18.06.24-27: Valladolid

Claudia and I went to breakfast with her dad and Nellie the morning after the baby shower. 

 I took one blatantly touristy-thing-to-do photo with the entertainment as we left. 

Nellie does not speak English but we were able to communicate with my Spanish and Clau’s help while Sergio went to his office in the hospital for a few minutes after breakfast. We spent this time wisely ( from my perspective) to discuss tourist attraction places in Mexico City (I’ll be going there at the end of my trip later in July and do not have firm plans yet, so I’m collecting information). 

Later that day I boarded a luxury bus with A/C and TV monitors.  I did not get a window seat, because the bus was full on a Sunday in the late afternoon - mostly with local people (not many tourists) but the the two hour trip to Valladolid was comfortable and I enjoyed my book on tape and my knitting. 

I arrived in Valladolid before sunset and took a taxi to my AirBNB lodging.  I’ve learned my lesson about the lunacy of trying to walk to a place  ( even when I KNOW it is walking distance from the bus/train station) if I’ve never been there before and am rolling luggage behind me.  See 18.01.14-15: Boats and Beatles for my description of trying to do just that after arriving in Liverpool.

My AirBNB lodging turned out to be a room in a small hotel rather than a room in a house like my last AirBNB in Isla Mujeres. I ate dinner in my room with food I brought from 

Cancún -  leftovers from the baby shower last night.  Then I set off on foot to reacquaint myself with the town I enjoyed so much last year when I was here for nine nights. 

I purposely chose a different neighborhood to stay in this year, but immediately walked to the central square - a short mile away - because I remembered there was live music in the street on Sunday night last year. Sure enough, two of the four streets circling the central square were closed to traffic, 

but tonight the stage was set for a presidential candidate rally. There were lots of people sitting in chairs in the street. 

There was an MC comedian/clown on stage during my time circling the crowd, and DJ music, but I did not stay to see if the actual candidate -AMLO would appear.

Instead, I returned to my neighborhood which was very close to El Convento de San Bernardino where I was fortunate to view a 20 minute video mapping presentation - audio, music and computerized lights projected onto the convent walls describing the history of Valladolid.

Next morning I was woken up about 8:30 by the remodel construction noise on the other side of one of my room’s walls. I got a message from the AirBNB contact saying they were sorry for the noise and they could move me to another larger room on the other end of the building. I figured, why not?, and within an hour was living large in this upgrade of a room for the next two nights. 

Today my plan was to visit the spots I enjoyed last year, and my first objective was the store where I could buy more spools of the synthetic cord the craftsmen here use to make hammocks. Last year I bought primary colors red yellow blue and green which I used to make knitted bags. This year I bought basic black, white and brown (with some orange thrown in for good measure) 

for just 32 pesos per spool - $1.60 US dollars (an increase of 2 pesos per spool over last year).  I have an idea for these colors when I get back home, but for now I just have to figure out town to lug these four big spools round for four weeks. They are heavy, too!  

I did some other shopping around town - everything is in walking distance from my hotel and I wanted to get some local culture items in an area that does not shout “tourist trap”. I spoke with this guy for quite a while and bought a bag to replace the one I bought at a thrift store in Auburn before my trip. His family makes beautiful bags of all shapes and sizes.  

Shopping took my morning, then I went back to the hotel to jump in the hot tub sized swimming pool to cool down, then swung in their rooftop hammock for a while

 before going out once more to the other side of town to Cenote Zaci - the town’s version of a local swimming pool.  It is an underground cave of cool, fresh water but open to the sky in the center. 

I stayed cool in the middle treading water for about an hour for exercise while I watched the daredevil guys jump from high spots along the outside edges of the Cenote.

Look close and you can see a guy going in head first with his legs spread wide half way down the distance from the brick wall to the water on the right. 

