Cherry Blossom Candy Leaf

So I recently saw the move "Once" starring Glen Hansard of The Frames and Marketa Irglova, a traditionally trained Czech musician. The movie was written by the former bassist of The Frames. It was really good and the soundtrack is awesome. Now the two stars of the movie play together in a band called The Swell Season. Glen Hansard has an amazing voice. I recently found a live concert that they performed in Washington D.C. You can listen to it and download it. I like to put it on when I'm going to spend a lot of time in front of the computer (like when I wrote my prior post).

It's been a while since I have updated my blog and so much has happened in the last few months. I decided to begin with my trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. In the middle of July, after checking the funds, my sister and I booked a last minute trip, and I am so glad we did. Mexico is beautiful and there is an endless amount of things to do. A week was definitely not enough time. We stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum Resort. Because there are so many hotels in the Cancun area, I had a difficult time deciding where to stay. Babs said that she wanted to have a relaxing vacation and didn't necessarily want to leave the hotel. So keeping that in mind, I wanted to stay somewhere with a perfect beach. After reading thousands of reviews in a few day period, I came across our hotel. The beach was absolutely heaven on earth.

The resort is large and in November of this year, will become an adult only hotel. There were many activities, including Spanish lessons, ballroom dancing lessons, beach volleyball, and various drinking games in the pool, along with horrible shows every night, but entertaining none-the-less. All the young people (that makes me sound old, but in comparison to me, they were young people) who ran all the activities in the day, performed in the shows at night. They had a Michael Jackson show which was a train wreck and I had to watch the whole thing. One night, they had traditional Mexican dancing and actually hired outside of the resort, so that show was really good.

Iguanas roamed the property, along with some strange rain forest insects and bugs. Beautiful paintings decorated the walls.



There were two buffets, three restaurants, three or four bars, a snack cart and smoothie hut on the beach. Below is a picture of the self-serve tequila bar. They had many bottles of tequila infused with various fruits and spices.

Babs and I enjoyed the hot tub. They had three of varying temperatures.

Here is a view of our moonlit beach.

One night I saw a giant sea turtle returning to the sea after spending many hours digging a hole for her eggs. She was scared back into the ocean by local children waiting to collect them before she could lay the eggs . Unfortunately, sea turtles are not protected in Riviera Maya unless they lay eggs on resort property. The locals wait for the turtles to lay their eggs. Then before the mother turtle can bury them, they kill the mother for food and take the eggs for soup. One family lived in tents on the stretch of beach. They didn't have much, but they did have an ATV that allowed them to patrol the beach waiting for the exhausted turtles to lay their eggs in the same spots on the beach that they have been returning to each year for decades. In Costa Rica, these endangered creatures are protected by the locals in many parts of the country. The Costa Ricans have become tour guides bringing visitors out to the beach with special flashlights to view the mother turtles laying their eggs. They are paid well and learn a lot about the sea turtles, passing this information onto amazed visitors. They no longer kill the turtle in places like Tortuguero because they can afford to buy, grow, and raise their own food sources. I spoke with the resort manager after the mother that I saw returning to the water was eventually slaughtered on the beach upon her return -she was no match for the men with clubs on an ATV. I also wrote a letter explaining that they can make it worth it for the poor locals to protect the sea turtles by making their viewing a money making operation. They can protect them by leading tourists to see them lay their eggs. Or they can pass regulations to make the eggs off limits so that the sea turtle population has a chance. When Ben and I witnessed the sea turtles laying eggs in Costa Rica, it was and still is one of the highlights of my life. I remember crying as this gigantic creature that is both powerful and helpless returned to the beach that it was born on after battling the large and dangerous surf for hours. I didn't photograph the turtle in Mexico going back in the water as the flash frightens them, but here is the nest she dug for hours. At that time, I also didn't understand the intentions of the family that was there with me.

On that sad note, I will attempt to cheer you up with other creatures that also did not survive our trip to Mexico. But don't worry, they are sustainable.

Now, even though we loved our beach, Babs and I did venture out. We went to Chichen Itza, ancient Mayan ruins and one of the seven wonders of the world. Built in 435 and the capital of the ancient Mayan empire, the main attraction of Chichen Itza is the Pyramid of Kukulcan pictured below.

Although this place is something to see, we were warned about the extreme weather here. When we got off the bus, we were happily surprised by the lush landscape and breeze that surrounded us. However, as we entered the archaeological site, we quickly realized that the breeze was a tease. The ruins are in an open field and there are very few trees to protect you from the heat. In minutes, that breeze became air that was still and at least 120 degrees, and 80% humidity enveloped us. This is a place where people vomit and faint from the heat, so if you venture out that way, bring lots of water, bring or buy a hat at the entrance and prepare yourself for the conditions.

This is Babs in front of the main pyramid. It's possible to take a picture of yourself with the appearance that you are holding it in the palm of your hand. And even though I wanted to take this typical tourist pic, it was too hot for me to do it. I kept having to search for spots of shade and trees. And people, if you know me, you know how much I love the summer and the heat, but this was unbearable.

The observatory at Chichen Itza. During the equinox, the structures along with the shadow and light create a giant serpent that can be seen from above the site.

