One day Barb and I were talking about taking a spontaneous trip some where and with the help of her friend Becky we decided to head to Mexico......then booked the trip and we were off within a week. Whew. A bit stressful trying to decide and leave on a trip that quick, but we managed quiet well.
The first day we landed we trekked over to Cozumel. After a haggling for the local bus, a ferry and a fairly short walk we arrived at our hotel. The next day Barb went Scuba diving and I went snorkeling. Those were really our only plans of the whole trip other than some idea's of what we thought we should see.
The next day we rented a car in Playa del Carmen and headed towards Coba. A few hours after realizing that we had long passed it we found ourselves in Ek'Balam instead. This was the first time either of us had seen Mayan ruins. The weather was great and after I saw my first iguana I was immediately obsessed with finding more. We climbed to the top of one of the largest Mayan pyramids in no time. We were pleased to find that our guide book (travel bible) was right in that there weren't many other tourists either. We even found a little back trial behind the pyramid and had a little walking adventure.
Next we drove to Piste. Despite all the rumors of horrific driving experiences in Mexico we found that the roads were well paved and safe. All the thanks to Barb the fearless one.
We woke somewhat early the next day and headed to Chichen Itza determined to beat the tourists. Luckily we did because on our way out they were coming in in droves. As much as we were both against tour guides we found ourselves hiring one and it proved to be well worth the money. There is no way we would have had the depth of knowledge with just our guide book. We spent 3 or 4 hours seeing the whole site. It was very impressive. We would have never known that this is a Maya and Toltec site. Great minds think alike because after learning about the great ball court game we both were thankful we live in a time where the captain of the team isn't sacrificed or decapitated any longer.
After that we decided to goto Coba and ended up taking a detour to visit the Dzitnup cenotes: X'keken and Samula. We both braved the water (actually quiet refreshing) and found stalactites, stalagmites and massive tree roots dangling from the ground-level all the way down to the water. The rest of the day was spent driving to Coba finding it pretty easy this time.
In Coba we had yet another day of ruins. We rented bicycles and rode around the grounds. We tried handing them off to some other tourists so they wouldn't have to pay but they were so onto us and we learned our lesson. Next we spent the night in Tulum in a beach side hacienda. Quiet nice until it started to rain and Barb found herself in another bed......although I never got wet....hmm....lol
It was good to see the ruins of Tulum last. After all the ruins they start to get a little old but with the stunning views of the ocean Tulum proved to be just as enjoyable as the other ruin. I was still enjoying all the iguanas too. After that we drove to Akumal.
We followed a stranger (but fellow Utahan....and a Hatch) to a private lagoon that he said many of the local hadn't really even seen. It was all nice but he failed to warn us that we were hiking in the middle of poison ivy. Which I got and barb didn't. After we were through he invited us to stay with he and his wife. There house ended up being a mansion and the previous owners were the grateful dead. I assumed it was Morgan and Rick showing us a great time. The place was amazing. Its back yard was the Yal-Ku Laguna. We snorkeled till we were prunes. Every kind of colored fish you could imagine. This was surely a highlight of the trip for me. I loved it and loved sharing it with Barb. We even saw a big blue fish with buck teeth. We slept well that night.
I was so excited the next morning to head to Turtle bay where you can snorkel with the sea turtles. They were every thing I imagined. Such graceful beautiful beings. I enjoyed watching them swim and eat. One even came so close to me checking me out I could have touched it. What was also really cool about this is that we were able to get all the directions and information about the bay and managed it by ourselves rather than paying a guide. I love that and work for it on every trip!!!! Discovering it all on my own! Next we headed back to the lagoon for more snorkeling at Yal-Ku. It was a bit over cast that day but the world beneath called us in despite the cold.
This was pretty much the end of our adventures in Mexico other than a last night in Playa del Carmen where we splurged on an amazing meal and smoked our cigars. (two puffs each was about enough for the two of us)
