Well, I got my first serious burn today so I am sitting here in a bit of misery. But for you, my four readers, I persevere. Back to the where we left off.
I arrived in Cozumel on the UltraMar ferry. Pretty swank. I love taking the ferry here, the water is surreal with the crazy blues and greens. Uneventful crossing.
I stayed at the Mary Carmen hotel which was very nice. I only discovered on the morning that I left that the courtyard was full of tortoises, just wandering around right outside my door, for no apparent reason.
As I mentioned in my last post, my first order of business was to find a car. I found ISIS car rentals who had the lowest posted price. I arranged to come back at 6pm to maximize my 24 hours as I didn't want the car that night. When I went back, I got the husband who gave me an even lower price. I wonder if actual beautiful women have to pay for anything in this country? Anyway, the wife told me that Sunday was the best day for driving. There are no cruise ships in (there were five in dock when I arrived on Saturday) so the roads would be empty. But the husband told me that Sunday is bad because there are no tourists in town so the attractions are closed.
Has anyone driven a VW bug lately. They are awful. Hard to shift, I had to crank the seat so far forward to get the clutch to engage, I could barely get the stick to go into reverse. Between 40 and 50 was no man's land, too fast for 3rd, too slow for 4th. There was no sneaking up on the birds in that thing. But we eventually made peace and spent an excellent day together.
Cozumel isn't huge but it is big enough. I started at the parking lot of Chankanaab, what I thought was a park with a lagoon. I had been warned it would be closed on Sunday but I figured that birds don't know where the park ends and the parking area starts. But no such luck, nary a new bird. It was not even 7am at that point but a guard told me it would open at 8. I was happily surprised that it would be open. Since I had an hour, I headed to Punta Sur, an apparently amazing ecological park at the southern tip of the island. I say apparently because, as predicted it was closed. But the beach was open so I wandered along that, into the park for an hour or so. The park looked so forlorn, just short scrub all along the beach. I even walked up to the road once I was around a bend and the guard couldn't see me but it was exactly the same. No birds anywhere. It was only later when I saw pictures, I realized that the park has a lagoon at the point (too far to walk) that is full of amazing wading birds. Another visit I suppose.
Back to Chakanaab. It had a fairly steep entrance fee but at this point I have completely given up on any sort of budgeting so I just paid and went in. It is less an ecological park and more a theme park. This part of Mexico (and probably others too) have these 'event' parks where everything is provided for you. Things to do and look at. Bars, restaurants, gift shops, snorkeling (that may have been extra) plus this park had a dolphin swim (definitely extra). I figured for my $15 Can, I was going to do everything (free) that was offered.
What I really was there for was the lagoon. But when I found it, it was very small and seemed fairly dead. No birds, no fish, just a lovely shallow natural pool. But as I started to walk around it I saw a fish. A beautiful blue, big shiny fish. I wondered if someone had put it in there, it seemed so out of place. But as I watched, I saw more fish, of different colours. I went to the next viewing spot and found a veritable tropical fish tank. The lagoon has an interesting formation that isn't apparent upon first viewing. The centre is very shallow but it is like a plate that doesn't quite meet the edges. Around the sides the bottom drops off to reveal a tiny coral reef. The fish can hide from the birds in the coral. I watched them for an hour, they were so cool. So many different kinds, colours, shapes.
I had been told there was a sea lion show at 10:30 so I wandered over for that. Nothing noteworthy there. I don't think I even took a picture. After that, I sat by the dolphin swim area. It is a closed in part of the ocean with smaller areas for tourists to individual dolphins to be kept so that the tourists can get in the water with them. I sat and watched that for awhile (actually I was trying to clear some pictures off my camera because it was threatening that the card was full - lesson here - never clear pictures in bright sunshine, I accidentally erased my Rail since it was so dark, I thought it was a blank.) As I was sitting there, one of the trainers asked me it I wanted a tour of the dolphin tanks. Normally, you would have to pay for an actual dolphin swim to be allowed out on the docks. As per my policy of taking advantage of all free activities, I accepted. Which was good since I got to ask a million questions about the dolphins. They are all put together, except the young ones, in the centre area, so no one is isolated in the 'swim' tanks. There were two babies kept with their mothers and three juveniles who stay together away from the alpha male. No pictures allowed. I think he was trying to convince me to pay for a dolphin swim but that definitely wasn't going to happen. Had I known that they had dolphins in the park when I paid, I probably would have skipped the whole thing, but I definitely wasn't going to add insult to the injury. Unfortunately, they had so many people in there, they didn't need my money.
