Vacation Time a la Playa (the beach)

       We were lucky that we got to take a week vacation from our vacation. We headed to Cancun and then straight out of there. So I can’t comment on Cancun, except to say that we saw, at the airport, American junk food that we haven’t seen in 5 months (drooled but didn’t buy any!).  We followed in the footsteps of our friends Karen, Scott, and Fiona and went by ferry to Isla Mujeres.
         The vibe of Isla Mujeres reminded us a lot of Santa Cruz with a bit of Hawaii. There was a shack-y look to a lot of the buildings, and everyone was wandering around in beach clothes and flip-flops. Even Mexicans were wearing shorts, which we’d never seen before.  But, unlike in Santa Cruz, the ocean was warm!  It reminded me of Hawaii, beautiful white baby-powder sand, shallow turquoise water, palm trees – the whole thing. Except that the average Mexican beaches have lots of commerce going on. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, have fancy froo froo drinks, get a massage, buy junk food, pick up a new piece of jewelry, hat or whatever your heart desires – all without leaving the beach. I both liked it, and found it obtrusive, being  hawked to on the beach.

         We enjoyed the restaurant scene a lot. Back home in San Miguel it’s generally not warm enough to eat outside anymore, but here the weather was fabulous (except for the mosquitoes, poor Nataly).  Michael and I gorged on lots of seafood – fish tacos, shrimp tacos, fish and squid ceviche and Nataly tried hard to find the one thing on menus she would eat – often chicken fingers and quesadillas. Now I really don’t need to eat any seafood for the foreseeable future, which is lucky because it’s very rare here in landlocked SMA.

         Besides being a beach bum, one of the fun things to do here was to rent a golf cart and zoom around the island.

We found that the windward side of the island beaches look exactly like the area north of Santa Cruz, with high cliffs, rough surf, and strong winds. Completely different from the other side of the island, which is only ½ mile away (the isla is ½ mile wide by about 12 miles long).

         We went to a turtle sanctuary that was interesting, and very Mexican. There was very little signage, but asking around a bit we gathered that they mobilize volunteers to collect the eggs laid on the beach during the summer and early fall months. They rebury them in mounds on their beach, surrounded by a chicken wire fence for protection, with the due dates on a sign. When they hatch 2 months later, the hatchlings are kept in various tanks of sea water inside the sanctuary, until they grow big enough to have a better chance of survival (in the wild less than 5% make it to adulthood). So we got to see tanks of 4-day-old turtles, as well as juveniles. 

The man there told me some were albinos, but I don’t know for sure if that’s just the name they use for the white turtles, or if all white turtles are actually albinos.  
     There was a touch tank of other sea creatures, including this strange animal whose Spanish name I can’t remember, and whose English name I never have known. The toothless guy in charge was worlds away from the eager college students who man the touch tanks in the aquariums in Monterey and SC.  He was in it for the shock value, trying to scare the tourists by lunging forward with some crab, anemone, or mystery animal, and trying to make you put it on your face. 

         Favorite hangouts - Nataly’s favorite place to hang out in the isla was the roof of our place, where there was a palapa roof, and lots of hammocks. We discovered that hanging out with the fish, which was my and Michael’s favorite place to be, was just the opposite of Nataly, unfortunately. So we did a lot of alternating. One day at a sandy beach, with no snorkeling, and then next time at a beach with coral. I grew to wish the water wasn’t quite so clear. By the end of our trip Nataly had grown to enjoy seeing fish, as long as it was only a couple at a time, and they were small. Best beach for Nataly on I.M. was Playa Norte and best beach for me was Garafon Castillo.

         Puerto Morelos was probably my favorite pueblo. It still felt much like the fishing village that it was. The village was set right next to the beach, similar to Capitola village. The beach there was wide and long and much less commercial than Isla Mujeres. You could just throw your towel down and get in the water.  We had a great beach morning and then in the afternoon made our way inland, through the jungle to a cenote called 7 Bocas.

         I was so glad to finally get to see a cenote, after reading about them for years. A cenote is a fresh body of water (agua dulce – so poetic in Spanish) that forms when rain slowly erodes away the limestone crust that the Yucatan peninsula is made of.  Over time the water can make caves, and stalactites and stalagmites can form, and fish can somehow make their way there, as well.