During my walk around my neighborhood during the day I saw a small shop that was advertising day tours to beach cities I had already visited, and to Chichen-Itzá, a Mayan archeological site that I’ve heard of as a popular tourist destination but never yet visited.  The shop was closed earlier in the day.  Now, on my way home from Cenote Zaci at dusk, I figured I would look for that shop again and ask about a tour for tomorrow since I still had a full day and my shopping itch had been scratched. 

I walked past a small shop advertising tours, went in and told the gal inside that I wanted to go to Chichen-Itzá.  She was not Mexicana, but spoke fluent Spanish and told me that she did not go to Chichen-Itzá, but created smaller, local tours via bicycle for people who wanted to get off the beaten path. She already had - me regardless of the price!  But when we started to discuss my interest and timing I learned that she already had a private tour set up for tomorrow and she was not in the habit of adding a stranger into the mix. I asked a few questions and we tried to figure out how to squeeze in a short tour the next day instead. I told her about my trip so far and my family and my growing experiences in Mexico. I learned that LeAnn has been in Valladolid for two years, but in Mexico for 16 from her home country Holland. I guess the longer we talked, the more she could see that I was a good fit for her tour style and group, and she changed her mind and said I could join her bicycle tour tomorrow at 10 AM.  She provides the bike, lunch, swimming in a Cenote and the joy of getting off the beaten path. All for a mere $580 pesos - less than $30 US dollars. More good luck for me!

So tomorrow morning I showed up at LeAnn’s shop and we rode a short distance back to the Convent town square near my hotel to pick up Alberto - a local guy who lives in this huge space right on the square that formerly served as the village panadería (bakery).  

Alberto noticed that my bike seat was built for the very short Mayan people and got out two wrenches to muscle the rusty bike seat post up to its tallest position so my seat was comfortable. He did not address the fact that my handlebar post needed WD-40 very badly.  My bike had a squeaking noise that presented itself any time I moved the handlebars to steer, which was, of course, constantly!  

Nonetheless, I was in heaven!  A bike for exercise, the prospect of swimming later and a safe, follow-the-group outdoor adventure, with six other Spanish speaking people that I could understand about as much as I could understand my family in Cancun ( which is to say I could cherry pick the words and get the gist of the conversation, but definitely not participate at any meaningful level).  

We rode out of town and turned into a property on the main road where LeAnn went in to announce our presence to whom I suspected was the property owner. Then we headed into the jungle on this two-track road 

toward a place that LeAnn believed had a Cenote but she had not yet “discovered”.  About half a mile in we found this obstacle. 

LeAnn and Alberto discussed the situation. She wanted to disregard the clear “No Pasar” sign, but I think Alberto pointed out that there were three gringos in the group and that might not be the best idea. So instead, LeAnn walked in alone with the instructions for us all to wait here and call for help if she did not return in 10 minutes (this was a joke to them all and I for some reason I did not feel concerned except about the fact we would be eaten by mosquitoes while we waited).

LeAnn did, in fact return unharmed about 15 minutes later with the news that there was nobody on the other side of the fence or at her intended destination.  So, one by one, we scooted each bike around the end of the fence 

and rode on down the road. Our reward for trespassing was this abandoned Hacienda 

The exterior of which we explored for about 30 minutes.

 We found the Cenote, but it’s locked gate was impassable. 

This Cenote was deep underground because when looking down into the iron fencing at the entrance, we could not see the water below, only steps going down into the darkness. I commented that it was just as well we could not get past the lock because it would be creepy down there, but LeAnn shook her head in disagreement - she was definitely up for that adventure.  

Not today, though.  Instead we returned to the main road and took a 3-4 mile ride to Tikuch, a small village outside Valladolid where we had a delicious lunch in this garden setting -

Mexican food, but typical of the local Mayan culture, not so much like Chipotle.  Beans in a soup bowl, grilled pork, salsas and grilled vegetable toppings to roll up ourselves in fresh grilled corn tortillas.  Yum!  