Then lunch of fish tacos and cafe con leche overlooking the ocean and people watching. After that, I just walked around and found whatever there was to look at. A tequila 'museum' - actually just some pictures and a store. I could have had a free shot but that would have been a bad on idea for several reasons (mainly - I hate tequila and I was driving a moody car). Then I found a archaeological replica area which was surprisingly huge. It was a walkway that had samples of Mexican artifacts scattered about showing samples of various regions and cultural periods. It was a nice calm area. It was pretty empty in the park but this part was absolutely deserted. But still no birds. Well, one bird that I had seen before but wasn't written in my book. At least I got to put Cozumel in my book.
Only a few days left of my vacation so I figured I should probably have a swim in the Caribbean. So, I went back to my car, switched my regular (bino, camera, books) bag for my swimming bag. And then I went to find the swimming area. Well, it turns out that snorkeling is the game here. There is no sandy beach only coral. So, no swim here so I left. But as I was driving along, I saw Sr Sancho's Beach Club - Entre Libre (free entry). So I headed in. Changed into my swim suit. And hit the beach. Right into the water. Lovely. cool, refreshing, gentle waves. 30 minutes and I was out of there. I was running out of day.
Next stop the ruins, the name of which I have forgotten, (update -San Gervasio) . It was almost 3:30 but this time and I had to be out by 4:30. The map showed a main area plus some outlying ruins. But the map didn't have any scale so I had no idea how far those ruins were from the gate. So I booted it. Did I mention that I wore my sandals, not my runners, this day for reasons unknown. My feet are pretty horrible right now and this did not help. Again no new birds. But I did manage to get to all of the ruins. It is a nice park and I wished I had more time. It deserved at least 2, maybe 3 hours. These buildings and the one on Isla Mujares are dedicated to Ixtal, the goddess of fertility and health and I think fishing. Women would come to Cozumel and Isla Mujares to make offerings. I didn't see any of the Ixtal carvings but there was one building called 'Little Hands' where you can still see the red hand prints (unless they have been enhanced for the tourists but I am willing to believe) which is pretty cool.
Island fully circumnavigated, back to town by 5pm when I dropped off the car. Dinner, a bit of tv, and to bed early since I didn't get my afternoon nap that day. And I couldn't face walking around on my sad little feet.
The next morning, i was on the 9am ferry back to Playa del Carmen. Straight to the ADO, next bus in 7 minutes. I was in Cancun by 11, taxi to Pto Juarez where the ferry to Isla Mujares leaves and I was here by 12:15. If I had known it was so easy, I would have spent another half day on Cozumel and gone back to Punta Sur.
I had a bit of a time finding a hotel. I didn't want to be on the water where the beach bars are but I couldn't seem to find a hotel. As it turns out, there are zillions of them, I just happened to take the exact route (the only route) that doesn't have any hotels for blocks. Eventually, after many twists and turns (with my bag) I found the ugliest hotel in town. But cheap so I took it, plus, since I hadn't seen any other hotels, I didn't know it was the actual ugliest yet. I got to my room and had a quick nap (of course). Then I went to find a golf cart. Isla Mujares is small, about 8km long and 3 km wide at its widest. Last time I was here, I walked to the middle of the island but now I am old and hobbled.
I wanted the cart for 6am but the first two places I talked to would not rent for 24 hours, only from 9am to 5pm. Birds don't keep banking hours people. Eventually I found a place, Prisma, that would let me have it that night so I could have the keys to come and get it in the morning. I just left it parked out front of their storefront along the water.
Then off to dinner, chicken enchiladas with mole and a beer. Then back to the Hotel Osorio. But not quite. When I found the place, I had made so many turns, I couldn't find it again. This town is small, about 8 by 8 blocks. But that is still 64 blocks on a grid search. And it is disorienting here. All of the stores look identical, plus I had seen many of the landmarks after I left the hotel while looking for a car AND there is water on all sides so I couldn't even really figure out which direction I was going. On my poor feet. I just couldn't find it where it should have been. Eventually I had to ask someone. It turns out, I had forgotten one turn that took me back to the water. It was right around the corner form the car rental place and only a block and a half from the restaurant.
