Cancun, Mexico – June 4 – 11, 2011

I finally got some blogs done so I’m going to be posting a few today (hopefully).  I’ve written some of them a long time after writing them but I’m sure I caught most of the details.  I haven’t reread all of them so beware.  This is the current week’s report so it was definitely easier to write than the others.

I was up at 5 a.m. on the 4^th to catch the 6 a.m. water taxi from the sort into San Pedro.  I then got a taxi to another pier to catch the water jet to Mexico.  On the way between terminals I had to make a quick stop at Ruby’s Restaurant to get a chicken Johnny cake for breakfast.  It was recommended by my driver and it was quite tasty.  At 8:15 we boarded the boat and departed for Chetumal, Mexico, a trip of almost two hours.  Once in Mexico we had to clear customs and immigration right on the dock and that went very quickly.  Then the van to take us to the bus station was right there waiting for us.  We were at the bus station before noon but had to wait for the 1:30 bus.  It was right on time and it was very comfortable and well air conditioned so the 5.5 hour ride to Cancun went quite quickly.  

Once at the bus station in Cancun the taxis wanted a lot more money than the resort had suggested it should cost so I took the shuttle to the airport and then the resort’s shuttle from there to the resort.  It probably ended up costing almost as much money and definitely took longer but I did eventually make it.  There seems to be some confusion over the name of this resort and several others and I think if I’d had a street address instead of just a resort name I might have had a cheaper price quoted by the taxi people.  I think they were going to take me much farther than I needed to go.  I had the same confusion on a couple of tours later on in the week.  Anyway, I didn’t get in until late and I missed the hockey game.  Well, I actually got in as the overtime intermission began so I quickly went to the restaurant to get some takeout so I could watch the overtime.  However, by the time I got back there was no more hockey game on TV.  I thought they had to stop broadcasting because of the late hour but I later found out that overtime only lasted 11 seconds and that’s why regular programming had resumed.   And Vancouver won so who can complain.  I should also add that the next two games in Boston were not on TV down here so I didn’t see them and given the results it might be just as well.  I just finished watching game 5 – another Canuck victory – so at least I’m seeing the wins.

Cancun is a city of over a million people but tourists don’t spend a lot of time in the city proper.  The tourists all hang out on “the strip”, which is many miles of huge resorts on a narrow island.   The road and the resorts take up the entire width of the island in some cases and it’s never more than one place on each side of the street.  Cancun is in Quintana Roo, a state or province in the Yucatan Peninsula that is named after a Mexican independence hero.  The state includes Cancun, Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen so some of the large beach resorts that Canadians love.  

I stayed at the Royal Cancun Resort and it was fantastic.  The people were great and it was obvious that they really cared about the resort and the people visiting it.  There were things going on every hour all day long.  I managed some of the 9 a.m. stretch classes on the beach and the 10 a.m. aqua-aerobics but not much else.  I also had a few lovely walks along the beach.  Other than that I enjoyed the pool and the beach and the ocean view and did lots of reading and relaxing and of course blogging.  Sunday morning they had an orientation session so we could find out what was happening during the week.  At Sunday noon they had a welcome BBQ and some games and drinks on the beach.  Then I had to have lunch with one of the sales folks on Tuesday.  No, I did not buy another time share!  And on Tuesday afternoon they had another reception for members and guests.  You kind of feel like a social butterfly in this setting.  I also have a beach front unit so it’s quite nice to just look out my window or to open my door and take ten steps to the beach.   There are lots of palapas on the beach so always shade to be found, and lots of comfortable lounge chairs.  They are not really busy right now as it’s not yet their busy time but they still must have over 200 lounge chairs available.   And there are two large pools with lots more lounge chairs all around them.

The rest of Sunday I spent trying to get my computer fixed.  The final solution, with the help of one of the employees, was to find a cord that would connect my computer to the TV in the room.  It took us a few tries but eventually we got it to work.  So I’m sitting here typing on my computer but looking at a large flat screen TV to see what I’m actually typing.  It’s not exactly ergonomically correct but it is working.  The cord, or actually two cords together, that we got to work originally, was only a loaner so I had to give that back on Monday.  That meant that I had to go shopping on Sunday late afternoon / evening.  It was actually a pretty painless experience.  I walked out to the street and the bus stop was right there.  I waited for a number R27 to come along and I rode until we got to the Plaza Los Americas.  This is a large modern shopping centre and there were several stores I was to visit to find what I needed.  Radio Shack had exactly what I needed so I bought that and then went to the large grocery store (actually kind of an everything store like Wal-Mart) and bought some food for the week.  Then with my loaded backpack and carry bag I caught the same bus back to the resort.