We then had to ride back to Valladolid on full stomachs but stopped at a nice big pool

along the main road at a privately owned place that charges admission to the public for about 90 minutes to cool off and enjoy each other’s company.

At the end of my stay here, I made a pit stop and was addressed by one of the local people from the property. He asked if this was my first time in Mexico. When I looked closely and started to answer No, I recognized him as one of the teachers at the Spanish language school I worked with for a week when I was here last year in Valladolid!  See 16.06.14-23 Valladolid - Spanish Education and this photo of Jose and me in a coffee shop. 

He was as surprised to see me in his space this year as I was happy that he called me out to acknowledge what a small world it really is. 

The next day was get-away day from Casa Sisal,

my home for this three day visit to Valladolid.  They let me check out late since my bus for Bacalar did not leave until 2PM. 

So in the morning, after my bags were packed, I walked in to town to sit with LeAnn, Alberto ( from yesterday’s bike tour) and their friends 

at a sports bar to watch Mexico lose to Sweden in the World Cup. I am not versed in the standings, schedule or even the rules of the game, but when in France…. As they say….  The World Cup is a big deal here,  so I’m engaged. 

Then I walked to an open air market for a bit more shopping - this place is in the heart of the Mayan culture - one of the places in Mexico where local craftsmen work and sell their craft 

but they also send their goods off to the more touristy areas to be sold. So I figure this is where I should shop because I get to talk to the makers. 
I taxied back to Casa Sisal for one last dip in the mini pool in the pretty yard

 before walking to the ADO bus station.  I arrived about 5 minutes before the scheduled 2:25 departure, but I knew from experience last year that this was enough time because I already had my ticket and it is a small station. But the station was filled with people, and some were getting on a bus.  I went to the gate and was told “no llegado” ( it has not arrived) but I had to keep returning to the gate keeper to show my ticket because I could not clearly understand the loudspeaker announcing departures and the busses were not clearly marked as they pulled in to the station and people loaded on.  In the end, the message was clear and I gratefully loaded the not quite so luxurious bus. This one had no baño and no TV, but I got a window seat and enjoyed the passing jungle and small village scenery during the four hour trip to Bacalar. 

It’s a jungle out there!

18.06.21-23 The baby shower

I left Isla Mujeres after nine nights on the island. 

Sad to leave, but excited about the upcoming family time and the baby shower on Saturday. 

The first day back was spent with Claudia at a beautiful house  ( this is an understatement ) on the beach on the Cancun side of the water separating Cancun from Isla Mujeres.  The owners of this house are the parents of Claudia’s good friend Maura.  Claudia was looking for a Plan B location for her maternity photo shoot since we were unable to go to Isla Holbox due to the heavy rains last week.  Claudia asked Carmen, Maura’s mother if she could come to the house for a day.  Carmen not only said yes, she also fed us lunch later in the afternoon when Maura came with her family to say hello.  

The photo shoot was very interesting. Danny, a friend of Claudia’s was the photographer and I was the gal Friday assisting Claudia as needed and acing as the lighting crew for the Danny. We used a spare bedroom as a staging area. 

By the time I arrived via taxi from the Isla Mujeres ferry dock about 12:30 that day, Claudia and Danny had complete the planning stages, had chosen her outfits for the shoot, and she was getting dressed while Danny rested in a very comfortable lounge chair in the bedroom. We spent about 90 minutes in the yard 

and  beach areas taking lots of poses in Clau’s white dress. I was too busy trying to be good helper to a professional photographer to sneak in an iPhone version of these two settings, 

but after our 60 - 90 minute lunch break, I did get a couple photos from the dock at sunset.   

Before we headed back to the house to pack it up and return home. 

Baby shower preparations were in full swing by the time I arrived.  Claudia had been in town from home in Oregon for almost a week and had been setting up party favors and decoration plans, and was busy running errands.  Lupita worked on her house and party staging between seeing patients. I did a lot of resting and knitting in the palapa hammock in the back yard, but I was able to be helpful with party favor construction during parts of the next two days.

