Hola Señoras y Señors!
He & Me swimming in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
12 days in Mexico has gone just like that, I can't quite believe how quickly we're home when you consider that we booked the holiday nearly 7 months ago and waiting for it to arrive felt like an eternity. However, the wait was most definitely worth it, what a holiday it was. Actually strike that, what an Adventure we had!!! Now I know what you're thinking, that this is the 'dog blog' and should be about M&M. I will be mentioning the 'Little Darlings' briefly but please allow me this self indulgence to share with you our adventure, the nature, the sights, the beauty that is the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
Almost there....somewhere over the Bahamas!
We flew British Airways into Cancun and we were immediately met and transferred to the resort of Playa del Carmen (PDC), approximately one hour south by car. PDC is a place that would appear to be all about the beach and naff souvenir shops, with not much else going for it. Yes, the beach is beautiful, the sea is a dazzling turquoise blue as is the sky, but for me it felt a little soulless, geared up more to the mighty dollar than anything else. Thankfully, our little hotel (Playa del Karma) was off the beaten track, set back a couple of blocks from the main strip. It was a lovely base for our 3 days there, nothing amazing but not a bad place either....function over form if you like.
Our room at Playa del Karma
As I said, there's not really much to do in PDC apart from the beach or the tourist hell of shop upon shop upon shop of souvenirs (mini sombreros and maracas anyone?). Over breakfast one morning at the Blue Parrot Café (FAB beach front breakfasts!!!) I noticed in one of our guide books that there was an Aviary at the other end of town, the Xaman-Ha Aviary, which looked and sounded (according to the book!) like a good place for us birders to visit. It took us some time and a small amount of my epidermis (I ALWAYS get sun burn) to find it. Talk about disappointed!!!!
Relief from the scorching sun in the walk-through aviary
The cost was approximately $20 each which works out more per head than London Zoo, but it was a fraction of the size, taking around 20 minutes to view the entire place. There was only one walk through aviary and the majority of the other birds in there were wild, having been attracted by the free fish...mostly egrets and herons, although we were both happy to find a Roseate Spoonbill and White Ibis which almost made up for the extortionate price, but not quite!
A wild Roseate Spoonbill in Xaman-Ha Aviary
From PDC we got on a coach and headed for the town of Tulum, about one hour away down the main coastal road. We had booked in at the Posada 06 Hotel, which again was situated away from the main strip. In fact, our taxi driver couldn't even find it and needed to ask for directions! When we arrived in Tulum I wasn't the most enthused of people I have to admit, it was a little 'basic' on the surface, being more of a true dusty, hot Mexico as opposed to a tourist destination and I wondered what we had done.
Posada 06 Hotel in Tulum
However, I am happy to be wrong when I am and wrong I was. Tulum is a marvellous place to base yourself for adventures out of town, including Mayan ruins, Cenotés, the beach and bird watching. While we were here we arranged an entire day visiting the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve with a great company called Mexico Kan Tours (http://www.mexicokantours.com/lang-en/tulum-tours/sian-kaan-adventure.html) and had ourselves an adventure.
Mr. John "Jacques Cousteau" McEllis
We saw Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Loggerhead Turtle and various birds, however for me there were two negatives. Number 1 - I've never, ever snorkelled before and when it came to going in I was more than a little nervous. The water was quite choppy and so visibility wasn't 100%. Every time I submerged my face I panicked, my mask kept steaming up and I just didn't "get it". Number 2 - what with the 'floundering about' and panicking, my wedding ring slipped off and sank to the bottom of the Caribbean Coral Reef we were floating over.....the Mayan Gods truly received a sacrifice from me. Once out of the water and back in the boat, the compulsion to sob at the loss of my most precious possession was too much.
Bottle-nosed Dolphins
On the trip we were joined by one other couple, Susan and Brian from Minneapolis - who were a scream! We were very happy to meet up with them the following day to go swimming in Casa Cenoté, experience a tropical thunderstorm while snorkelling over Green Turtles (Susan and I stayed on the beach!) and drinking too much Corona Beer!!! We will definitely be keeping in touch with them.....they were a proper laugh and jolly good fun!
Casa Cenoté - truly amazing!
The day after the trip, and before meeting up with Susan and Brian again, we arranged to go early morning bird watching at some Mayan ruins called Muyil. We were picked up by a young man called Juan Antonio and driven to the ruins. On the way we saw many birds, my Husband excitedly screaming "TOUCAN!" from the back of the car will be a 'forever memory'. The ruins are smaller than others in the area but the birding is magnificent. We saw Hummingbirds, more Toucans, Trogons and many more.....a place I would have loved to have returned to, but alas we didn't have the time. On the return journey we stopped off at a beautiful, milky-turquoise lagoon and dipped our toes in for some much needed relief from the heat.
Hummingbird & Chicks at Muyil (possibly the best bird picture I have EVER taken!!!)
We left Tulum the following day, boarding another coach to take us back to PDC and ultimately the ferry to the island of Cozumel, which lies in the Caribbean Sea around 11 miles from the mainland. It's also where the huge cruise ships stop off and offload thousands upon thousands of passengers, for snorkelling at the huge coral reef and also, once again, shop upon shop upon shop of souvenirs!
