some
frequency but our best meals of the trip were had elsewhere. For us, part
of the fun in traveling is trying the local cuisine. We were reasonably
careful with fresh fruits and vegetables and religious about bottled
water. We took acidophilus tablets before leaving Seattle and while in
Mexico and we washed our hands frequently. Both of us were spared turista
(what Mexicans call travelers diarrhea, AKA Montezuma's Revenge). The
hotel provided bottled water but after our first attempt to request an extra bottle we
decided it was a much better idea to buy a case to keep in the room.
After breakfast we headed into the town of Tulum to get pesos. There were at least two ATMs in town and neither charged a fee. By using the cash machine you get the exact exchange rate at the time of your transaction. It takes a little getting used to having $1,900 pesos (they use the $ sign to signify pesos) in your pocket. You really have to keep the 10 to 1 exchange rate in your head. We did a bit of shopping in town and got our feet wet. Tulum is a fairly small but bustling town with a bit of tourist flavor but it was not at all glitzy. We had lunch at a local roadside restaurant. We were finding that most food was very flavorful but not very spicy. There was, however, always a selection of two or three different homemade salsas with temperatures ranging from warm to nuclear blast.
Our next stop was the
Mayan ruins just outside of town. These were the first ruins of our trip
and very impressive. We hired an English speaking guide at the gate which
was reasonable worth the MEX$450 (US$40). We had done our homework before
leaving the States so much of the general information was not new to us.
However, the specific information about this site was very interesting. We
did, however, find the proof of Jesus' visit to the Mayans to be a bit
thin. We politely nodded and smiled. It was also fun to see the
iguanas that now ruled the palace and surrounding area. We'd be gawking at
a structure and think there were only rocks in our view until one of the "rocks"
would crawl away!
Click here for more pictures of Tulum
We did more shopping at the market on the grounds of the archeological zone then headed back to town. We went to a local supermarket to buy breakfast for the next morning. The market was very modern and well stocked and somewhat of a surprise. We weren't expecting such conveniences in a small town on the edge of the jungle. After shopping it was back to the resort to lounge on the beach before dinner.
The next morning we awoke early to catch the tour of the jungle. Piling into the tour van, we headed into Tulum to get other tourists. This was our only encounter with the infamous Mexican bureaucracy. Seemingly from nowhere a small herd of officials from various agencies were requesting the paperwork of our guide. From what we could gather we were caught in a local turf war between the ubiquitous cab drivers and tour companies. Or, perhaps it was the effort to attract more upscale tourism and drive out the earthy crowd. Or, maybe it was just a shakedown for a bribe. Who knows, in the end it was just a hassle. Our tour was hosted by the NGO whose primary focus is research, education and conservation. The tours are a way to raise money as well as being eco-tourism opportunities. The officials didn't recognize the exemption to the tour operators permit requirements and forbade the van to be moved until the proper permits were obtained. One of the office staff of the agency came to get us and bring us back to our car. We scheduled to try the tour again the next day.
Rearranging our plans, we headed out the highway making a first stop at the library in Akumal which we had heard needed donations. We had brought quite a bit of school supplies and toys with us and also delivered a few pesos. The staff was happy to get it.
Our next stop was the
bustling coastal tourist town of Playa del Carmen. What a great little
town! Many of the stores along Avenida 5 had the usual tourist junk you
see everywhere, but there were plenty more that had really interesting, unique
stuff. One of Mary's favorites was Bone
Art Palace, on Calle 8 between Avenida 5 and 10. Domingo, the owner,
carves gorgeous, really unique jewelry out of bone. Mary bought a necklace
for herself and a couple more as gifts. When we got done there we looked
across the street and there was a Mayan restaurant called
Yaxche that Mary had
heard about online. We decided to give it a try, and we had a very good
meal–really interesting flavors, good service, not too excessively
pricey. We also made a stop at the Tequila Barrel on Avenida 5, where they
have a truly staggering (pun intended) array of tequilas for the sipping (or
shooting–although who's going to shoot a US$26.00 shot?). We finally ran
out of energy and headed back south. We made one more stop, at Lapis, a
big jewelry outlet on the highway south of Playa del Carmen which Mary had also
heard about online. What a letdown! High pressure, oily sales people
hawking the same kind of jewelry that we could find in an American mall jewelry
store.
