Today we ferried over to the island of Cozumel. It was VERY rough seas do to wind and waves and way too long a ride. Both Gene and Sue and who knows how many others were a little queezy, Sue much more than the rest. In fact she was really sick. When we finally arrived we went to a restaurant, had a soda and regrouped. It was about an hour before she was feeling like continuing for the day. Our thanks to Steve and Genneal as they spent the day with us and were very patient waiting on us to regroup. We wanted to go snorkeling and wanted to go to the best spot. Steve inquired at one of the dive shops as to the best place and was given some advice. However we could not rent the equipment there. We decided to take a taxi to the best spot and perhaps rent equipment there. This was not quite what we expected. It may have been the best place to snorkel but it was not a well traveled spot. No, dive shop, in fact no shop at all. There was a local man there who spoke English. It seems like he just hangs out there all the time. We told him what we wanted to do and right away he said he thought he could get us some equipment. He scrounged around, left for a bit and finally had enough equipment for us….used equipment…very used equipment. Sue was still having effects from the sunburn/rash she got a few days ago at the pool so she was not baring her skin at all. The beach was solid rock with pits in it caused from the waves, and impossible to walk on with bare feet so we had to put on our fins and walk backwards to the water’s edge. Have to say “this was tricky with the fins on”. This local guy made things more fun for us by feeding the fish. They followed behind him as he swam around us. It was awesome to see these beautiful fish. We wish so much we could have taken pictures of them but we do not have an underwater camera. Needless to say we tipped this man very well for all his help. A taxi took us back to the downtown area where we had lunch, did some shopping and then walked to the ferry terminal to wait for our ride back. We did see some of the decorations for the Carnival Celebration which is what they call Mardi Gras here in Mexico. Thankfully the seas were calm and it was a good trip back. This was another full and fun day.
Feb 22 Day 30
Tulum ruins With walls on three sides and a 36 foot high cliff on the other Tulum was a fortified city. A short break in the reef allowed boats to come ashore for commercial reasons. Tulum was an important coastal port that linked land and sea trade. People from other cities would come to Tulum to trade items such as jade obsidian, gold, silver and other precious stones. There was a short wall that separated the King and administrative people from the common inhabitants whose houses were constructed of perishable materials. The Nobles on the other hand had a Palace for the King and temples and other buildings.
Feb 23 Day 31 Travel to Chetemal
We started off today on a rather new highway and remained on it for quite awhile. We saw some interesting and attractive buildings and houses as we passed through the little villages today. We still seem to be intrigued by the little cemeteries we see. Some are well kept, some not but most all are quite colorful. The really nice looking homes and businesses are impressive to us since we see so much poverty driven unkempt homes. This was an easy trip for us today. At some point though, Gene stopped to help another in the caravan change a flat tire. Our caravan has had a lot of flat tires and other vehicle problems as we just pass the ½ way point of our tour.
Feb 24 Day 32 Travel to Belize
To get to Lamanai we must first take a bus ride to Belize and then take a 90 minute riverboat cruise through the Belize jungle. The river, The New River, is the only accessible route to the ruins. Lamanai, the Mayan term for Submerged Crocodile, is named for the toothy reptiles that live along the banks of the New River. On our trip up the river we saw many species of birds, and one crocodile. Living along the river is a group of Mennonites. We were told by our guide there are several communities of Mennonites in Belize and they produce 60 to 70% of the food that the people of Belize consume. The Mennonites arrived in Belize in the 1950s and speak mostly German, however some are bilingual. Much of the Lamanai archaeological site was built in layers. Successive generations built upon the temples of their ancestors, instead of destroying them. Although hundreds of ruins are said to remain unexcavated in the nearby jungle, three of the most impressive temples have been renovated: the Jaguar Temple, named for its boxy jaguar decoration; the Mask Temple, adorned by a 13-foot stone mask of an ancient Maya king; and the High Temple, offering visitors a panoramic view from its summit. The ruins of Lamanai are very ancient. The archaeologists believe the site was in existence as early as 1500 BC. However some of its buildings were occupied in the 18th century making it well over 3000 years in existence. We first walked through the jungle with the guide pointing out different trees and how they were used by the Mayans. We also saw and heard the Haler monkeys that live in this area. At the end of our tour of the ruins we were allowed to climb to the top of the High Temple. From the top it is an awesome view of the surrounding area. A very nice lunch was provided to us and a short time to look and buy in the few shops in the area before the long trip back to our campground.
Feb 25 Day 33 Chetumal Museum
This morning Steve needed to stay back at camp to do some work on the RV so we took Genneal with us. We car pooled to the Mayan Cultural Museum in downtown Chetumal. It is a modern museum with interactive exhibits and models of most Yucatan sites. The museum gave us information about the Mayan alphabet, their numbering system and their calendars. There was also information about the common people which we have heard very little about and of course many carvings and other Mayan artifacts. We captured a picture there of what the homes and life was like for the common people. After the museum tour we walked a couple of blocks to a post office and then hurried back to get Steve so we could go eat lunch. We decided to eat at the Frog restaurant next to the campground. It was very good Mexican food fixed by the chef. We keep learning much about the food names and ingredients when we eat out on our own. We could not figure out why my plate was meat only and they had a wide assortment of rice and veggies. A few days later we did learn that what I had ordered was an appetizer. I really do not need to eat more than an appetizer anyway. After we went to a Wal-Mart/Chedraui for food and water and then back to the RV park to ready for another day on the road.