The baby shower festivities started about 1PM on Saturday when four of Claudia’s closest friends, her sister Isa,  their close family friend Daniel, Lupita and I gathered in the palapa in the back yard for a special blessing ceremony for Clau and the baby. There was relaxation breathing to start.  

Then inscence, 

music and spiritual prayers to the heavens and earth.  We each offered blessings of love and support to Clau

and brought a small but meaningful (to each individual donor) charm gift to the baby which we then made into a necklace for Clau to bring to the birth experience.  

I was not the only one  experiencing  tears of emotion and joy for being able to participate in this beautiful ceremony.

Afterward, we all had a delicious luncheon, 

then continued to prepare for the party ( except for me- I went to my room for a nap because there was plenty of help and both Clau and Lupita were well attended).

The main event started about 5PM. About 30 friends of Clau and Lupita were there to offer suggestions for baby names, 

express opinions on the sex of the baby, write words of encouragement to Eric and Clau ( these will be assembled into a notebook that can be read during their birth experience, share words of love and support to Clau as we added a ribbon to what became a headdress for Clau to wear. 

There was lots of good food and drink, of course and antimated conversation- much of which I did not understand, but I got the spirit of it and participated by smiling and nodding and answering Yes or OK a lot:).  I eagerly helped with the cleanup so Clau and Lupita could skip that part, and visit with the late stayers, but Lupita did find herself in the kitchen a fair amount as well. When it was all over, I requested  this celebratory photo with the lady of the house 

and my future co-grandma. Hola bebé!

18.06.18-20 Sunny days in Isla Mujeres

The day I arrived in Cancun, June 10, there was a tropical storm on the west coast of Mexico which developed into a category 1 Hurricane Bud which then dropped lots of rain during the six days I just spent in Isla Mujeres.  

That rain  forced the cancellation of my next plan - an overnight trip with Claudia to Isla Holbox and her and Eric’s property in Solforino.

Our decision to cancel was a no-brainer.   It made no sense to take pregnant Claudia over partially flooded roads into the jungle when it is a muddy haven for mosquitoes.  We were both disappointed, but moved on to Plan B. Claudia’s story centers around her planning for her baby shower on Saturday - more on that as it happens. 

As for me, I lucked out and was able to extend my time at Analia’s AirBNB house for another three nights. 

Here we are having dinner together on my last night in town in her neighborhood’s Cuban restaurant that I also went to on the first night I stayed in her house. 

The next three days were sunny but still different than I imagined because:

1:  I am staying three miles away from the city center and the beautiful public beach (leading to transportation issues because)

2:  All the walking in the rain the last few days created a blister on my right foot, making it uncomfortable to walk ( which I really like to do)

3: It got really host and humid, so solid beach days did not seem like the best idea anyway. 

But I’m getting pretty good at making lemonade out of a situation and have a story to tell about how I talked my way into a good Plan B for my extra sunny days on the island.

I started out on Analia’s bicycle the first day, still wondering what I should do with a sore foot and sunny heat.  I was greeted along the way in to el centro with a feel good sign that I took to mean I’m on the right track….

I locked the bike at one end of north beach and walked along the beach (really my only option for walking long distances since I did not need shoes at the waterline) to the other end where I stopped at a shore-side restaurant.  I chose what I’m sure will turn out to be NOT the best ceviche I get on this trip, but the place had great ambiance - another important feature in my idea of a good restaurant. 

On the way back to the bike I took a pass along the street past a busy tourist shop area. I was invited in to many stores along the street but the shop employees/owners as is common in a tourist place like that….”come in senorita”and “do you want a ???? Lady?”  I usually just smile and say “no gracias” or nothing at all.  Who knows why I decided to stop and talk to this pair?

Maybe it was because Alejandro, the guy in orange followed me along the sidewalk a little way past his stand saying “ I don’t want to sell you anything” or maybe it was because I thought he was selling boat tours and if I was to buy anything a boat tour would be it.