The ferry from PDC to Cozumel
We pre-booked two different hotels on Cozumel, the first on the far west of the island called Ventanas Al Mar, which is very secluded and quiet in its isolation....just what we needed after a few busy days in PDC and Tulum. It was a nice hotel, however not really worth the price we paid and because of its location it was pretty much cut off if you didn't hire a car (we didn't!). This meant we had no evening meal and no way to get one as the hotel didn't provide dinner. Thankfully, the hotel manager and her husband, Lupita - think Margarita Pracatan and you're not far wrong and Gary who liked to blow on his Conch....I kid you not, drove us to the east side of the island so we could buy a 'balcony picnic' and we spent the night watching the waves and the stars while eating and drinking.....bliss!
The balcony view from our room in Ventanas Al Mar
The following morning we did a bit of snorkelling (half drowning myself and having a tantrum about it basically) before heading to the east side of Cozumel to a lovely little hotel not far from the airport. When we arrived at Casita de Maya we were truly happy, such a cute little hotel, lovely rooms, pool and an owner that would and could do anything for you should you so wish.....and he had a dog called Trixie who was cute, cute, CUTE! Jokingly, I decided that Trixie (before I realised she was a girl!) was Max's great-great-great Granddad, Chimichanga Nacho Tortilla, what with his Mexican heritage....I can't think why Trixie reminded me of Max!
Chimichanga Nacho Tortilla aka Trixie!!!
We stayed at Casita de Maya for 2 nights and took advantage of the great drowning, I mean snorkelling opportunities in the area, as well as getting some more bird watching in (Hummingbird on a nest right outside the hotel door!!!!!) and finding some dam fine restaurants off the beaten track, rather than putting ourselves through the hell that was the sea front with its thousands of ferry passengers and such delights as Señor Frogs and Wet Wendy's (don't ask!)....and let's not forget those shops!
Casita de Maya - a little gem!
From here, we had nothing booked as we deliberately left the last couple of nights of the holiday blank so that when we got to Mexico we could decide where we liked best and return if at all possible. And so it was that we jumped on the 7am ferry back to PDC and then hopped on another coach returning to Tulum (the coaches in Mexico have free wi-fi by the way....result!) and then skipped with glee to our next place of residence. We enlisted the help of the guys at Mexico Kan and they managed to get us booked into the Coco Hotel Eco Chic Cabañas right on Tulum beach. Having left Cozumel at 7am, we were happily lazing in a hammock by 11am...
We were very happy to be back at Tulum
It was such a change from the rest of the holiday, to be right on the beach, hammocks at the ready, Pelicans and Frigatebirds flying overhead. It is a beautiful, restful place and was the tonic with which we wanted to end our time in Mexico, just wandering up and down the beach, playing in the surf or off bird-watching. Returning to Tulum also gave us the opportunity to meet up once more with the fabulous Susan and Brian and discuss the Mayans and their special needs Corn on the Cobs.....a long story which I would gladly relate for the small price of a Mango Margarita!
His Lordship relaxes
When we were originally in Tulum we didn't get round to visiting the Mayan Ruins, having only had time for the small Muyil Ruins visit for some top bird watching. So, with camera and sun cream in hand, off we tottered. Taxis are incredibly cheap (unless you get ripped off by some f**ker in Cozumel like we did!) and so for the price of a bag of potatoes in Sainsburys we were driven to the ruins. Upon reaching the entrance my fella spotted what can only be described as a swampy dump, but not just any swampy dump, it was a swampy dump brimming with birds....and he says he has bad eye sight! I think we spent more time in the 'dump' than we did in the ruins, but we did see more Hummingbirds, an Ovenbird (they really do build a clay 'oven' in which to incubate their eggs) and lots of Iguanas.
A small part of Tulum Ruins
The remaining time we had in Tulum was spent relaxing, enjoying the beach, the sun, Margaritas, birding and just having some time out. It's definitely what my man needed after the hell that was the last 7 months or so. I wasn't really aware of how much I needed it too, my priority being Himself, but need it we both most certainly did. Mexico, the part we went to anyway, was truly wonderful, a marvellous place.
Coco Eco Chic Cabañas, Tulum Beach
I kept being reminded of Kerala in southern India, the people have the same happy, smiling attitude to life, they're helpful, they have a sense of humour and yes there's poverty, but it's a "happy poor", one I would be happy to embrace, having seen it for myself (just leave me with broadband, my iPhone, the puppies and hens and my Hubby and I'll be happy!). Should you have the time or the inclination and wish to peruse a couple of hundred pictures from the holiday, please click this link to view them:
Day of the Dead skulls in a Tulum gift shop
While we were away, the Girls and Max & Millie were being ably looked after by Aunty Angela, one of Mr. McEllis's colleagues. Angela was plied with mucho chocolate and alcohol to 'ease the pain' while we were away, and do a grand job she did. I have to admit that I did send the odd message under the guise of 'Are you ok Angela?', but which was more along the lines of 'Are my babies ok???'.
The lovely Angela
The pups were both extremely happy to see us, although at first I think Millie forgot who we were and took about 15 minutes to 'warm up' before her little behind started wagging furiously. Max was as Max is and was absolutely apoplectic to see his Dads again, the best welcome home in the world.
I missed you Daddy (notice Millie on the left, completely not bothered!!!)
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the short, potted version of our trip to marvellous Mexico. We both hope, one day, to return to the country, not only to revisit favourites bits, but to experience more, to see other birds (we saw around 50-60 species - there are around 500!!!), more Mayan ruins and the wonderful, chilli/chocolate-infused culture......oh, and to definitely drink more Mango Margaritas!!!
Adios!
