just a blog of my ramblings. really an on-line journal.
Monday, March 31, 2003
Friday, March 07, 2003
ok, finally i think i'm ready to share the 2nd Installment about my fun-filled mexico trip.
Saturday, Mar 1
-----------------------------------
8 or 8:30am- i wake up, immediately head out to the beach and lay on a chaise lounge (incidentally, isn't that a great word?) and read while soaking up some rays. it's already getting hot, but there's a stiff breeze off the ocean, making the temperature very pleasant in the sunshine. i wander around for a bit, walk quite a ways down the beach. some kid is like, swimming in the ocean w/ a little boogie board and no adults in the immediate vicinity. i'm like, "hey, kid!" but he doens't pay attention to me. so i'm like, "HEY!" but he just kind of swims away, like maybe he doesn't understand or he's afraid of me or something. but i'm all concerned 'n what-not because this kid is swimming in the OCEAN and he appears to be like 7 years old or something. apparently some maternal instinct that resides deep within me and is seldom expressed has been stirred. i start walking again, but looking around trying to find an adult to associate w/ this child. i finally see this guy starting to walk towards me so i say "hey, is that your kid?" and he's like "MINE-" while pointing to the kid. so i'm relieved, and resume my walk back up the beach.
i find out the harbor is closed, but nobody knows why. i ask if it's because of the high winds, but they tell me it's really not that bad. evidently, there is one guy in charge of the harbor, and when he says it's closed, it's closed. there are no boats in sight, but several windsurfers totally going crazy jumping the waves and stuff. the australian guy at a stand (for renting boats and stuff) tells me that those guys are relatives of the guy in charge of the harbor and that's the only reason they get away w/ being out there. i'm bummed, becasue i wanted to go parasailing or something, but i can't since the harbor's closed.
11am-2pm: i relax in the hammock in the shade and finish reading Lord of the Rings: the 2 Towers. i am getting alot more out of these books the 2nd time around than i did when i read them before in high school or whatever. i have some lunch and generally stay out of the sun because i don't want to get burned. however, despite multiple coats of sunblock and staying in the shade, i still get some sun.
2-5pm: i borrow a bike from the hotel and ride around Playacar for a little bit. there are all these weird houses that i photograph. i ride down a trail that goes through a golf course, and i want to ride down this dirt trail i see but then i realize that i have no idea how the Mexican trespassing laws work and i've heard all kinds of stories about tourists getting thrown into Mexican jail. so i ride back onto the street, then i ride into the town of Playa del Carmen. the streets are dusty and chaotic, filled w/ milling pedestrians from bronzed natives to sunburnt tourists, mopeds, bicycles and an assortment of cars, mostly taxis and small fuel-efficient vehicles. but there are occasional vans. not a lot of SUVs down there. i ride onto 4th avenue and get yelled at because you're not allowed to ride bikes there. but i don't have a lock, so i just walk my bike back to the nearest cross street.
on the way back, i stop at a tiny little convenience store to get some water. i grab a bottle and notice w/ disappointment that despite having been in a fridge, it's not even slightly cold. then i open the bottle and it explodes because it's actually carbonated. so that's pretty disappointing. i drink as much as i can force myself to, then hop back onto the bike and ride back to the hotel feeling rather dusty and tired out, since i have ridden all over town at this point. there are no traffic lights in playa del carmen, just an occasional traffic cop in the middle of the intersection waving his hands and blowing a whistle ineffectually. nevertheless, traffic moves, albeit in somewhat chaotic patterns.
5-8pm: upon returning to the hotel, the guy who takes care of the bikes strikes up a conversation. for some reason i still haven't fully ascertained, he asks me "estudias la biblia?" when i respond in the affirmative, i discover he's also one of Jehovah's Witnesses, or los Testigos de Jehova, as we are known in spanish. so that's kind of crazy. his name is Marcos. we talk for a bit, then agree to meet later so he can show me around town. i had been planning to walk back into town later so that i can see the shops and what-not (and not get busted for riding a bike where i'm not supposed to, etc). I go swimming in the pool, get cleaned up and have dinner.
8-11pm: i meet up w/ Marcos and we walk back into Playa del Carmen. we go to a place where this lady braids just the front part of my hair in corn rows for 10 bucks. i kind of fake out the lady and her husband who work there, since they don't realize at first that i understand everythign that's happening. once the joke is up they start talking to me in spanish. we keep trying to find marcasite earrings for my mom, but nobody has any for anythign resembling a reasonable price. i figure if i can get it cheaper STate-side, why buy it in Mexico? in the end, i only wind up getting a present for tonya, because i see an anklet i think she would really like, and plus i espeically wanted to get something for her and/or Jakes, since they will pick me up at hte airport the next day. so it's the least i can do. we wander all over town and occasionally i pretend not to know spanish.
