February 23, 2011

For those of you who haven’t heard from me in a bit, it probably sounds like I am constantly on vacation. Do not be deceived. The months of January and February were very full and rather stressful, particularly the week before our departure. I interviewed for a professor position at the University of Cincinnati in late January, and the waiting game alone has been emotionally difficult. I know that I am among the top few candidates for the position, but I still don’t know if I will be chosen. I have been working on a slew of manuscripts that are in various stages of the publication process, and keeping up with the demands of my course has not been easy. It certainly hasn’t been all bad. Matt and I have had the opportunity to go ice skating several times. We also got to enjoy an exhibit about Tim Burton, which is in Toronto for a limited time. We also enjoyed an evening at Medieval Times with our friends Travis and Keriann. The event was very enjoyable and exceeded my expectations. I even enjoyed the food! I was particularly impressed with the sword play, the horsemanship and the torture museum. I have started a new volunteer position at the Royal Museum of Ontario. Every Monday morning, my fellow volunteers and I teach school groups about dinosaurs, the Great Lakes ecosystem, or Egypt.

Nevertheless, the winter months have been pretty darn cold this year in Toronto. It was wonderful to have this little vacation waiting for us. The trip didn’t disappoint. It didn’t break the bank, the weather was mild, and yes, there was a lot of tequila. The trip went more or less seamlessly. Now this trip was rather different from my “normal” trips. It all started about a year ago when I received a phone call and was told that I had been recommended by “someone” to go to win a trip to Cancun. The fine print included some taxes and port fees and a morning of trying to sell me a timeshare. I usually simply hang up the phone when people who I don’t know start offering me deals. However, on this particular instance, I hesitated. I looked out the window at the cold January day and thought to myself, “hmmm, a trip to Cancun might not be so bad”. So, I accepted the offer. At the time, I had no idea when Matt and I might actually take the trip. In the end, it turns out that our timing was excellent. Both of us were pretty burned out when we boarded the plane on Tuesday. Luckily, getting to Cancun was a breeze. We had a non-stop flight at a good time and getting through the airport was relatively smooth. The airport was slow but we received no hassles and we were met at the airport. Our hotel was pleasant but not completely posh. This was fine, especially considering our trip was more or less free. The hotel gave us our plastic bracelets that we had to wear until we left. This whole process was rather strange, but we quickly learned that everyone wears plastic bracelets in this tourist destination. The bracelet tags provide a quick way to identify who is allowed and who is forbidden to enter a particular locality, or participate in a particular activity.

Duly tagged, we spent our first evening wandering around the area surrounding our hotel. We purchased a promising bottle of mescal at the mini mart across the street from our hotel and enjoyed the savory liquor on the terrace outside our room. We then walked along the beach and watched the sun set, quietly enjoying the warm wind. We quickly discovered that much of Cancun is completely surreal. In most respects it is truly an adult playland.

We started off our first full day by attending a “90 minute presentation” about the company’s timeshare program. The presentation wound up being about 4.5 hours, but all in all it was actually a rather enjoyable experience. They fed us and gave us plenty of piña coladas. Plus, we got to see some pretty classy establishments. We also very much enjoyed the company of our representative, Isabel. We started off thinking that there was no way we would ever be persuaded to buy into such a program. Nevetherless, by the end of the presentation, we were nearly convinced. If we actually had money, or if they had actually let us think about their offer for more than five minutes, we might now be proud owners of some condo somewhere in Cancun. They tried hard to convince us, but in the end, all they wound up doing was scaring us a bit.

After extracted ourselves from the clutches of the presentation, we spent the day as tourists in the heart of the tourist zone. Our hotel had partnerships with several other hotels (all part of the timeshare plan), and some of thes other hotels were far classier than ours. We spent the afternoon at the Royal Sunset Hotel. The hotel is situated on the golden mile, a relatively uncongested white sand beach bordered by turquoise crashing waves. Matt and I immediately immersed ourselves in the ocean. I haven’t swam with waves since I lived in Hawaii and I miss it. I had a lot of fun but imagine I will still find sand in my hair for a few more days. After a little nap on the sand, Matt and I walked north along the beach. We passed ritzy, private condos, giant luxuray hotels, and hords of drunken and confused sunburned teens. There is some great people watching in Cancun. Eventually, we came out at Plaza Forum, which sits at the northeast point of the Hotel District. Here we found a plethora of nightclubs, steak and seafood restaurants, souvenir markets and bars. We stopped by Señor Frogs and enjoyed two giant blended drinks while we watched the sun set over the lagoon. Now I first heard about Señor Frogs when I was in high school. My friend went to Cancun for spring break and came back with some very memorable stories. I have been curious about this establishment ever since. Señor Frogs did not disappoint. For starters, we could have bathed in our drinks. The ambiance was amazing. A gentleman was making balloon hats for anyone interested. There is a water slide the dumps daring individuals out into the lagoon, and we could have purchased body piercings while waiting to use the washroom. Finally, just after paying our bill, a group of employees with whistles and a squeeze bottle squeezed some unknown liquid into Matt’s mouth for 30 seconds and shouted “go go go go”. I wonder what the bar is like after 6 pm.