There are over 3,000 hidden Mayan temples in the Yucatan according to NASA satellite imaging.  Many of the temples are also now discovered and readily available for tourists such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Tulum.  Other ruins are smaller and being turned into amusement parks, almost Disney-ish.   I went to one of those on Monday.  It was called Xcaret and it’s about an hour and a half south of Cancun.  We left the resort at 7:30 a.m. and returned at 11:00 p.m.  I wasn’t sure what I would do all day but I never had a dull moment. I just kept going all day and still never saw the whole place in the 12 plus hours I was there.  My tour cost $125 so it should have been good and it should have included everything, and in fact it did.  I first went to the locker area for my free lock so I could store my stuff and start exploring.  Later in the day I went back for a towel, snorkel mask and fins and flippers all of which were included.  There were hammocks and lounges in various spots for use as needed.  And when I got hungry I got to go to any of the four restaurants and eat as much as I wanted from their buffet.  I didn’t actually have time to eat much but some people were certainly getting their money’s worth on the buffet.

I started my day but doing the jungle walk and river raft ride and then just kept wandering.  Part way through that it was a torrential downpour so things got a bit wet.  It didn’t get much drier throughout the day but it was so hot you really didn’t mind being wet.  Besides, most people were in their bathing suits anyway.  I saw deer, monkeys, tapir, flamingoes, jaguar, macaws, puma, manatees, turtles of various sizes, and shrimp and fish as they grow them for their restaurants.  There was a greenhouse full of orchids, another full of bromeliads and a smaller one full of mushrooms.  There was also a butterfly garden.  Besides all this there were the natural beaches and they looked very inviting.  However, I still had lots to see.

There was a tower where you could go to get a good view of the park and the surrounding coastline.  It only took a few minutes but it was very good.  The viewing platform has seats and rotates continually on the way up and the way down as well as at the top.  The surrounding country side is very dry and barren looking but the ocean makes up for it.  The underground river that runs through the park is a highlight.  Everyone went to that directly upon arrival while I decided to walk around first and do the river later in the afternoon when it was hotter.  I think that was a great decision as there were not very many people around when I ventured into the river.  Of course, once I got into the river I did think it might be nice to have at least someone else nearby.  You snorkel in this river but it is underground so at times it’s pretty hard to see anything because it’s so dark.  Generally there was a light at the end of the tunnel and I just kept aiming for that and eventually made it.  Sometimes you were in the open and other times you were in a long, very dark tunnel.  The water was very refreshing and I did make it.  However, given how dark it was at times, I was certainly wondering why you needed the snorkel and mask.  At the end of the river area though there were lots of beautiful fish so that made it worthwhile.

There were lots of optional things to do at the park such as swim with the dolphins or the sting rays o the sharks but they all cost extra money so I avoided them.  They even had “snuba” which was simply people wearing snorkel and mask where the snorkel had a hose from it to the surface so they could stay under water for a long period of time.  For those of us not spending money on option tours, the aquarium was a good place to visit.  There were lots of fish swimming around in big tanks and they and the coral were absolutely beautiful.  You got to touch some of the fish in some of the exhibits, which was cool.  The jelly fish exhibit was fascinating.  They look so delicate and soft.  Of course you didn’t get to touch them.   

The Mayan village was interesting but I wasn’t really sure how authentic it was.  Some of the handicrafts were nice though. The Mayan ruins were scattered throughout the park and they were not as big as others I’ve seen.  Most were just ruins and not a complete structure.  At least they had signs to tell you what they were so you weren’t just guessing.  There were two churches on the grounds and they both looked to be in use today.  One was built as it would have been in the time.  The other was purely original. 

The Mayan show at night was fantastic.  It was held in a large covered but open rectangular seating area that could probably sit several thousand.  You could have had dinner while watching the show but I enjoyed it just fine with my popcorn to munch on.  The show starts out in Mayan times and the costumes are quite remarkable, especially the head dresses.  There are some traditional dances of the time (supposedly).  The ball game was probably the longest part of the show.  There were five or six players per side and they could only hit the rubber latex ball with their hips as they tried to get it through a ring hanging sideways on the court wall.  It took quite a while to get a goal (about as long as the Vancouver Canucks!) but it did eventually happen.  They definitely had to work as a team as the other members of the team kept trying to set the ball up for the shooter to “hip” through the ring.    It was definitely interesting to watch but went on just a bit too long in my opinion.  I suppose the time varies each show though depending on when someone scores.  Regardless, you definitely had to be in good shape to play because you were up and down off the ground trying to keep the ball bouncing by just hitting it with your hip.  Way to much work in my opinion.  After the game they had the big ceremony to honour the winning team. 