11pm- finally i'm back at the hotel and my trip is almost over. i try to pack almost everything because i know i have to be up at like 6 the next day. Marcos is despondent at the thoguht of my imminent departure.
Sunday, Mar 2
-----------------------------------
6am- i miraculously wake up. moments later the front desk actually remembers to give me a wake-up call. i stumble into my last remaining outfit that wasn't packed and discover my bathing suits are both still wet because it's so humid down there. even though i brought everything in one carry-on bag, i'm not up to the challenge of somehow cramming it all back in there. so improvise my beach bag as a carry-on and pack everythgin else into my rolling backpack. I wish Marcos well and after checking out (and not getting charged for my phone call to the US, remarkably) I'm off to the airport.
I get searched, oddly enough, but luckily i don't have very much stuff so it only takes a few moments. then i'm waiting around for the plane and really there isnt much to tell. our plane gets to detroit about half hour early, but they wo'nt let us disembark because stupid Metro isn't ready for us w/ customs personnel. so we sit on the plane for EVER and wait. this is so typical of DTW. meanwhile, Ta and Jakes drive in circles because they were there on time and they're waiting to take me home. luckily, i grab my bag instantly off the baggage carousel and proceed through customs quickly.
and that's really that. sorry i got kind of rushed towards the end i just didn't feel like writing about it anymore. some other stuff happened but i think i included all the highlights. the trip was really too short, but it was a good start i think . and i finally have a stamp in my passport now!
=)
Saturday, Mar 1
-----------------------------------
8 or 8:30am- i wake up, immediately head out to the beach and lay on a chaise lounge (incidentally, isn't that a great word?) and read while soaking up some rays. it's already getting hot, but there's a stiff breeze off the ocean, making the temperature very pleasant in the sunshine. i wander around for a bit, walk quite a ways down the beach. some kid is like, swimming in the ocean w/ a little boogie board and no adults in the immediate vicinity. i'm like, "hey, kid!" but he doens't pay attention to me. so i'm like, "HEY!" but he just kind of swims away, like maybe he doesn't understand or he's afraid of me or something. but i'm all concerned 'n what-not because this kid is swimming in the OCEAN and he appears to be like 7 years old or something. apparently some maternal instinct that resides deep within me and is seldom expressed has been stirred. i start walking again, but looking around trying to find an adult to associate w/ this child. i finally see this guy starting to walk towards me so i say "hey, is that your kid?" and he's like "MINE-" while pointing to the kid. so i'm relieved, and resume my walk back up the beach.
i find out the harbor is closed, but nobody knows why. i ask if it's because of the high winds, but they tell me it's really not that bad. evidently, there is one guy in charge of the harbor, and when he says it's closed, it's closed. there are no boats in sight, but several windsurfers totally going crazy jumping the waves and stuff. the australian guy at a stand (for renting boats and stuff) tells me that those guys are relatives of the guy in charge of the harbor and that's the only reason they get away w/ being out there. i'm bummed, becasue i wanted to go parasailing or something, but i can't since the harbor's closed.
11am-2pm: i relax in the hammock in the shade and finish reading Lord of the Rings: the 2 Towers. i am getting alot more out of these books the 2nd time around than i did when i read them before in high school or whatever. i have some lunch and generally stay out of the sun because i don't want to get burned. however, despite multiple coats of sunblock and staying in the shade, i still get some sun.
2-5pm: i borrow a bike from the hotel and ride around Playacar for a little bit. there are all these weird houses that i photograph. i ride down a trail that goes through a golf course, and i want to ride down this dirt trail i see but then i realize that i have no idea how the Mexican trespassing laws work and i've heard all kinds of stories about tourists getting thrown into Mexican jail. so i ride back onto the street, then i ride into the town of Playa del Carmen. the streets are dusty and chaotic, filled w/ milling pedestrians from bronzed natives to sunburnt tourists, mopeds, bicycles and an assortment of cars, mostly taxis and small fuel-efficient vehicles. but there are occasional vans. not a lot of SUVs down there. i ride onto 4th avenue and get yelled at because you're not allowed to ride bikes there. but i don't have a lock, so i just walk my bike back to the nearest cross street.
on the way back, i stop at a tiny little convenience store to get some water. i grab a bottle and notice w/ disappointment that despite having been in a fridge, it's not even slightly cold. then i open the bottle and it explodes because it's actually carbonated. so that's pretty disappointing. i drink as much as i can force myself to, then hop back onto the bike and ride back to the hotel feeling rather dusty and tired out, since i have ridden all over town at this point. there are no traffic lights in playa del carmen, just an occasional traffic cop in the middle of the intersection waving his hands and blowing a whistle ineffectually. nevertheless, traffic moves, albeit in somewhat chaotic patterns.