In fact, last week when It was rainy, I stopped at a boat tour stand to discuss a tour to Isla Contoy. I knew from my boat tour experience last year that this island was quite a distance away from Isla Mujeres, and was a bird sanctuary and other animal preserve area. That day I stopped at three different stands and got three different prices: $90, $80 and $75 US dollars. A lot of money for me to pay even if it was for something I knew I would enjoy. 

So today with this guy following me, and two more sunny days to kill I figured “por que no?”  So I stopped and told him in Spanish I wanted to go to Isla Contoy for 400 pesos ( $20 USD ) which I knew he would reject as not a viable offer. 

Instead he got excited, and waved me back to his stand saying he could get me there for only 200 pesos.  Too good to be true?  Well, it turned out to be true, but there was a price.  I just needed to sit in on a one hour sales presentation at a resort hotel in Cancun with “no obligation” to buy. I bet you have all attended at least one of these “tour/presentation/no obligation/resulting in some gift” experiences before and I (Mike and I) have too.  This time I knew I could sit through the presentation without buying and I had the time, and all that he said he would give me in exchange sounded good - free ferry passage to the Cancun port, free taxi ride with him to the resort, breakfast at the resort, return transportation AND the trip to Isla Contoy for the ridiculously low price of 200 pesos.  In this case, simply the ferry boat ride over and back to Cancun would be worth it - so I said yes. 

Alejandro’s instructions were specific.  He gave me paperwork documenting our agreement,  his cell phone number, the ferry tickets and his prayer that I “do not disappoint” him.  I walked away laughing at myself for this crazy idea,  but accepting my plan. 

That night Analia offered to cook us dinner again, so I had an opportunity to tell her this story.  She was skeptical about the 200 peso tour part because she knew the price was a regulated.  When I told her the part about the resort sales pitch, she shrugged her shoulders as if to say “well, then, whatever” then researched the resort on her phone and said “well, OK, but be careful”.

So next morning Analia and I took a taxi in to the  ferry terminal together ( coincidentally she was off to Cancun herself at 8AM - a good omen?) and I used the first of my free round trip tickets to cross to Cancun. Feeling pretty saucy. 

Alejandro was not at the other end in the ferry terminal when I arrived, so I had 30 minutes to sweat and wonder how I had fallen for a 200 peso scam to sail round trip to Cancun on a ferry. But he DID show up at the time he said he would - at 9:15 (the ferry crossing was at 8:15 and took only 30 minutes)  with a smile and a “Gracias for not disappointing me”.  He hailed a taxi and during the ride to the resort he asked for my paperwork because he needed to change our agreement so it read that my compensation for coming on the tour was a 1,000 payout in pesos to me from the resort since that was the base price of the tour to Isla Contoy. Crazy, right?  When the taxi dropped us off at the resort,  he escorted me through the resort entrance and waited until I was securely in the hands of the sales team. Good-bye to Alejandro for now.

After I cleared the admission desk I was introduced to my assigned tour guide -  Victoria - a youngish gal originally from New York City and an avid traveler who recently moved to Cancun to work for this resort selling membership shares. We enjoyed eating the resort-style buffet breakfast together before she started her introductory remarks and then showed me around the place. 

I noticed there were LOTS of other people being toured around as well. 

The resort was over the top extravagant.  Five pools, several restaurants, etc. etc. with rooms that could and DO suffice as full time living quarters for some ( forgotten by me)percentage of the guests. Victoria was pleasant and not pushy, but she was running through her script, I could tell. 

By the time I got to the “close the deal” phase, I was with Victoria at a table in a room filled with other people going through the same experience as me. Some of the “lots of other people” in the room were buying in and when they did, bells would ring and everyone would cheer and clap.  