No TV or wifi in this room so I am back to One Hundred Years of Solitude. I hope someone (Alisma?) has read this because I need someone to explain what is going on. On the surface, it is a simple little tale of a family in a town. But I know that is so much more. Plus, every male character has one of two names. And they don't even necessarily name the sons after the father, sometimes they name him after his uncle. I cannot keep them straight. Whose married to whom, who is whose father/grandfather/uncle. And to add a further complication, the two names are similar with the same first letter and the similar shape so I actually have to pay attention. I read the first third of the book with the brothers mixed up. Now I just keep checking the genealogy chart at the front but it is only so much help with the name situation.
This morning I woke up at 5 or so and went to get the golf cart (number 23) by 5:45. But they had blocked it in. It was bumper to bumper with the ones in front and back. But it turns out, one can just pop the brake on those things and just push them around. Which is what I did to the one in front. I just shoved it out of the way and created enough room to get mine out. The roads were pretty clear at that time of day. I started at the Pirate's Hacienda (real name - Hacienda Mundaca). I walked here last time but I can't believe how far it was from town. this place has really changed since I was here 10 years ago. There used to be one road that ran up the middle of the island. Now there are several roads crisscrossing between two main roads that follow the two coasts.
Some copy and paste info on the Pirate:
Hacienda Mundaca originally covered almost forty percent of the island. Built by Fermin Mundaca after he "retired" from pirating and slave trading around 1858, the hacienda was surrounded by magnificent gardens including the solar clock garden called "The Rose of the Winds". Mundaca dedicated his hacienda to a local beauty, 37 years younger then himself, known as "La Triguena" (the brunette). The arches above the gates were known as "The Entrance of the Triguena" and "The Pass of the Triguena". His dedication was in vain, she married a man closer to her own age and as legend tells it, Fermin Mundaca slowly went insane and died, alone in Merida.
It was too early for the Hacienda to be open but the last time I was here, a man showed me a path into the park that bypassed the gate. I used that path again. There are lots of paths through the wooded area. The story of the Hacienda is that a pirate landed here and fell in love with a local girl. He built here a house and a beautiful garden to convince her to marry him but she married someone else. So the hacienda was abandoned. Now it is this huge piece of land right in the middle of the island. I found the abandoned garden which is very neglected but I can imagine how lovely it must have been when it was first built. No birds of note. Then I found a cave. As I was standing at the mouth of the cave, I got caught by some maintenance workers. One of them tried to tell me I wasn't allowed in there. But I gave him a my "I don't understand you" look and he gave me his "I don't get paid enough for this" look and then he went away.
When I finally found my way out of the woods (I figured it was getting close to opening time so even if the guard noticed me I would be allowed to stay), I found a pond. Jackpot. Teal winged ducks. And as I was looking at a long neck stilt, I saw another rail standing at the edge of the reeds. A Sora. Not nearly so shy as the Grey necked from Muyil, but still pretty awesome. And an Indigo Bunting. A nice addition to the Blue Bunting I saw in Muyil.
I left there at about 9am and headed to Punta Sur (they aren't too original with their names here - the southern point of this island). But there is a restaurant that blocks the way to the point. And it was closed even though it said it was open at 9. I sat around for a bit when a garbage truck arrived. They had to remove the closed sign to let it in. They didn't put it back up so I just slipped by the truck and walked in. The point is a rocky outcropping with a path to the tip. There is a ticket window ($3) but no one was in it so I just kept going. There is a ruin at the end, very small and uninteresting. Behind this is the Southern tip of the island. And as I got closer, I discovered that the cliffs were covered with pathways. To one side, I found a plaque stating that I was standing at the eastern most point in Mexico. On the other side, there was a walkway but I couldn't see where it led, so of course, I followed it. After some ups and downs (literally, not emotionally) I found a cave that had a crude set of steps leading up past it. Up I went. I found the nicest spot. Behind big rock, invisible from the path or the stairs or above, there was a paved platform with a couple of deck chairs looking out over the turquoise sea. I spent a few minutes there, reveling in my hidden spot.