5-8pm: upon returning to the hotel, the guy who takes care of the bikes strikes up a conversation. for some reason i still haven't fully ascertained, he asks me "estudias la biblia?" when i respond in the affirmative, i discover he's also one of Jehovah's Witnesses, or los Testigos de Jehova, as we are known in spanish. so that's kind of crazy. his name is Marcos. we talk for a bit, then agree to meet later so he can show me around town. i had been planning to walk back into town later so that i can see the shops and what-not (and not get busted for riding a bike where i'm not supposed to, etc). I go swimming in the pool, get cleaned up and have dinner.
8-11pm: i meet up w/ Marcos and we walk back into Playa del Carmen. we go to a place where this lady braids just the front part of my hair in corn rows for 10 bucks. i kind of fake out the lady and her husband who work there, since they don't realize at first that i understand everythign that's happening. once the joke is up they start talking to me in spanish. we keep trying to find marcasite earrings for my mom, but nobody has any for anythign resembling a reasonable price. i figure if i can get it cheaper STate-side, why buy it in Mexico? in the end, i only wind up getting a present for tonya, because i see an anklet i think she would really like, and plus i espeically wanted to get something for her and/or Jakes, since they will pick me up at hte airport the next day. so it's the least i can do. we wander all over town and occasionally i pretend not to know spanish.
11pm- finally i'm back at the hotel and my trip is almost over. i try to pack almost everything because i know i have to be up at like 6 the next day. Marcos is despondent at the thoguht of my imminent departure.
Sunday, Mar 2
-----------------------------------
6am- i miraculously wake up. moments later the front desk actually remembers to give me a wake-up call. i stumble into my last remaining outfit that wasn't packed and discover my bathing suits are both still wet because it's so humid down there. even though i brought everything in one carry-on bag, i'm not up to the challenge of somehow cramming it all back in there. so improvise my beach bag as a carry-on and pack everythgin else into my rolling backpack. I wish Marcos well and after checking out (and not getting charged for my phone call to the US, remarkably) I'm off to the airport.
I get searched, oddly enough, but luckily i don't have very much stuff so it only takes a few moments. then i'm waiting around for the plane and really there isnt much to tell. our plane gets to detroit about half hour early, but they wo'nt let us disembark because stupid Metro isn't ready for us w/ customs personnel. so we sit on the plane for EVER and wait. this is so typical of DTW. meanwhile, Ta and Jakes drive in circles because they were there on time and they're waiting to take me home. luckily, i grab my bag instantly off the baggage carousel and proceed through customs quickly.
and that's really that. sorry i got kind of rushed towards the end i just didn't feel like writing about it anymore. some other stuff happened but i think i included all the highlights. the trip was really too short, but it was a good start i think . and i finally have a stamp in my passport now!
=)
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
hello all. well, i'm back from mexico and ready to cause trouble again. in case anyone is interested in my trip, i figured i'd publish a run-down here. a page will be available soon and i'll post a link. in the meantime, small versions of my pictures are available here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/spoongrrl19
so here's basically what happened:
Thursday, Feb 27
-------------------------
7:45 am- got to the pathetic excuse for an airport known as Detroit Metro Wayne County. everybody was there at like 9:30, so they said they'd let our 10:25 flight leave early. however, since it's DTW, we sat on the runway forever waiting for a de-icing machine. so the plane didn't take off until closer to 11.
2 pm or so (local time)- arrived at Cancun. proceeded outside swiftly, since i brought everything in my carry-on. waited for a while on the sidewalk until my transportation finally arrived. rode to the hotel in Playa del Carmen. apparently the driver had only driven before once or twice. i was sitting up front so i saw everything. it was scary, but i survived. i actually tipped the guy out of gratitude i was still alive.