         7 Bocas was a very magical cave type cenote, especially as we had it all to ourselves.

Its set deep in the jungle, with lush plantings, and little palapa seating areas scattered around. We climbed down maybe 20 ft via some helpful steps into boca uno (the first opening). Once we got in the water (and by we I mean M and I) we could swim away from the opening and into the covered cave area. The water was a gorgeous, shifting, green blue, lit up by the sun streaming in via the bocas.  When we used our masks to look down we could see lily pad type plants and stalactites through the ultra clear water.  
     It was an adventure finding the source of other bocas. One around the corner to had trees seemingly growing right through the rock roof and the roots hanging down just to skim the water’s surface. To reach the most dramatic boca you had to swim along through a narrow tunnel opening with just enough room for your head to bob along under the roof. This boca was lushly ringed with ferns growing up the sides. For Michael and I this was truly a magical place.

         To Nataly it was creepy, cold, and there might be fish around (to say nothing of the “birds” (bats) that started gathering at dusk.  She did her best several times to conquer her fears, but to no avail. Luckily, we eventually realized that those things in the corners were floating surfboards, and we were able to get her aboard to go for rides to the different bocas. An awesome experience!

Only in Mexico would there be a chain of pharmacies named after St. Francis of Asisi

         One night it started raining and wouldn’t stop till late the next day. What the heck, we’re swimming and getting wet all day anyways. So I got up at the crack of dawn to take a boat out to the reef very close offshore for some snorkeling. My driver was named “Charlie Brown”. He couldn’t explain were he got this name or I couldn’t understand his explanation, but it cas fun, especially as he was mr. sunshine.  Nobody else seemed to share my attitude about snorkeling in the rain, so I got Charlie’s personal tour. The reef out here was amazing and solidly packed with beautiful tropical fish. I saw a too big barracuda, several lobsters, and especially enjoyed the many shapes, types, and colors of the coral itself.

       Nataly met a girl to play with, and Michael a mom to chat with while I was gone.  The mom is American, but now lives in the jungle married to a man, who is Mayan.  She lives in a village that is very traditional and the people sleep in hammocks. She commented that it took her over 4 years to be conversationally fluent in Spanish, even as immersed as this. This news was both disheartening (don’t think I’ll be married to a Spanish speaking person any time soon) and reassuring (its not just me that’s making slow slow progress).

         Next we traveled to Tulum, an hour south of P Morelos. We loved our hotel room with fancy bed with mosquito netting. 

I was relegated to the single bed without the netting, as I am not a tasty treat to mosquitos. We explored the beach here, which was smaller, but equally beautiful and also quiet. I walked, Michael swam and body surfed as there was some wave action, and Nataly ran in the surf.

We were hoping to visit maybe 3 or so pyramids, but only ended up going to one – the one at Tulum. Its got a gorgeous setting right on cliffs above the beach. Makes sense, as these people were fishermen who also managed the trade routes via the ocean. When the Spanish came Tulum was still a functioning city (unlike most other pyramid cultures which were abandoned well before the Spanish), until the Spanish prohibited any use of boats by the Mayans. Its not very well preserved due to the salty ocean air, so they don’t let you climb anything, which was disappointing. We still enjoyed strolling around, taking in the general beauty, but the structures themselves aren’t nearly as impressive as other places we’ve been. And the guidebook warns you not to take the tour unless you simply want to be entertained, rather than informed.

         We also visited another cenote, strangely named Car Wash, this time a simple lagoon type to see if we could convince Nataly to give it a try. She gave it her best try, but no go. I found this one far less interesting than 7 Bocas, so after a bit, we vamanoosed it out of there and went to Akamal. Ah, finally, the last day we found the perfect combination of beach for kids and adults. Its shallow, but not too shallow, with no fish close in, but a reef right out there we could swim to. The highlight for me was seeing a couple of sea turtles and Michael got to see a lionfish. Our last night we also found the perfect restaurant called Puro Corazon. If we ever go back, we’ll have it all figured out.

         For Michael and Nataly our beach trip was a time for good bonding over their love of water.  For me it was a place of beauty, but not a place I’d want to live.  It felt a lot less Mexican than San Miguel (which many people say isn’t that Mexican either). There everyone immediately spoke to us in English. Definitely not a place to come practice your Spanish. I’m sure it’s different off the tourist track, but there didn’t seem to be much native culture co-existing with the vacationers. So, I was happy to visit and happy to get back to San Miguel.