The next morning our
perseverance paid off and we were able to tour the Sian Ka'an biosphere hosted
by Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an.
Heading out a bumpy road (finally, the famed potholes!) we picked up more and
more tourists. Our guide, Manuel, spoke excellent English and is a very
knowledgeable and impassioned biologist. His enthusiasm and enjoyable
personality made our tour a great experience. After bumping along the road
forever we finally reached the research station where we were given an
orientation. From there we made a short hike to get into two 26 foot open
air boats with outboard motors and Mayan captains.
Taking a leisurely pace through
the brackish water of the lagoon and then into the natural canal we observed a variety of
birds–heron, pelicans, ibis, osprey–and a glimpse of a crocodile. The clear water
of the canal also revealed a
variety of fish. Turning a bend of the canal a small Mayan temple came
into view. It was like something out of Indiana Jones but it was the real
thing. We docked there and could take a closer look at the temple.
We then had the opportunity to get in the water and float down stream. We,
however, saw no reason to get out of a perfectly good boat and into crocodile inhabited
water and waved to our
fellow tourists as they floated behind us. When they were finally back in
the boat we tied up and had a tasty and substantial picnic in the boats.
After that the boats sped us back through the canals and the lagoon to the
dock.
From the dock we went to the new research station which is under construction. Unfortunately, we didn't know exactly what we'd see there and left the camera in the van. Climbing to the roof of the two story building we had a panoramic view. The narrow spit of land is lush, dense, green jungle as far as the eye could see. On one side is the Caribbean and on the other is the lagoon we had toured. It was absolutely breathtaking! The research station itself is a show place of self-sustaining, low-impact habitation in sensitive terrain. Then it was back in the van to bounce past the home of a former Mexican president and the one-time vacation home of the late Columbian Cocaine lord, Pablo Escobar. For more pictures of Sian Ka'an click here.
That night, back in Tulum, we decided we needed a break from the resort's food and headed for Tulum's own French restaurant, París de Noche. Mary enjoyed a butterflied lobster tail drowned in garlic butter (which she had wanted all week). Tony's chicken cordon bleu was substantial but disappointing. We both enjoyed the best margaritas we'd had all week (Mary notes that she had some basis for comparison–she thinks she consumed more alcohol that week than she had in the entire year previous!). After a tasty dessert it was back to the resort for another night of reading until bed time.
The next morning was our last full day of the trip. We had another early start, heading off to the center of the Yucatan Peninsula and the breathtaking Mayan ruins, Chichén Itzá. Our route took us off in a new direction and provided new adventures in navigation. Our map showed an interchange with a major toll road but we couldn't find it. The highway we were on was good enough, so, we weren't too concerned and pressed on. On the way we passed through the town of Valladolid. We didn't stop but it gave us another view of a Mexican town, this one not being a tourist destination. It seemed to be a nice town and provided one of the more odd images of the trip, a giant adobe pagoda (it appeared to be a Buddhist temple) fully decorated for Christmas. Finally reaching Chichén Itzá, we stopped for lunch at the Hotel Mayaland. This was one of the more disappointing meals of the trip. Tony had the same dish, Chicken Pibil, that he had had at Yaxche (the Mayan restaurant in Playa del Carmen) and was amazed that it was possible to remove all flavor from it. The hotel itself is a beautiful colonial style building with exquisite grounds and European mannered staff.
Finally reaching the grounds of the Chichén Itzá archaeological zone we paid the admission and hired a guide, who was, again well worth the price. The pyramid dominates the grounds and is directly in front of the entrance from the visitor center. It is not as tall as it appears in pictures, but, is still overwhelming and impressive. The stairs to the top of it are every bit as step as they appear in pictures. Watching many other visitors making an undignified descent sliding their butt down one treacherous stair at a time made it easy to decide that we'd observe from the ground.
After taking in this view
our guide took us to the ball court where the Mayan royals played an amazing
sport. The court has high walls of carved stone with a ring of stone with
a hole about the size of a basketball hoop. Unlike a basketball hoop the
ring opens perpendicular to the ground and is about 20 feet off the playfield.