Back to the path, I kept heading north. There was a gate that blocked the path that said, in many ways, no entry, which I ignored. I knew where I was heading now. As I drove to Punta Sur, I had stopped at a Beach Club (like Chakanaab but way more expensive - with ziplines). I was about to enter that park through a back route (no ticket gate). and just as I was arriving, a boat was unloading dozens of guests (probably from Playa). I could easily have blended in and stayed but I had zero interest in hanging out there. So, I found my way back up to the road, much to the surprise of the ticket lady and walked back to my golf cart.
I drove around for awhile, found a few dirt roads to explore, went around a bay which was uninteresting. I hadn't eaten anything but my hard tack cookies and it was getting on noon so I stopped at Chedraui for a visit. Then I parked in a spot overlooking the sea and ate a snack. Back to town where I thought I might park the cart since I still had almost 5 hours left with it. But this town is not made for vehicles. All of the streets are one way, all of the north/south streets go one way except the roads along the water. Half of the interior streets are blocked for pedestrians. I could not figure out how to get in so I just took it back to the rental place and gave it back. I needed a nap anyway.
Now I am having dinner (Shrimp fajitas). I am almost out of money. I am trying to figure out if I can make it to a hotel tomorrow and then to the airport the next day on 450 pesos. If I don't eat and pay for my next hotel on visa, I think it is doable. Or if I should just bite the bullet and take out some more money and have pesos on hand for my next trip. I barely bought anything. I bought two stuffed monkeys because I had to. Plus the whistles for Amy's kids and a necklace for Makenna. And of course, some Jello Flan con caramel. Actually it's not Jello, it is some off brand of an off brand. Jello has switched to aspartame which totally destroys the flan. But I digress. An ornament for our Christmas ornament exchange at work. And that's it. Stuff from Mexico just isn't unique anymore, it has all been seen. And anyone who might want it that I know, has already been here and bought it for themselves. And silver isn't cheap anymore so that doesn't help.
Anyway. I assume this will be my last post before I come home. I don't expect anything interesting to happen on my last night in Cancun. I land in Victoria around 9pm on Thursday. See the beasties who didn't notice that I left anyway.
Quick update 6:31 am the next day. My battery ran out last night as I was spell checking. So now I am skulking around the restaurant, I am literally sitting behind a plant, borrowing their Wi-Fi because I don't want to wait for them to open and I can't afford to eat again until I get to Victoria. Still burnt and discovered hundreds of mosquito bites as the night progressed. Perhaps I should have been better slathered yesterday as I clearly did not have enough sunscreen or bug spray. Off to the beach to sit around for a bit.
Another quick update after checking my email. I just got my second offer of a money transfer from another lovely friend. I guess I may be overdoing to money issues thing. I made a transfer so I have enough in my account. I am just too cheap to pay the additional withdrawal and exchange fees. This paragraph has convinced me to go get some money. At least I can eat then. I'm almost out of my horrible cookies so I doubt I could have made it two days anyway.
I arrived in Cozumel on the UltraMar ferry. Pretty swank. I love taking the ferry here, the water is surreal with the crazy blues and greens. Uneventful crossing.
The Ferry to Cozumel
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| View of Playa as we left |
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| These were two of the five huge cruise ships docked at Cozume |
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| View of Cozumel as we arrived |
I stayed at the Mary Carmen hotel which was very nice. I only discovered on the morning that I left that the courtyard was full of tortoises, just wandering around right outside my door, for no apparent reason.
Cozumel (the town)
As I mentioned in my last post, my first order of business was to find a car. I found ISIS car rentals who had the lowest posted price. I arranged to come back at 6pm to maximize my 24 hours as I didn't want the car that night. When I went back, I got the husband who gave me an even lower price. I wonder if actual beautiful women have to pay for anything in this country? Anyway, the wife told me that Sunday was the best day for driving. There are no cruise ships in (there were five in dock when I arrived on Saturday) so the roads would be empty. But the husband told me that Sunday is bad because there are no tourists in town so the attractions are closed.
