Mexico (again)

We decided to head back to Isla Majures for a bit of rest and recreation before going back to St Maartin where things would be hectic getting the boat ready. We arrived to find some of the old crew had left but replaced by a group of Canadians that get together each year. We spent our days lying on the beach, drinking margaritas, tequila, and eating great Mexican food. Life is good!!! We did go into Cancun one day to determine what we needed from Wal-Mart. Great place to shop for cheap home wares and Si picked up cheap locks, lures tools. All essential boy stuff!! We spent that afternoon trying to find someone who would print the 50 maps we had copied before heading off. It took four attempts before we found someone who could do it. We got there in the end. The highlight apart from spending many drunken evenings with Phil and Nina on the Verandah, was the Banana Daiquiri party. This is an annual event and they take a photo of everyone staying at the time. Theo (alias Dame Edna) was the serving wench and looked fairly convincing. We made vegemite sandwiches which surprisingly were as a great success. We had dinner that night with Linda and Leigh as Leigh went fishing and kindly shared his catch with us. Very good!!!!

We went back to Cancun a day early to do our shopping and finish off printing the maps. We managed to fill three tubs full on stuff. Our luggage went from one backpack to four pieces, two maps holders and a pressure cooker (10 liters). We packed all our goodies into the three tubs in the McDonalds section of Wal-Mart. Not surprisingly, we had a number of people come over and ask us what we were doing. We finally got back to our hotel and taped the tubs and got ready to leave. We had an early flight. We arrived at the airport around 6.30am. Got our tubs wrapped in plastic, got to the check in only to be told that they tubs had to be inspected. Si was in the process of opening then (none to happy) when we where told that our flight did not leave until tomorrow. Regardless to say, we were not talking at this point. We decided to get the bus back to Cancun that involved carrying all the luggage
to the bus station (no trolleys). We finally got back to the hotel. The weather turned crappy so we watched TV, drank tequila and had some great food from a stall across the road. It all ended up being a very nice day. The next day went like clock work and we where on the way to St Maarten.

Mexico

Our flight to Cancun was delayed and we arrived at 10pm (2 hr delay). We could not get over how built up Cancun was between the airport and downtown where our hotel was located. It was a bit like Los Vegas meets the Sunshine coast. We both agreed that it not to our liking. We spent two nights in Cancun. We had some admin we had to get sorted for the boat. I quiet liked the place but was in desperate need for some R&R.

After a rave review from Sue Wood, Si and I took the half an hour ferry to Isla Majures. It was a lot busier than I had imagined the small island being that Sue had described. Unfortunately tourism is taking its hold with day tripers from Cancun and a number of large resorts under construction. It is still beautiful and there is still the odd secluded beach to be found. On arrival, I drew the short straw and went in search for accommodation. I went and had a look at the youth hostel and standing in line behind some very young 18 year olds (good thing Simon didn’t go), I really hoped that they did not have any thing available with private room and bathroom. My plea was heard and I wasturned away. My second choice was Hotel Vistalmar. The moment we walked intp the place we felt like we had come home. We scored a great room on the second floor over looking the ocean (all for $30 a night). We stayed for four nights and met some fantastic people including Jim, Brenda, Pete, Linda and little Maya, Nina, Phil, Shirlee and Wes. We spent our days on the beach, drinking tequila and enjoying the close community of people that come back to the hotel each year (Some for up to 30 years) for months….reminds me a bit of Hotel California  We decided to leave the island and see more of Mexico and Cuba before we too could check out any time but you can never leave….

We left Isla and took a 2nd class bus that took to Chichen itza. Going 2nd class we drove though all the villages along the way. It was pouring rain and many of the streets where under water. We saw the place we wanted to stay and Si somehow got the bus to stop for us. The hotel had two pools and hammocks which of course we could not use because of the rain. We got up early the next morning with the intent of being at Chichen itza when it opened so to beat the crowds. The place is amazing. We hired a Mayan guide who explained all the ruins, the culture and gave some really good insight into the demise of the cities.

That afternoon we headed for Valladolid. It started raining again so after wondering around looking at tourist shops, we bought some tequila and veged out watching cable TV. I should mention that the Mexican’s are lovely people. They always had a smile and always helpful. Our Spanish sucked but we had a lot of fun trying. We would often go to dinner and not have a clue what we where ordering. It was always good so we were not too concerned.

While in Valladolid we explored a couple of the Cenotes (Soak wells) in the area. We went to one a few km’s out of town. It was located in a cave with a sky light. The water was crystal clear. We went swimming and the water was magical, you could see the cat fish swimming under you. It was very idyllic until a tourist bus of Japanese arrived on the scene. We hitched back to town and watched more TV. We figure that we might as well make the most of it while we can.