We tried our hand at surviving the hawks at the market, but were quickly dissuaded by the incessant badgering. One man went so far as to tell Matt that he desperately needed to charge us $70 for tequila so he could feed his family! Luckily we found ‘The Mexican Outlet’, a store which is probably hated by locals but makes tourist shopping pleasant. The store offered more or less bottomless free tequila tasting, great prices, and some of the best live music I have ever heard – Mexican Marimba. The music was extremely reminiscent of 80’s videogames theme songs. I was particularly reminded of the Frogger theme song. So much fun to listen to! We found an excellent Mexican restaurant, Casa Tequila, across the street, and we settled down to some very tasty food and drinks. After dinner, we returned to our hotel and discovered that leaving a dollar for the maid is rewarded. A little swan made out of folded towels was awaiting us. We went to bed with pleasant vacation thoughts floating through our heads.

Day number three kicked off our adventure tours. We visited Rio Secreto, a newly discovered underground river system about 100 km south of Cancun. We boarded a van bound for Rio Secreto and quietly shivered in the subarctic interior for two hours. Upon our arrival, we were given wrist bracelets and shuttled onto a new van for a half hour drive through some scrub. Eventually we came to an isolated camp where we were suited up with water shoes, wetsuits, helmets, and headlamps. We were then sent down into the cave system along with our intrepid guide, Felipe. Our little group walked, waded and bobbed through a number of caverns filled with delicate formations and crystal clear pools filled with little blind catfish. I was in heaven. After finishing our tour, we were given a shot of xtabentun, a thick honey and anise liquor, and set loose on the food. It was then time to bid Rio Secreto adios and head back to our hotel.

Our evening was rather unconventional. We drank some tequila on our porch and then headed over to the Playboy casino, which happened to be located adjacent to our hotel. Neither Matt nor I have any gambling blood din us. However, we were too curious not to give it a shot. The venue was fairly laid back. The alcohol wasn’t free, but it was, at least, cheap. We wound up spending a couple of hours playing slots and we broke even, so I can’t complain. Plus, they had a fantastic nut mix that we ate in lieu of dinner. I don’t usually rave about nut mixes, but this stuff was really good. We ended our evening early and prepared for our next adventure.

The next morning we took a ferry over to Isla Mujeres, an island that lies just north of Cancun. We leisurely strolled to the ferry dock and were pleasantly surprised to find that our trip included a buffet breakfast in addition to an open bar. The ferry let us off at a dock where we could pay to have our photos taken with some dolphins kept in a small pool. Matt and I separated ourselves from the hordes and quickly skirted navigated ourselves away from this option. We then took a taxi to Garrafon Park, which lies at the southeast end of the island. Now Matt and I were particularly excited about this day trip because it boasted snorkeling. We had assumed that we would have ample opportunities to enjoy the underwater world in Cancun. We were mistaken. When we asked about snorkeling, we were told that the only reefs available for snorkeling were on Isla Mujeres. As a result, we anticipated spending a lot of time in the water surrounding the island. I thought that Garrafon was a national park, and I was prepared to hike through some nature and enjoy the underwater park. Again, we were set up for a bit of disappointment. The “park” was not a national park, but a series of tiered hammock and bar terraces. There was, indeed some coral available for snorkeling, but we were obliged to wear bulky life jackets, we were only allowed to snorkel in a designated area, and we had to share this bit of reef with the several hundred other people visiting the park on the same day. The area was relatively tranquil, and we still have a nice time, but it was not what I had been hoping for. So it goes. We waited until the majority of the other guests had made a pass at the coral before entering the water. We paddled along the reef and saw a number of chub, grunts and snappers, nothing particularly memorable. But then, out of nowhere, I saw the biggest parrotfish I have ever seen. It was truly a beast, probably three feet long. It was fantastic! That fish made the snorkel excursion worthwhile. We completed our snorkel and then enjoyed a tasty buffet lunch overlooking the ocean. Other Garrafon adventures included taking a zip line down the hill, wandering through a rather bizarre sculpture garden at the southern tip of the island, and pausing at the Cliff of the Dawn, which is the easternmost tip of Mexico.

We returned to our ferry and watched several very large, captive bull sharks circle their pen while we awaited our departure. Not too surprisingly, we were rather exhausted after a full day of sunshine and an open bar. We returned to our hotel feeling completely spent. A shower managed to revive us a bit, and we returned to the tourist zone in search of a small dinner and a little entertainment. We found exactly what we were looking for. The marimba players were in full throttle. We watched them for awhile and wandered through the Mexican outlet store. We were so tired that we didn’t even want any free shots of tequila! We found a little Japanese restaurant which provided the perfect end to our day. A little green tea, edamame, miso soup, and an avocado roll were just what the doctor ordered.