3-5 pm- frantically running around trying to make a phone call home to tell my parents i got there all right. was irritated because my cell phone got 3 bars of signal but i still coudln't call anybody w/ it. whenever i tried i got this wack message. i think the lady was saying something about an invalid number, but i have trouble understanding spanish over the phone. i couldn't get my dumb phone card to work, either. some dude at this store at the plaza down the street from the hotel was all "No hablo ingles" then he was really surprised when i said "esta bien. Necesito usar un telefono, pero los telefonos alli no me permite usar mi tarjeta..." it was kinda funny. finally i ended up using the hotel phone to call my aunt's house (my parents' was busy). the receptionist told me it would cost me 10 bucks, but they never charged me. [NOTE- later i find out that my cellphone didn't work because i didn't have international dialing ACTIVATED, a small matter that the verizon representatives i spoke w/ just a day earlier to ask about the cost of using my phone in Mexico FORGOT TO MENTION)
5-11 pm- later i spent some time w/ this lady who represented my tour company, Apple. after much waiting and such, she managed to book me a tour for the next day. i went swimming in the pool and explored the hotel a bit. had dinner, which was delicious, around 9. lounged in the hammock a bit (all the rooms have hammocks outside on the porch, which is AWESOME as far as i'm concerned). went inside to discover hte bathroom had been taken over by a small colony of ANTS. killed as many as i could, but they all ran away when i turned on the light. the A/C made a noise and generated a gentle, warm breeze. i tried to go to sleep since i had to be ready to leave at 7am.
Friday, Feb 28
---------------------
6:10am- miraculously i wake up, despite the fact that i didn't hear my alarm going off on the other side of the room. i was afraid my cell phone's lousy battery would die (it often does) so i plugged it into the charger using the only outlet, which was across the room. apparently in an effort to make my vacation feel more like a vacation, the hotel does not have any clocks. period. shake my head w/ relief that i still woke up. i get ready and wait for the tour van to arrive, which is 25 minutes late or something. but i didn't know it would be late, so i didn't go upstairs and get breakfast.
7:30am- riding in the van, the guide, Salvador, is amazed that an American can speak even rudimentary Spanish. our chatting apparently distracts him and he forgets to pick up one couple who is coming on our tour. we have to go back to Playacar to pick them up. nobody minds, since we're on vacation. after a brief pit stop, Salvador shares gives us each a weird but tasty cookie. this is the only food i will have for the next 5 hours.
11am or something- arrive at the Mayan village of Pac-Chen after driving down roads that put even Michigan potholes to shame. I'm glad i was riding in the front, since i probably would have been sick otherwise, not having had any real food all day. Once we get to the Mayan village, we hike around for a bit then canoe in a beautiful lake. salvador reminds the tourists that paddling on one side makes you go the other way (based on my own observations, this counsel was needed by at least a few of them). Salvador and I share a canoe, since i'm the only one there who's not part of a couple. we're the only ones w/ no lifejackets, and the only ones who actually jump in the water for a bit. (maybe the others were scared of the caymans?)
then we hike around the lake, and get to this rip cord thing. it's maybe 40 or 50 feet high cliff, w/ water below. i'm not good w/ distances so maybe i'm off. the rip chord is really fun, not scary though. none of it was. it was all just fun. the other people act like they're scared to go, but i don't know if they really are or not.
after that, we continue to hike to this other part of the village, where we rapel down into a cenote, which is a big cavern filled w/ water. the one we go into is called Jaguar cenote. it's about 50 feet down to get to the water, and the water is hundreds of feet deep, but perfectly clear. tree roots hang down from the roof above into the water. the sunlight shines down in beams from the few holes overhead, casting eery pools of light into the water and transforming anyone who briefly swims into the beam into an angel bathed in gold. i get cold after swimming around a bit, and venture to climb up the long rope ladder to get out. it's crazy and not for the faint of heart, or weak of limb. my arms are shaking slightly by the time i finally reach the top.
2pm or so- we finally hike back to the village proper (if you can call it that) and eat LUNCH! by this time, my body has forgotten how to metabolize food. a newly married couple from pennsylvania and i discover a new form of refreshment- sprite mixed w/ grape juice (it was yummy).