The next game was much shorter but just about as much work and very impressive.  It looked like field hockey but with a burning ball and it moved very quickly.  They had nets up in front of the audience for both of these games, which was rather nice when a burning ball came flying in your direction.  Throughout the game I think we went through about six different balls.  People at each end would put out the fire on the old ball while the officials at centre would roll in a newly fired one.

After that we got into the arrival of the Spanish and the meeting of the two worlds.  The arrival was just the Spanish.  The meeting brought both sides together and it was actually quite funny to watch the reactions of the people on both sides.  The fight was well done – very quick and effective but no real bloodshed on the stage.  Then they covered the Christian arrival and conversion of the natives to a joint religion that included parts of both beliefs.  There was also a part about the two worlds of music joining and that was quite interesting to hear both the European and the Mayan music thrown together.  That I think took us up to intermission because after that the scene changed again.

The second part was about current day Mexico and included costumes and dances and traditions from the various states around the country.  I didn’t always understand what all the dances were about but they certainly were lively and colourful.  The dance of the old men was hilarious.  The dancers were all dressed like old men and had old wrinkled masks on.  They were bent over and walked with canes but when it came to dancing they were great.  The fun part at the end was when they took off their masks and hoods and you realized that most of them really were old men.  The rest of the dances ranged from almost tap dancing, kind of like River Dance, to carnival-style numbers. 

The pole dancers or flying men were interesting.  They also did an outdoor show during the day and I think it would have been better outside.  The 30 meter pole was back in a corner of the theatre and a bit hard to see.  There were five men on top and there was some dancing and singing up at the top on a very small platform.  Then four of them just fell backwards and slowly unwound to the ground as they spun around the pole.  At the end the fifth man, the chief, slid down one of their ropes to the bottom and that was the end.  It was short but very impressive.  I don’t know how they could hang upside down and spin around for so long but they didn’t seem to have any trouble at all.

The last part of the show was from the northern part of Mexico and it was very country and western in flavour.  It was obviously very popular as well as everyone was singing along.  The people behind me were literally screaming all the time and they were not on time or in tune so it got to be very annoying.  However, everyone seemed to be having a great time and they knew the songs and the singers.  There were lots of different instruments from hollow trunk drums and cane flutes to formal mariachi bands.  They even had a couple of guys on horseback and then later on the ground doing rope tricks that were pretty impressive.  The grand finale brought all of the characters back to the stage with the costumes from throughout the show.  It was a great ending and that’s when you realized there really was a cast of hundreds.  It was a huge production and very enjoyable.

After a couple of days of rest and relaxation, the other tour I took was on Friday and it was to Tulum and Xel-Ha.  Tulum is a small Mayan ruins and Xel-Ha is basically a snorkeling and water park.  We went to Tulum first and spent about 2.5 hours wandering around the site.  Our guide gave us a brief explanation of what the buildings were.  There were not many really large buildings but some of them were quite amazing.  The setting was also quite spectacular as Tulum is sitting on a high cliff overlooking the Caribbean.  It was apparently a main trading centre in its day and the Spanish thought it looked like a European city when they arrived.  I thought I had been there before but now I’m not so sure that I had been as I don’t remember the setting. 

There is one main castle and a palace and many residential buildings.  On either side of the castle is a large square tower about eight to ten feet on each side.  Each one has a square hole in it, perhaps four to six inches, and on the summer equinox the sun shines through one of them at 6 a.m.  On the winter equinox the sun shines through the other one.  It was quite amazing to think that they calculated that so long ago and the pictures of the sun coming through were quite amazing.  At least one of these buildings really looked like the leaning tower of Pisa as it was on a slant.  Apparently this is intentional and it was built this way to help prevent erosion from the elements.  Several other buildings also have a slight slant.