Our third adventure involved another long drive. We woke up early and were ready and waiting in the lobby at 6:45 am. Yikes! We had had excellent weather for the entirety of our trip, but for this particular trip we were faced with a torrential, and seemingly endless amount of rain. We settled down and hoped mightily that the rain would peter out by the time we reached our destination. After picking up a number of other passengers, our van headed off into the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula. We drove through numerous small Mayan villages, eventually stopping at one of them. We were instructed to leave all of our belongings and walk into the secondary jungle surrounding the village wearing good walking shoes and our swimsuits. The rain had not yet abated so we slipped and slid our way along the path into the forest. After about 10 minutes or so, we came to an area with several thatched roof open buildings. We were given a Mayan blessing and then decked out in climbing harnesses. Apparently we were going to rappel down into a sinkhole cavern filled with water.

Matt and I were a bit surprised by the course of events. Somehow our tour description had failed to mention the rappelling portion. We had simply been told that we would get a chance to swim in a cenote. Apparently a cenote is a sinkhole and apparently the swimming surface was 60 feet below the ground surface. Several of the tourists were not nearly as excited by the prospect of descending into a hole in the ground. However, Matt and I both found this surprise quite pleasant, and we gladly donned our highly fashionable climbing gear over our swimsuits. We were chosen to be the first to descend, and down we went. I am very sad that I do not have photos of this place. It was truly magical. Bats flew about in circles and we could watch drops of water fall from the ceiling of the cavern down to the water surface. Tangled tree roots wound their way down to the water surface, giving the cavern an even more magical feeling. The water was crystal clear and we could see small catfish lazily swimming about in the water. I brought my mask and snorkel and enjoyed examining the far recesses of the cenote. We spent an hour or so drifting about on inner tubes and then, one by one, made our way back up to the surface using a slippery but sturdy rope ladder.

Back on the surface, we didn’t bother drying off. It was still pouring rain. We somewhat blindly headed off in a new direction, wearing only our swimsuits and climbing harnesses. After walking for a few minutes, we were given a helmet and sent down a zip line. We were given a hooked stick to use as a break. I have only been on a handful of zip lines and I certainly did not expect to zip line two days in a row. The two experiences couldn’t have been more different; it is way more intense in the rain!

We then removed our gear, got dressed, and headed back towards the village. Just when I had more or less given up hope of drying out, the clouds broke and the sun began to shine. We were given time to paddle about for a few minutes on a canoe and then I breathed a sigh of relief as the moisture steamed out of my clothes. Lunch was fantastic. We had rice and beans, potato empanadas, homemade tortillas, grated jicama, and several salsas to choose from. I had actually been concerned about the availability of vegetarian cuisine on the tourist expeditions, but I was given plenty of very tasty options on all of our trips. Hooray! Our trip was not yet compelte. We reboarded the van and made our way to the ancient Mayan city of Cobá. The Yucatan is peppered with mayan ruins. Apparently Cobá is among the oldest. I knew nothing of the city’s history prior to our trip and my current knowledge is fairly limited. My understanding is that the city was inhabited between 600 and 900 AD, and then dwindled into abandonment. We were given painfully little time to explore the three square miles of Cobá, but what we saw was wonderful. Not much remains of what must have been a very formidable city, but what is there is beautiful. Only a handful of the structures have been excavated. The ruins include many temples and a number of pok-ta-pok courts, which must have been a very interesting ball game. The court is roughly triangular in cross section. It consists of a flat strip of ground bordered by two angled walls. At the top of each wall is a stone ring. Apparently the players won points by passing a ball through the rings. The shape of the court and the size of the rings alone must have made this game challenging. The added rule that players could only use their joints to move the ball about makes it sound nearly impossible. Matt and I rented bikes and made our way to Nohoch Mul, the tallest temple in the Yucatan. We huffed and puffed up the 120 steps (126 feet/ 42 meters) and were rewarded a breathtaking panoramic view of the Yucatan. Because the peninsula is so flat, we had an unobstructed view for miles. I would have loved to stay up on top of the temple for a few minutes, but the clock was ticking. We carefully made our way back down the temple steps and biked back to the van. Hopefully I can return to Cobá at some point. I would like to check out some of the other buildings.

We returned to the hotel, watched the sun set, finished our tequila, and headed back to Casa Tequila for one final meal. We drank our Mexican beer and enjoyed the marimba music. And just like that, it was time to go. We packed our belongings, sent our postcards, and left our remaining few pesos for our maid, who had entertained us so much with her towel animals. So, there you have it. So far 2011 is shaping up to be full but in a good way. I hope that you are doing well. Happy almost Spring.