Has anyone driven a VW bug lately. They are awful. Hard to shift, I had to crank the seat so far forward to get the clutch to engage, I could barely get the stick to go into reverse. Between 40 and 50 was no man's land, too fast for 3rd, too slow for 4th. There was no sneaking up on the birds in that thing. But we eventually made peace and spent an excellent day together.
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| My VW. Notice the jauntily askew licence plate. And the bike lock holding the truck in place. |
Cozumel isn't huge but it is big enough. I started at the parking lot of Chankanaab, what I thought was a park with a lagoon. I had been warned it would be closed on Sunday but I figured that birds don't know where the park ends and the parking area starts. But no such luck, nary a new bird. It was not even 7am at that point but a guard told me it would open at 8. I was happily surprised that it would be open. Since I had an hour, I headed to Punta Sur, an apparently amazing ecological park at the southern tip of the island. I say apparently because, as predicted it was closed. But the beach was open so I wandered along that, into the park for an hour or so. The park looked so forlorn, just short scrub all along the beach. I even walked up to the road once I was around a bend and the guard couldn't see me but it was exactly the same. No birds anywhere. It was only later when I saw pictures, I realized that the park has a lagoon at the point (too far to walk) that is full of amazing wading birds. Another visit I suppose.
The Beach to Punta Sur
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| Through my VW window |
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| There was dead coral everywhere. It created such beautiful patterns and textures. |
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| So did the beach flora |
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| and fauna |
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| Very Zen |
Back to Chakanaab. It had a fairly steep entrance fee but at this point I have completely given up on any sort of budgeting so I just paid and went in. It is less an ecological park and more a theme park. This part of Mexico (and probably others too) have these 'event' parks where everything is provided for you. Things to do and look at. Bars, restaurants, gift shops, snorkeling (that may have been extra) plus this park had a dolphin swim (definitely extra). I figured for my $15 Can, I was going to do everything (free) that was offered.
What I really was there for was the lagoon. But when I found it, it was very small and seemed fairly dead. No birds, no fish, just a lovely shallow natural pool. But as I started to walk around it I saw a fish. A beautiful blue, big shiny fish. I wondered if someone had put it in there, it seemed so out of place. But as I watched, I saw more fish, of different colours. I went to the next viewing spot and found a veritable tropical fish tank. The lagoon has an interesting formation that isn't apparent upon first viewing. The centre is very shallow but it is like a plate that doesn't quite meet the edges. Around the sides the bottom drops off to reveal a tiny coral reef. The fish can hide from the birds in the coral. I watched them for an hour, they were so cool. So many different kinds, colours, shapes.
Chankanaab Lagoon
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| First view - nothing going on here. |
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| pretty though. |
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| Wait... a fish! |
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| See how the edges create hiding spots. |
I had been told there was a sea lion show at 10:30 so I wandered over for that. Nothing noteworthy there. I don't think I even took a picture. After that, I sat by the dolphin swim area. It is a closed in part of the ocean with smaller areas for tourists to individual dolphins to be kept so that the tourists can get in the water with them. I sat and watched that for awhile (actually I was trying to clear some pictures off my camera because it was threatening that the card was full - lesson here - never clear pictures in bright sunshine, I accidentally erased my Rail since it was so dark, I thought it was a blank.) As I was sitting there, one of the trainers asked me it I wanted a tour of the dolphin tanks. Normally, you would have to pay for an actual dolphin swim to be allowed out on the docks. As per my policy of taking advantage of all free activities, I accepted. Which was good since I got to ask a million questions about the dolphins. They are all put together, except the young ones, in the centre area, so no one is isolated in the 'swim' tanks. There were two babies kept with their mothers and three juveniles who stay together away from the alpha male. No pictures allowed. I think he was trying to convince me to pay for a dolphin swim but that definitely wasn't going to happen. Had I known that they had dolphins in the park when I paid, I probably would have skipped the whole thing, but I definitely wasn't going to add insult to the injury. Unfortunately, they had so many people in there, they didn't need my money.