Victoria and I had been together for 2 hours.  After she got to the end of her pitch I told her “sure it is a good deal, but I’m not buying”. When she could make no progress with me, she brought in Larry and we sat for another half hour at least. When I finally convinced them they could not convince me to buy in, the cost to me had dropped tremendously but I can’t remember the numbers since I was not actually interested. They took me to the exit room where another very low-key guy laid out yet another even lower-cost deal and I almost bit, but the underlying truth is I prefer to travel the way I am currently traveling rather than going to 5 star double diamond ya-da ya-da ya-da resorts. 

So I declined again and was directed to the cash out room where I waited in line for another half hour with other non-buyers and finally got my 1000 pesos per Alejandro’s modified agreement. Another prepaid taxi and ferry boat ride took me to the Isla Mujeres ferry terminal.  Just a short walk from there I returned to Alejandro’s street stand. I gave him the 1000 pesos and he called Juan, 

a rep from the Isla Contoy tour company, have him my 200 pesos along with the additional 800 pesos contributed by the resort cash out office and I had a seat on tomorrow’s day long tour to Isla Contoy. WooHoo!

The day of the tour was a little sketchy to start, but in the end, I got more than my 200 pesos deserved,

The first hurdle was getting to the tour boat in Cancun. I was the only person going today from Isla Mujeres, so Juan met me at 8:00 AM at the ferry terminal and waited with me for 30 minutes or so while we exchanged get to know you conversation in Spanish while he kept calling to see when and where my boat would arrive. When it finally did, I got a private catamaran pontoon boat trip from Isla Mujeres to Cancun!

No kidding!  I’m the only passenger on the boat built to hold a couple hundred, I’m sure. I’m glad I brought my own breakfast - cut up mango and avocado I bought from the fruit mart yesterday for just this purpose. 
I had fun trying out different seats and feeling smug about being the first one on the boat. I thought this was the one going to Isla Contoy. But no.....when we got to Cancun - (at the marina next to the very same resort I had toured yesterday)
I was ushered off the boat and led to a crowded room of people standing in lines waiting for tickets to various tours outbound that morning.  Back of the line, I’m still smiling at my gullible self

When some worker who knew my name came to get me saying “ you can skip this line”.  He went to his co-worker passing out wrist bands to other people, obtained my 2nd wrist band of the day from the table and gave it to me with an invitation to approach the breakfast buffet. This breakfast was not nearly as inviting as yesterday’s offering, and I’d already eaten but I did take a piece of sweetbread and enjoyed it while waiting to answer the call for all English speaking passengers to Isla Contoy. Now I was positive I was going to make it. Yeah!!!!

The boat ride was an hour long over manageable seas with 23 other people - all choosing to going the English speaking boat, but definitely NOT all from the US. I was the only traveling alone passenger, so I did not for comfortably with other people, but I did enjoy the boat ride. 
We all went snorkeling before we got to the island.
The equipment included fins and was much better this year than that I received on the snorkel tour last year.  The current was strong so it was challenging to make progress in the water. We followed a guide from the boat over a coral reef that was pretty, and housed pretty fish and one 5 foot shark who was sleeping under a coral shelter on the sea floor. 

Back on the boat 
We had a short 5 minute ride to the island where a dozen other boats 

and 300 other people spent a couple hours enjoying the sandy beach, comfortable water 

and delicious dinner served in two shifts under a shady shelter with basic drinks, including beer was served. 
This is where I spoke with two gals traveling together from Chicago and two sisters from Switzerland.  I also spent time reading the National Park signs about native protected plant and animal life
and joined a 20 minute walking tour led by the MC of our boat 
Beer and tequila drinks flowed freely on the return boat ride and we saw very large turtles swimming in the water as we sped by. The final stop on this tour was an hour layover on Isla Mujeres for all those who boarded the boat in Cancun. But since that is where I started 9 hours earlier on the empty party barge, I checked out with El Capitan and stayed on the island where I belonged for one final night. 

I call that an interesting three days of sun - not always on Isla Mujeres!