There were many local people selling things within the ruins and on the outside, the best deals we found in Mexico, actually. And although we bought a few things, the weather discouraged me from spending too much time looking and squabbling over prices (I did do that a little bit, though). I bought a traditional Mexican dress that will be part of my Halloween costume this year, a hand painted giraffe and ceramic skull. I love all of these things.

Before we arrived at Chichen Itza, our bus driver took us to a cluster of overpriced shops. We did not buy anything there because my mom warned us about the place. She was there two months earlier. They did have some lovely traditional handicrafts. They had pretty gardens there, the weather was better and I got an idea of what I might want to buy elsewhere.

After we all made our way back to the bus from the Chichen Itza heat, sweaty and looking like we had all been to hell and back, we were taken for lunch, where local girls and boys performed for us. Catering to tourists and tempting patrons with cold cerveza, they danced with the refreshing goodness on their heads. The girl in the photo is wearing a nicer version of the dress I bought.

After our meal, we were taken to nearby cenote, an underground pool. The opening to this cavern was beginning to fall away, revealing the tree roots and tree above it. Eventually when the ceiling caves in completely, it will no longer be a "cenote", but I can't remember now what the word is. I have never seen a cenote before and this one did not disappoint. I climbed into the earth about 200 feet or so into a slippery hole that revealed an amazing sight. The water was cool and just what I needed after the Chichen Itza climate and bus ride.

Finally, we ended our trip in the town of Valladolid founded in 1543. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but I did have a chance to snap a few pictures. The one below is the San Gervasio Church. At this point of the trip, Babs became very upset because she had accidentally deleted all of her photos, which included her Chichen Itza pics. And now that you know about the heat there and the effort it must have taken to get good pictures, you might understand why she was so pissed. She even joked that we would have to take the tour again so she could get the pictures that were now lost. I say "joked" because the memory of the burning sun and pouring sweat was still fresh then and neither of us wanted to go back there. Although we both would agree that Chichen Itza should not be missed.

The following day, Babs relaxed on the beach with her book, while I explored. I walked far down and was by myself the entire time. The remains of resorts destroyed in a hurricane last year, iguanas, azure water(azure is a word I feel embarrassed about using because it sounds funny, but that is the color - for those who don't know, the zure part is pronounced like the word 'sure' with a "zh' sound instead.) and a dreamy coastline surrounded me. The few photos below are my journey in the order that they appeared.

Babs and I also visited the tourist town of Playa del Carmen. We checked out the beach and explored the shops and Babs got her hair braided. People don't realize how thick our hair is, so eventually Babs had 4 women working on her head and they were all saying, "So much hair," in Spanish. Two hours into the braiding and after the sun had set, I'm sure the one lady regretted the deal she and Babs made.

Many people stay in and visit Playa del Carmen and if you're looking for a party atmosphere and a variety of restauraunts, you would like it there.

I met a kid who worked at our resort, who rented a palapa in Playa del Carmen. He made $160 a month working at the resort. He was sweet and the only "man" who worked there that didn't offer to marry me or my sister in the first minute of our meeting. Despite the beauty of Playa del Carmen, people still want to come to America to live and work (hence the marriage proposals). In fact, Erik was planning on making the dangerous journey across the border later this year. He carried a "family tree" in his wallet. He didn't ask me to, but I would bring him food from the buffet during his 12 -16 hour shifts. He was 17 years old and was unable to attend school.

My sister and I took an eco-snorkeling tour that was the highlight of my trip to Mexico. It began in the river inlet that led to the ocean. The gases that came out of the rocks in the inlet made the water appear oily. Our guide said that the temperature adjustment from inside the earth to the water made that happen. We swam from the inlet all the way to the ocean. I saw a four foot long barracuda with teeth that were 2 inches long and protruding from its mouth. A little fish swam in my life vest the entire time we were in the inlet.

After that, we drove to a Mayan family's plot of land for another cenote snorkel. This one was a true cenote. We were asked not to wear sunscreen or mosquito repellant and to refrain from peeing in the water because it would destroy the balance in this unique undergound ecosystem. There are thousands of cenotes in Mexico - Amazing!

We had a delicious barbeque lunch cooked by the family who lived on this piece of land and then walked to our next destination: an open cenote. I cannon-balled off the edge where the ceiling of the cenote once was, went down the zip-line (Babs even tried this one!), snorkeled, lounged in an inner tube and on the deck, and enjoyed every minute of it. We met a couple of teachers from Chicago and exchanged stories.

Babs and I took a public van to the ruins at Tulum. The ancient Mayans really knew how to pick a spot. It was so beautiful there. Upon our arrival, we saw this...

The ruins of Tulum...

I swam in the huge waves below the site. It was exhilirating!

A dancer's mask.

Tropical storm Dolly rolled into town the day before we left. Babs was getting ready for dinner in our room (so no pictures exist) while I swam in the pouring rain, pummeled by the enormous surf. Everyone else fled the beach and watched from the shore so I had the water to myself.

Mexico is an amazing country. There are so many places to visit and things to see and do. I am definitely going back, but this time Ben has to come. I loved it there.