The players would manipulate a rubber ball without using hands, feet or
head. The winning team, of course, was the one able to pass the ball through the
hoop. Having proven themselves worthy, the reward for the winners
was that their team captain was sacrificed to the gods. Personally, we'd
rather just have cold Gatoraide dumped on us.
There are many other structures on the grounds. Our guide had a collection of pictures, many with overlays to show artists' renderings of how the buildings and grounds looked in their heyday. It was a very colorful place and careful observation of the ruins reveals much of that color faded though it is. We were treated to more thin evidence of Jesus' visit to the Mayans. Mary mumbled something about Lincoln and Kennedy both having Vice-Presidents named Johnson. After the tour was over we were free to explore on our own. It is quite an impressive place.
With night coming we left Chichén Itzá and again tried to find the toll road. Again, we couldn't find it and followed the highway back to Valladolid. The route through town was a bit confusing and this time we couldn't find our way back to the highway but finally found the toll road. It seemed like a fine idea to get on it and hustle home. We drove and drove and wondered when we'd find the toll booth and how soon we'd find the exit to Tulum. Finally, at about the point where we thought we'd find the exit to Tulum we reached the toll booth. Tony asked the man in the booth how far we were to the Tulum exit. It's really too bad there wasn't a picture of our faces when we heard the answer. We must have looked like we had just watched someone run over our puppy...repeatedly. There was no exit to Tulum! There was no exit to anywhere until the road reached Cancun! Lacking any choice we cursed our way to Cancun. All in all this added about 83 miles to the 124 mile drive. For more pictures of Chichén Itzá click here.
Giving up hope of getting back to the resort in time for dinner we decided we'd stop again in Playa del Carmen as it was on our route. At the first opportunity we consulted our guide books and located a recommendation for Buenos Aires, an Argentinean place that sounded nice. Finding parking in Playa del Carmen on a Friday night, however, added another 45 minutes to our evening and ended with the aforementioned cry of, "Soy Mexicano," as we took our life into our hands bombing across three lanes of traffic to pull into a parking space. The restaurant turned out to make the extra miles and parking adventure worthwhile. It is in a relaxing hidden courtyard with thatched awnings overhead and musicians who seemed to be on a local restaurant circuit. Live South American and then Mexican folk music filled the air. Everything about the meal was wonderful and Tony got the best steak of his life (and he has had plenty of steak).
In the morning it was time to pack and hit the road. We again stopped in Playa del Carmen for a passable lunch and last minute shopping. Finally reaching the airport the rental car return was easier than many guide books warn, but, the only truly sour part of the trip was to begin. Baggage inspection is done by hand at the ticket counter. Upon opening Tony's bag the inspector promptly dropped one of Tony's tourist treasures which hit the floor with the sound of shattering glass. There was no compensation and we were too tired to fight it. The plane was about an hour late leaving. The flight itself was fine if a bit bumpy, but, LAX was another matter. We were herded into over-crowded buses with our carry on luggage to be hauled to U.S. Customs and immagration. They were very understaffed and the line was long. After a brief stop with an inspector we had to pick-up our luggage. Tony's hard shell suitcase had been punctured with the broken handle from someone else's bag! The airline rep said to keep it and make a claim in Seattle. Just what we needed before boarding a plane, a pointy metal object! Next we had to trudge half way across the airport with our overloaded baggage to reach the departure terminal. We had only been told the terminal number but not the gate and again had to go through security screening. After an extra hour and a half on the ground we finally got back on the same plane exhausted and pissed off. Fortunately, the flight crew was very understanding and attentive and filled us with alcohol. Finally arriving in Seattle a total of two and a half hours late, it was another hour to get our bags and file the claim for Tony's damaged bag.
With only a few minor glitches, the trip was outstanding! We had a blast. If time and money were no object we'd gladly do it again. There are, however, many place in the world to see, so, we are not likely to make this particular trip again. Treasures have been unwrapped, pictures sorted and cropped, and much laundry has been done. When this web page is posted we're truly settled back in. It's good to be home but we're looking forward to our next big adventure. Stay tuned!
More information about and pictures of Freedom Paradise
More pictures of the ruins in Tulum
More Links to Yucatan Information
Copyright 2003 by Tony Gianelli and Mary McGhee. Photos on this page may be copied or reproduced only with our written permission.