More Chankanaab
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| The beach. The sand did not extend down into the water. |
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| That's the entrance to the bathrooms. They don't fool around. |
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| Apparently I like the look of Terns. They look so regal and awkward at the same time. |
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| The dolphin tanks with the tourists waiting to get in the water with their dolphin. |
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| I am just too lazy to crop that guy out. |
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| The tequila 'museum' (price tags included) |
Then lunch of fish tacos and cafe con leche overlooking the ocean and people watching. After that, I just walked around and found whatever there was to look at. A tequila 'museum' - actually just some pictures and a store. I could have had a free shot but that would have been a bad on idea for several reasons (mainly - I hate tequila and I was driving a moody car). Then I found a archaeological replica area which was surprisingly huge. It was a walkway that had samples of Mexican artifacts scattered about showing samples of various regions and cultural periods. It was a nice calm area. It was pretty empty in the park but this part was absolutely deserted. But still no birds. Well, one bird that I had seen before but wasn't written in my book. At least I got to put Cozumel in my book.
Only a few days left of my vacation so I figured I should probably have a swim in the Caribbean. So, I went back to my car, switched my regular (bino, camera, books) bag for my swimming bag. And then I went to find the swimming area. Well, it turns out that snorkeling is the game here. There is no sandy beach only coral. So, no swim here so I left. But as I was driving along, I saw Sr Sancho's Beach Club - Entre Libre (free entry). So I headed in. Changed into my swim suit. And hit the beach. Right into the water. Lovely. cool, refreshing, gentle waves. 30 minutes and I was out of there. I was running out of day.
Next stop the ruins, the name of which I have forgotten, (update -San Gervasio) . It was almost 3:30 but this time and I had to be out by 4:30. The map showed a main area plus some outlying ruins. But the map didn't have any scale so I had no idea how far those ruins were from the gate. So I booted it. Did I mention that I wore my sandals, not my runners, this day for reasons unknown. My feet are pretty horrible right now and this did not help. Again no new birds. But I did manage to get to all of the ruins. It is a nice park and I wished I had more time. It deserved at least 2, maybe 3 hours. These buildings and the one on Isla Mujares are dedicated to Ixtal, the goddess of fertility and health and I think fishing. Women would come to Cozumel and Isla Mujares to make offerings. I didn't see any of the Ixtal carvings but there was one building called 'Little Hands' where you can still see the red hand prints (unless they have been enhanced for the tourists but I am willing to believe) which is pretty cool.
San Gervasio
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| I think this is Tall House |
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| This is an interesting Sacbe. It is raised so it is really obvious. The path beside is for us wimpy tourists who don't like uneven ground |
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| The Arch |
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| The Sacbe leading up to the Arch. |
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| Just a random hole in the ground, probably a dry cenote |
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| Sacbe (you will learn to appreciate the Sacbe if it kills me - or you) |
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| This might be Small house |
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| House of the little hands (Las Manitos). You can see the hand prints to the right of the right column. |
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| The hand prints close up |
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| Even closer up |
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| One last Sacbe to really bring it home. |
Island fully circumnavigated, back to town by 5pm when I dropped off the car. Dinner, a bit of tv, and to bed early since I didn't get my afternoon nap that day. And I couldn't face walking around on my sad little feet.
The next morning, i was on the 9am ferry back to Playa del Carmen. Straight to the ADO, next bus in 7 minutes. I was in Cancun by 11, taxi to Pto Juarez where the ferry to Isla Mujares leaves and I was here by 12:15. If I had known it was so easy, I would have spent another half day on Cozumel and gone back to Punta Sur.
I had a bit of a time finding a hotel. I didn't want to be on the water where the beach bars are but I couldn't seem to find a hotel. As it turns out, there are zillions of them, I just happened to take the exact route (the only route) that doesn't have any hotels for blocks. Eventually, after many twists and turns (with my bag) I found the ugliest hotel in town. But cheap so I took it, plus, since I hadn't seen any other hotels, I didn't know it was the actual ugliest yet. I got to my room and had a quick nap (of course). Then I went to find a golf cart. Isla Mujares is small, about 8km long and 3 km wide at its widest. Last time I was here, I walked to the middle of the island but now I am old and hobbled.
I wanted the cart for 6am but the first two places I talked to would not rent for 24 hours, only from 9am to 5pm. Birds don't keep banking hours people. Eventually I found a place, Prisma, that would let me have it that night so I could have the keys to come and get it in the morning. I just left it parked out front of their storefront along the water.