About 400 people lived within the city wall and about 4,000 outside of the wall.  Only the area within the wall has been excavated and is part of the park and not all of it has been found or reconstructed.  It really does only take a couple hours to look through the site assuming you do not want to take the steps down to the beach forty feet below and go for a quick dip in the Caribbean.  There were a lot of people down there and they looked very cool and refreshed while the rest of us were above sweating away.  Because of its location on the sea, it was easy to understand why this was the first Mayan city visited by the Spanish.  Tulum was at its height of activity between the 13^th and 15^th centuries but by the 17^th century was deserted.

One of the buildings has very ornate carvings on it and two red hand prints and apparently some frescoes.  The building itself is quite unique with straight walls and rectangular construction but with pillars around the first story balcony.  The carvings are on the façade above these pillars and at the corners of the building.  When explained they were easy to understand but I might have just walked by them otherwise.

As we left Tulum (and as we entered) it was interesting to note that Dairy Queen (for treats not eats) and Subway are right there and there are lots of stores as well – some selling cheap souvenirs and others selling very expensive items like jewelry.  The site itself is not touched but the entrance certainly has gone commercial.  Anyway, back on the bus we headed for Xel-Ha (shell-ha) which was only about ten minutes down the road.  Once there the first thing I did was head to the restaurant to eat.  Once again this was an expensive tour but everything (food, drink, lockers, towels, snorkel gear, life vest, etc.) were all included.  It seems expensive but from a manpower point of view it is certainly an easy way to look after everything.

After lunch I changed into my bathing suit and went for a walk along the interpretive route out to the start of the river to do my snorkeling.  We had about four hours here so with lunch and snorkeling and changing again there wasn’t a lot of time.  The place is beautiful with the underground river surfacing at the ocean and the inlet that is formed is large and six to 12 feet in depth (I think they said).  There are lots of beautiful beaches and lounge chairs along the way and places to jump into the water off of cliffs, zip lines, rope walks, floating bridges, etc.  I didn’t have a lot of time so I just took a quick look at others participating in such things and then moved on.  I also took a quick look at the dolphins and manatees as I passed by.  They were of course option activities just like the snuba and underwater walk.  I didn’t pay for any of that.  Also along the walk I saw lots of iguana and some coatis. 

At the start of the snorkeling adventure you get into the river in a mangrove area and you snorkel between the roots of these big trees.  Then you come out to the cliffs and then you make your way to the beaches.  They say it takes about an hour to do the trip and you definitely have to be able to swim because there is little river current to carry you down and some ocean current to carry you back at times.   By the time I got in the water it was pouring rain – good timing I thought!  There weren’t many fish at the beginning but it was an interesting swim.  At the end, back in the lagoon areas, there were lots of fish and some of them were really big.  Down by the floating bridge there were really large fish including some barracuda and sting rays.  I could have stayed longer but I had to get back to the checkered flag to get my stuff, which had been moved from the start of the river in a locked bag.  The way they run these places is really quite amazing.  I had a quick outdoor shower to rinse off the salt and then dried off and went back to my locker to change and then just had time to go get myself an ice cream cone from the restaurant before heading to the bus.  I definitely could have used more time here but it was great anyway and I’m not too sure what else I would have done other than sat in a chair and dried off naturally and more slowly while I relaxed a bit.  I had lots of time to relax on the bus ride back to the resort. 

So that’s it for Cancun I guess.  The resort was not actually in the strip but rather above it and closer to town.  If you think of a number 7, the strip or hotel area is the long back of the 7 which runs north to south with the Caribbean Sea to the right or east.  On the left or west is a lagoon that I never did actually visit but apparently it is rather nice on its own.  The top of the 7 is where I stayed and it runs east and west.  That means that I got both the sunrise and the sunset and that was a nice bonus.  It also meant that my covered patio was always in the shade as the sun simply moved from right to left across it.  I can’t actually vouch for many of the sunrises but the sunsets were lovely.  The beach is also lovely with soft white sand.   The weather is always hot but there is generally a breeze blowing to cool things down.  That breeze also blows in a lot of sea weed but the staff keeps it well raked and clean.  The water is very shallow at the shore and very clear and light green.  As it gets deeper the colour gets darker but the overall colour as you look out to sea is a turquoise green.  It’s a very lovely and relaxing setting.  The fact that the temperature here seldom goes below 65 degrees F is also attractive, which I guess explains why it is such a popular tourist destination.  Even the rain doesn’t really bother you because you never feel cold.  If anything you just feel hot and steamy.  Okay, I have to go or this won’t get posted today.  And who knows if I’ll have internet or even computer access in my next resort in Puerto Vallarta.   From the Atlantic to the Pacific and then north to home.  My holiday is almost over!!!