A Mayan/ Mexican Ritual

Posted on February 8, 2013February 8, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Our Mexican jumping bean of a tour guide’s name is Paula. From the moment she introduced herself she was just a bundle of energy. One of the first things she did was tell us all to sit on the lower deck of the ferry for the return trip and to close our eyes. She said she would guarantee we would not be sick if we did that.

That out of the way she began explaining the true meaning of the Mayan calendar.

You know the one… the one that was supposed to end the world on 12/21/12. Having prepared us with the history and true meaning of the calendar we pulled into a trading post.

She called it a shopping center but it wasn’t anything like our shopping centers. It was a super sized souvenir stand.

There were some amazing things there including replicas of the Mayan Calender.

We spent about 30 minutes there before we all climbed back on the bus to finish our trip to the ruins.

I would love to go back with pockets full of cash!

Maybe 45 minutes later we pulled into the parking lot at Tulum.

The tour description said there was about a mile walk to the ruins. Miss Ball of Energy said it was a 5 -7 minute walk. Still suffering from a blister on my foot I opted to take the “tram” instead of walking. I was sure I could walk that far but not that I could keep up with Speedy Paula with my sore foot. Joe headed off with Paula on foot.

While those of us too “infirm” to walk waited for the tram we saw a group of costumed mexicans begin climbing a huge pole.

As they climbed one person stayed on the ground playing a flute.

When all reached the top he began to climb up too still playing the flute.

I asked a passing native what was going on and they said something about a rain dance. If it’s a rain dance , it’s working!

At about that time the men began dropping off the pole. They had ropes around their waist allowing them to spin like a carnival ride.

Slowly they were lowered to the ground where once on their feet , they walked away.

We got to see the whole thing while we waited for our ride.

The tram showed up right as the spectacle came to an end. It wouldn’t be long now before we’d see the main reason for the tour. The ruins of Tulum.

The Sights of Playa Del Carmen

Posted on February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We didn’t get much time for sight seeing as we were hustled right to the bus but I did steal a moment to grab some street scenes.

Joe in Mexico

Hammocks for sale

more balconies

balconies

our bus

Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen

Posted on February 6, 2013February 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ferry to the mainland crosses the Cozumel Channel, part of the Caribbean where the gulf stream gets funneled between the mainland and the island of Cozumel. This creates some choppy seas in the best of weather.

The tour description mentions that the crossing from Cozumel to the mainland can be rough and when Joe booked it he asked me if I would be ok with that. Forewarned is forearmed and I prepared accordingly. I made sure to have sea sick patches with me specifically for this trip. I didn’t need them for the cruise but for the ferry…well better safe than sorry so I put one on first thing in the morning. For the patches to be most effective they need to be on for 4 hours before you head off to your adventure.

Now we sat on the upper, open deck waiting for the ferry to cast off. It was windy with some drizzle so it was certainly expected that the crossing would be rough. What I wasn’t prepared for was how rough!.

Once we cast off the ferry wasted no time in accelerating but even so sometimes it felt like the forward progress was overshadowed by the side to side rocking and rolling and I mean rolling! We were on the top deck and as the boat rolled left everything and everyone slid that way. It felt like you could reach out and touch the water. At times I was afraid we wouldn’t right ourselves and we’d all be thrown into the cold, gray sea. But instead we bobbed back up only to roll to the other side.

It didn’t take long for those around us to start dropping. The crew handed out plastic bags and cotton balls. Joe was fine and I was too as long as I didn’t listen to the sounds around me. Water splashed all the way up to our level! My mantra was “I believe in my patch”.

I would guess the crossing took 45 minutes to an hour but it was hard to be sure. I bet it felt much longer to those who were sick. This trip was far worse than the trip to see the Puffins off the Maine Coast last summer where almost everyone there got sea sick too.

Finally docked and unloaded in Playa Del Carmen we were directed to the buses and loaded in there for the drive to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Our guide was an energetic Mexican with a great sense of humor.

Her non stop monologue could have been a stand up comedy act. She was going to make this tour a winner! As she said to us…her livelyhood depends on it.

A Rainy Morning at Sea

Posted on February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We awoke to clouds and fog and rain but we were still a way out to sea. We were hoping the weather would clear before we reached Cozumel.

Our morning had fallen into a pattern. We got up, dressed and went to the Lido deck for the breakfast buffet usually a starch like pancakes, waffles or French toast. There were the eggs too, Scrambled, hard boiled, Benedict or an omelet station where you could have them prepared to order.

Of course there was the meat: bacon, sausage, ham and turkey bacon. Grits and home fries pretty much round out the standard fare. Move on to the fruit bar and there were oranges, bananas, melon wedges, fruit salad and more! Another station was set up for the continental breakfast. Yogurt, bagels and toast, muffins and corn bread. I think I also saw cereal boxes and milk on that table.

You’d think that’s be enough for anyone but they even had a dessert table groaning with cookies, Jell-O, cakes, brownies, cheesecake and chocolate pudding. You could even make yourself a bowl of frozen yogurt or soft ice cream.

Beverages include coffee or tea, orange juice, apple juice, orange~promegranate and lemonade.

No wonder people say they over-eat on cruises! All of this food is included with your cruise!

Bt the time we finished breakfast the ship had pulled into Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico. We were directed to go to the Xanadu lounge just one of the many lounge and stage areas on the ship. Shortly after we reached the lounge one of the cruise people came around with stickers with the number 20 to put on our shirts. There was no explanation but we would soon find out the reason.

It was still raining but pretty soon they confirmed that the excursion was still a go and called for us to line up in twos. Like funeral procession we were being led off the ship as a group and our numbers identified us as an excursion group and therefore entitled to priority disembarkation.

Getting off the ship was easy. We just had to give security our room key which was scanned to show that we had left the ship.

Now began the half walk half run down the long pier into Cozumel but we didn’t even slow down as they hurried us around a corner and onto another long pier. At the end of the pier was the ferry to the mainland. As we boarded little did we know this innocent looking boat would soon become an instrument of torture for about half the group.