Then off to dinner, chicken enchiladas with mole and a beer. Then back to the Hotel Osorio. But not quite. When I found the place, I had made so many turns, I couldn't find it again. This town is small, about 8 by 8 blocks. But that is still 64 blocks on a grid search. And it is disorienting here. All of the stores look identical, plus I had seen many of the landmarks after I left the hotel while looking for a car AND there is water on all sides so I couldn't even really figure out which direction I was going. On my poor feet. I just couldn't find it where it should have been. Eventually I had to ask someone. It turns out, I had forgotten one turn that took me back to the water. It was right around the corner form the car rental place and only a block and a half from the restaurant.
No TV or wifi in this room so I am back to One Hundred Years of Solitude. I hope someone (Alisma?) has read this because I need someone to explain what is going on. On the surface, it is a simple little tale of a family in a town. But I know that is so much more. Plus, every male character has one of two names. And they don't even necessarily name the sons after the father, sometimes they name him after his uncle. I cannot keep them straight. Whose married to whom, who is whose father/grandfather/uncle. And to add a further complication, the two names are similar with the same first letter and the similar shape so I actually have to pay attention. I read the first third of the book with the brothers mixed up. Now I just keep checking the genealogy chart at the front but it is only so much help with the name situation.
This morning I woke up at 5 or so and went to get the golf cart (number 23) by 5:45. But they had blocked it in. It was bumper to bumper with the ones in front and back. But it turns out, one can just pop the brake on those things and just push them around. Which is what I did to the one in front. I just shoved it out of the way and created enough room to get mine out. The roads were pretty clear at that time of day. I started at the Pirate's Hacienda (real name - Hacienda Mundaca). I walked here last time but I can't believe how far it was from town. this place has really changed since I was here 10 years ago. There used to be one road that ran up the middle of the island. Now there are several roads crisscrossing between two main roads that follow the two coasts.
Some copy and paste info on the Pirate:
Hacienda Mundaca originally covered almost forty percent of the island. Built by Fermin Mundaca after he "retired" from pirating and slave trading around 1858, the hacienda was surrounded by magnificent gardens including the solar clock garden called "The Rose of the Winds". Mundaca dedicated his hacienda to a local beauty, 37 years younger then himself, known as "La Triguena" (the brunette). The arches above the gates were known as "The Entrance of the Triguena" and "The Pass of the Triguena". His dedication was in vain, she married a man closer to her own age and as legend tells it, Fermin Mundaca slowly went insane and died, alone in Merida.
It was too early for the Hacienda to be open but the last time I was here, a man showed me a path into the park that bypassed the gate. I used that path again. There are lots of paths through the wooded area. The story of the Hacienda is that a pirate landed here and fell in love with a local girl. He built here a house and a beautiful garden to convince her to marry him but she married someone else. So the hacienda was abandoned. Now it is this huge piece of land right in the middle of the island. I found the abandoned garden which is very neglected but I can imagine how lovely it must have been when it was first built. No birds of note. Then I found a cave. As I was standing at the mouth of the cave, I got caught by some maintenance workers. One of them tried to tell me I wasn't allowed in there. But I gave him a my "I don't understand you" look and he gave me his "I don't get paid enough for this" look and then he went away.
Hacienda Mundaca
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| The garden - the Rose of the Winds. |
When I finally found my way out of the woods (I figured it was getting close to opening time so even if the guard noticed me I would be allowed to stay), I found a pond. Jackpot. Teal winged ducks. And as I was looking at a long neck stilt, I saw another rail standing at the edge of the reeds. A Sora. Not nearly so shy as the Grey necked from Muyil, but still pretty awesome. And an Indigo Bunting. A nice addition to the Blue Bunting I saw in Muyil.