3pm- we pile back into the van and drive about 45 mins to Coba, one of the largest and least-developed Mayan archaelogical sites. since the yucatan is flat, anytime you see a hill, you know it's man-made. there are many unexcavated mayan structures all over the place. at Coba, which is a national park, Salvador leaves us w/ a guide who unenthusiastically tells us some stuff about hte ruins. then I rent a bike to ride the kilometer or so to the biggest pyramid, an ancient temple that stands some 40 meters tall. i am the first one of the group to get there, since i was flying on my rented (for 20 pesos) bike. without hesitation i begin to climb and reach the top a few moments later, slightly breathless. Salvador is waiting at the top.
the view is amazing- it looks way higher when you're actually up there than it did from below. the treeline is far beneath and we can see the lake we passed earlier on the way, glimmering in the slanting orange rays of the sun as it slides toward the horizon before us. there is a little room at hte top that you can enter. unfortunately, a sign forbids climbing onto the top of hte roof (i'm thinking- hey i've come this far... but evidently those Mexicans read my mind before i even got there). eventually all but one of our companions climbs up and we hang out for a while until this park ranger dude makes us leave (which is a bummer since we wanted to watch teh sunset up there). although Salvador and I are the last to start making our way down, we're among the first to reach the bottom.
6pm- we get ready to leave coba. i take a picture of this WACK huge ATV that has been converted into an RV. the folks who own it don't mind my camera. the others in our group drink Coronas. we take the long drive back to Playa del Carmen, and this time Salvador actually openly blames me when we almost forget to drop off one of the couples near the exit for Xcaret. we're talking in spanish and the other passengers don't seem to notice when we turn around and backtrack about a half mile or so. in the end it only takes an extra 5 or 10 mins. i get to the hotel and promise to email Salvador the picture of hte crazy ATV thing. i swim in the pool, clean up and have dinner. i write some postcards and have a drink, then lounge in the hammock again before bed. the stupid lamp in the hotel room shocks me when i touch it w/ barefeet. it freaks me out at first, then just makes me angry. i discover that the ants are back- evidently they only come out at night.
----------------------------------------------------
check back later for hte Next Installment.
(this is taking just TOO, TOO LONG to write up!!)
http://photos.yahoo.com/spoongrrl19
so here's basically what happened:
Thursday, Feb 27
-------------------------
7:45 am- got to the pathetic excuse for an airport known as Detroit Metro Wayne County. everybody was there at like 9:30, so they said they'd let our 10:25 flight leave early. however, since it's DTW, we sat on the runway forever waiting for a de-icing machine. so the plane didn't take off until closer to 11.
2 pm or so (local time)- arrived at Cancun. proceeded outside swiftly, since i brought everything in my carry-on. waited for a while on the sidewalk until my transportation finally arrived. rode to the hotel in Playa del Carmen. apparently the driver had only driven before once or twice. i was sitting up front so i saw everything. it was scary, but i survived. i actually tipped the guy out of gratitude i was still alive.
3-5 pm- frantically running around trying to make a phone call home to tell my parents i got there all right. was irritated because my cell phone got 3 bars of signal but i still coudln't call anybody w/ it. whenever i tried i got this wack message. i think the lady was saying something about an invalid number, but i have trouble understanding spanish over the phone. i couldn't get my dumb phone card to work, either. some dude at this store at the plaza down the street from the hotel was all "No hablo ingles" then he was really surprised when i said "esta bien. Necesito usar un telefono, pero los telefonos alli no me permite usar mi tarjeta..." it was kinda funny. finally i ended up using the hotel phone to call my aunt's house (my parents' was busy). the receptionist told me it would cost me 10 bucks, but they never charged me. [NOTE- later i find out that my cellphone didn't work because i didn't have international dialing ACTIVATED, a small matter that the verizon representatives i spoke w/ just a day earlier to ask about the cost of using my phone in Mexico FORGOT TO MENTION)
5-11 pm- later i spent some time w/ this lady who represented my tour company, Apple. after much waiting and such, she managed to book me a tour for the next day. i went swimming in the pool and explored the hotel a bit. had dinner, which was delicious, around 9. lounged in the hammock a bit (all the rooms have hammocks outside on the porch, which is AWESOME as far as i'm concerned). went inside to discover hte bathroom had been taken over by a small colony of ANTS. killed as many as i could, but they all ran away when i turned on the light. the A/C made a noise and generated a gentle, warm breeze. i tried to go to sleep since i had to be ready to leave at 7am.
Friday, Feb 28
---------------------
6:10am- miraculously i wake up, despite the fact that i didn't hear my alarm going off on the other side of the room. i was afraid my cell phone's lousy battery would die (it often does) so i plugged it into the charger using the only outlet, which was across the room. apparently in an effort to make my vacation feel more like a vacation, the hotel does not have any clocks. period. shake my head w/ relief that i still woke up. i get ready and wait for the tour van to arrive, which is 25 minutes late or something. but i didn't know it would be late, so i didn't go upstairs and get breakfast.