Feb 26 Day 34 Travel day to Palenque
Today is a long trip, 305 miles, with lots of small villages and probably poor road conditions. We always have road conditions. One of the first notable things we see is workers alongside the road using machetes to trim weeds and cut trees. It seems that the machete is the tool of choice in Mexico. We had to pass through another Policia checkpoint again. This time we were pulled over for inspection again. Usually they just want to see what our motorhome looks like inside. Today they opened every door and drawer, looked in the refrigerator and freezer and even checked our vehicle registration but no problems. About 75 miles into the trip the road narrows considerably. It is time to watch carefully that the trucks and buses do not get so close they clip our mirrors or worse. Just ahead a few miles we see the beginnings of building a new highway and then before long we are on a new highway. It is not a 4 lane but much wider than the old route. That lasted only a few miles and we are again back on the narrow road. We have just past a small pick-up truck with 4 cows in the bed. It looks very top-heavy. We just now passed another in our caravan with a flat tire. Every time someone has a vehicle problem we are more thankful for our safety and that of our motorhome and car. We just passed through a small village that has an overhead passenger crosswalk. We have seen these before and may have reported on it but it is just so strange to see this. One time we saw one constructed for farmers to move their animals from one side of the road to the other. That seems quite extreme to me. We assume it is because there are so many big 18 wheelers traveling on these highways. It is hard to imagine that in a small town in the USA. Today we saw a construction materials store in another village. Guess we would call that a hardware store. Well, it was a long day but we made it safely to the campground.
Today is a long trip, 305 miles, with lots of small villages and probably poor road conditions. We always have road conditions. One of the first notable things we see is workers alongside the road using machetes to trim weeds and cut trees. It seems that the machete is the tool of choice in Mexico. We had to pass through another Policia checkpoint again. This time we were pulled over for inspection again. Usually they just want to see what our motorhome looks like inside. Today they opened every door and drawer, looked in the refrigerator and freezer and even checked our vehicle registration but no problems. About 75 miles into the trip the road narrows considerably. It is time to watch carefully that the trucks and buses do not get so close they clip our mirrors or worse. Just ahead a few miles we see the beginnings of building a new highway and then before long we are on a new highway. It is not a 4 lane but much wider than the old route. That lasted only a few miles and we are again back on the narrow road. We have just past a small pick-up truck with 4 cows in the bed. It looks very top-heavy. We just now passed another in our caravan with a flat tire. Every time someone has a vehicle problem we are more thankful for our safety and that of our motorhome and car. We just passed through a small village that has an overhead passenger crosswalk. We have seen these before and may have reported on it but it is just so strange to see this. One time we saw one constructed for farmers to move their animals from one side of the road to the other. That seems quite extreme to me. We assume it is because there are so many big 18 wheelers traveling on these highways. It is hard to imagine that in a small town in the USA. Today we saw a construction materials store in another village. Guess we would call that a hardware store. Well, it was a long day but we made it safely to the campground.
Feb 27 Day 35 Palenque ruins and museum PLUS Misol Ha Water fall and Agua Azul falls. Originally we were to have 2 bus tours on 2 different days in this area, one at the Palenque ruins and the other at the Misol Ha Waterfall and Agua Azul Falls. Instead it was decided to put it all in one day. It made for a long and hurried day. Palenque is in the rain forest. It receives rain for 10 months of the year. The people built aqua ducts around the city to protect it from flooding and drained the rain water into a cistern for drinking water. At other sites we learned the peoples used frogs and turtles in their water wells to control the bacteria so that it was drinkable. On top of the highest structure is a 150 feet high tower. Astronomy was important in the Mayan culture. Ancient stone masons built and aligned this stone pyramid centuries ago to project the sun's rays through the windows at a certain point. On the morning and evening of Equinox March 20, 21 they observed this point and new it was time to plant their crops. In recent years, a great deal more of the site has been excavated, but currently, archaeologists estimate that only 5% of the total city has been uncovered. They continue to work at it but do to the long rainy season they can only restore 1 temple every 15 years. National Geographic has some great info on this Mayan ruins. This particular article has info about Palenque: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/ancient/palenque.html as well as some videos about the Mayans.
Next we went to Miso Ha Water Fall, a spectacular 115 ft. water fall which drops into a calm pool. We could walk behind the falls. The mist was cooling on this warm day. Some were swimming in the pool. Then we drove on to Agua Falls where the glittering water rushes over the boulders at a rapid pace. The turquoise waters are very inviting and many were swimming here. The area around here is full of restaurants and vendors. Many children, as young as 7 or 8 are trying to get us to buy from them. We are eating lunch here and as soon as we sat down the kids begin to almost beg us to buy from them. They were selling, corn on the cob, fried or dried bananas, and they were very persistant. When we would say no they would give us their name and say “maybe later”. Sure enough they would be back in a while and try all over again. We had to get stern to get them to leave us alone. That is sometimes hard with these cute little children. We got the feeling they were made to do this. This was a long day and it will be good to be home.