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| Sora |
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| Add caption |
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I left there at about 9am and headed to Punta Sur (they aren't too original with their names here - the southern point of this island). But there is a restaurant that blocks the way to the point. And it was closed even though it said it was open at 9. I sat around for a bit when a garbage truck arrived. They had to remove the closed sign to let it in. They didn't put it back up so I just slipped by the truck and walked in. The point is a rocky outcropping with a path to the tip. There is a ticket window ($3) but no one was in it so I just kept going. There is a ruin at the end, very small and uninteresting. Behind this is the Southern tip of the island. And as I got closer, I discovered that the cliffs were covered with pathways. To one side, I found a plaque stating that I was standing at the eastern most point in Mexico. On the other side, there was a walkway but I couldn't see where it led, so of course, I followed it. After some ups and downs (literally, not emotionally) I found a cave that had a crude set of steps leading up past it. Up I went. I found the nicest spot. Behind big rock, invisible from the path or the stairs or above, there was a paved platform with a couple of deck chairs looking out over the turquoise sea. I spent a few minutes there, reveling in my hidden spot.
Punta Sur & Ixchel Ruins
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| Ixchel - right at the southern tip of the island. |
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| Punta Sur - that's Ixchel Ruin way at the end. |
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| Ixchel from the back |
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| The very tip of the island |
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| The eastern most point in Mexico |
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| You can see how close Cancun is |
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| The stairs to the unknown |
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| At the top of those stairs, the hidden spot over the walkway below. |
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| the cave beside the stairs |
More Isla Mujares pictures
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| Self portrait in my golf cart |
Back to the path, I kept heading north. There was a gate that blocked the path that said, in many ways, no entry, which I ignored. I knew where I was heading now. As I drove to Punta Sur, I had stopped at a Beach Club (like Chakanaab but way more expensive - with ziplines). I was about to enter that park through a back route (no ticket gate). and just as I was arriving, a boat was unloading dozens of guests (probably from Playa). I could easily have blended in and stayed but I had zero interest in hanging out there. So, I found my way back up to the road, much to the surprise of the ticket lady and walked back to my golf cart.
I drove around for awhile, found a few dirt roads to explore, went around a bay which was uninteresting. I hadn't eaten anything but my hard tack cookies and it was getting on noon so I stopped at Chedraui for a visit. Then I parked in a spot overlooking the sea and ate a snack. Back to town where I thought I might park the cart since I still had almost 5 hours left with it. But this town is not made for vehicles. All of the streets are one way, all of the north/south streets go one way except the roads along the water. Half of the interior streets are blocked for pedestrians. I could not figure out how to get in so I just took it back to the rental place and gave it back. I needed a nap anyway.
Now I am having dinner (Shrimp fajitas). I am almost out of money. I am trying to figure out if I can make it to a hotel tomorrow and then to the airport the next day on 450 pesos. If I don't eat and pay for my next hotel on visa, I think it is doable. Or if I should just bite the bullet and take out some more money and have pesos on hand for my next trip. I barely bought anything. I bought two stuffed monkeys because I had to. Plus the whistles for Amy's kids and a necklace for Makenna. And of course, some Jello Flan con caramel. Actually it's not Jello, it is some off brand of an off brand. Jello has switched to aspartame which totally destroys the flan. But I digress. An ornament for our Christmas ornament exchange at work. And that's it. Stuff from Mexico just isn't unique anymore, it has all been seen. And anyone who might want it that I know, has already been here and bought it for themselves. And silver isn't cheap anymore so that doesn't help.
Anyway. I assume this will be my last post before I come home. I don't expect anything interesting to happen on my last night in Cancun. I land in Victoria around 9pm on Thursday. See the beasties who didn't notice that I left anyway.
Quick update 6:31 am the next day. My battery ran out last night as I was spell checking. So now I am skulking around the restaurant, I am literally sitting behind a plant, borrowing their Wi-Fi because I don't want to wait for them to open and I can't afford to eat again until I get to Victoria. Still burnt and discovered hundreds of mosquito bites as the night progressed. Perhaps I should have been better slathered yesterday as I clearly did not have enough sunscreen or bug spray. Off to the beach to sit around for a bit.
Another quick update after checking my email. I just got my second offer of a money transfer from another lovely friend. I guess I may be overdoing to money issues thing. I made a transfer so I have enough in my account. I am just too cheap to pay the additional withdrawal and exchange fees. This paragraph has convinced me to go get some money. At least I can eat then. I'm almost out of my horrible cookies so I doubt I could have made it two days anyway.