7:30am- riding in the van, the guide, Salvador, is amazed that an American can speak even rudimentary Spanish. our chatting apparently distracts him and he forgets to pick up one couple who is coming on our tour. we have to go back to Playacar to pick them up. nobody minds, since we're on vacation. after a brief pit stop, Salvador shares gives us each a weird but tasty cookie. this is the only food i will have for the next 5 hours.
11am or something- arrive at the Mayan village of Pac-Chen after driving down roads that put even Michigan potholes to shame. I'm glad i was riding in the front, since i probably would have been sick otherwise, not having had any real food all day. Once we get to the Mayan village, we hike around for a bit then canoe in a beautiful lake. salvador reminds the tourists that paddling on one side makes you go the other way (based on my own observations, this counsel was needed by at least a few of them). Salvador and I share a canoe, since i'm the only one there who's not part of a couple. we're the only ones w/ no lifejackets, and the only ones who actually jump in the water for a bit. (maybe the others were scared of the caymans?)
then we hike around the lake, and get to this rip cord thing. it's maybe 40 or 50 feet high cliff, w/ water below. i'm not good w/ distances so maybe i'm off. the rip chord is really fun, not scary though. none of it was. it was all just fun. the other people act like they're scared to go, but i don't know if they really are or not.
after that, we continue to hike to this other part of the village, where we rapel down into a cenote, which is a big cavern filled w/ water. the one we go into is called Jaguar cenote. it's about 50 feet down to get to the water, and the water is hundreds of feet deep, but perfectly clear. tree roots hang down from the roof above into the water. the sunlight shines down in beams from the few holes overhead, casting eery pools of light into the water and transforming anyone who briefly swims into the beam into an angel bathed in gold. i get cold after swimming around a bit, and venture to climb up the long rope ladder to get out. it's crazy and not for the faint of heart, or weak of limb. my arms are shaking slightly by the time i finally reach the top.
2pm or so- we finally hike back to the village proper (if you can call it that) and eat LUNCH! by this time, my body has forgotten how to metabolize food. a newly married couple from pennsylvania and i discover a new form of refreshment- sprite mixed w/ grape juice (it was yummy).
3pm- we pile back into the van and drive about 45 mins to Coba, one of the largest and least-developed Mayan archaelogical sites. since the yucatan is flat, anytime you see a hill, you know it's man-made. there are many unexcavated mayan structures all over the place. at Coba, which is a national park, Salvador leaves us w/ a guide who unenthusiastically tells us some stuff about hte ruins. then I rent a bike to ride the kilometer or so to the biggest pyramid, an ancient temple that stands some 40 meters tall. i am the first one of the group to get there, since i was flying on my rented (for 20 pesos) bike. without hesitation i begin to climb and reach the top a few moments later, slightly breathless. Salvador is waiting at the top.
the view is amazing- it looks way higher when you're actually up there than it did from below. the treeline is far beneath and we can see the lake we passed earlier on the way, glimmering in the slanting orange rays of the sun as it slides toward the horizon before us. there is a little room at hte top that you can enter. unfortunately, a sign forbids climbing onto the top of hte roof (i'm thinking- hey i've come this far... but evidently those Mexicans read my mind before i even got there). eventually all but one of our companions climbs up and we hang out for a while until this park ranger dude makes us leave (which is a bummer since we wanted to watch teh sunset up there). although Salvador and I are the last to start making our way down, we're among the first to reach the bottom.
6pm- we get ready to leave coba. i take a picture of this WACK huge ATV that has been converted into an RV. the folks who own it don't mind my camera. the others in our group drink Coronas. we take the long drive back to Playa del Carmen, and this time Salvador actually openly blames me when we almost forget to drop off one of the couples near the exit for Xcaret. we're talking in spanish and the other passengers don't seem to notice when we turn around and backtrack about a half mile or so. in the end it only takes an extra 5 or 10 mins. i get to the hotel and promise to email Salvador the picture of hte crazy ATV thing. i swim in the pool, clean up and have dinner. i write some postcards and have a drink, then lounge in the hammock again before bed. the stupid lamp in the hotel room shocks me when i touch it w/ barefeet. it freaks me out at first, then just makes me angry. i discover that the ants are back- evidently they only come out at night.
----------------------------------------------------
check back later for hte Next Installment.
(this is taking just TOO, TOO LONG to write up!!)
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