Bob and Heather in Mexico

Day 3

Up early again. Definitely sunburnt in spots. Leaving Heather asleep in bed, I head to Java Joes to crab some coffee. Java Joes is owned by a couple of transplants from New Jersey, and is very popular because it's the only place in town open @ 6am. Everything else in town wakes up about 9am.



Sitting on a bench with my coffee, a local dude strikes up a conversation. He speaks English about as well as I speak Spanish, so it's a fun little challenge. He's on his day off, and him and his friends are going trolling for spring break girls (Note to self – no spring break trips for Josah). Excuse myself and head down to the beach to watch the sunrise and work on the journal.



Pass by 3 attractive spring breakers hanging with a couple of local guys, a pile of empty Dos Equis around them. Obviously have been up all night (Note to self – see previous note).

I think I'll propose to Heather renting a car and exploring cenotes today. Cenotes are unique to the Yucatan Peninsula – a geological phenomenon where the roof of an underground cave/river system collapses, with the resulting sinkhole filling with fresh water. They are usually pretty small, have quite clear water and lots of fish.

Head back, grab Heather, and get some breakfast at a place called Cafe Y Pan.



Back to hotel, pack a backpack, and head out to find snorkeling equipment and a rental car. Find both within a few blocks, although renting a car in Mexico always makes you feel like you're getting ripped off. There are 10 different types of insurance, and most travel guides recommend you take a majority of them. It ends up being half the cost of the rental.

We head south on highway 307 to Akumal Bay, which we're told has good snorkeling. Driving in Mexico is always interesting – one minute you're being passed by a vans going twice the speed limit, the other minute you're passing on the shoulder a smoking flatbed truck full of Mexicans that would be violating every safety regulation in the US.

Akumel Bay is Corona-commercial quality stuff.





However, it's very windy today, so we work our way to Yal Ku lagoon. This place turns out to be very cool, a protected lagoon full of fish and clear water. Snorkeling, we see giant rainbow fish about 4 feet in length, cool brain-like coral, and a few barracudas, which kind of creep one out.











We pack up and drive up the road, stopping at a great little seaside place for lunch. Total ambiance here with a rough-hewn table under a cabana, feet in the sand, and cold beer.



As we're eating, we watch the most amazing thing appear before out eyes – a tornado/water spout forming over the water out of a storm cloud. You can actually see the rotating water being pulled out of the ocean.







After lunch, we head back north and stop at Cenote Azul. It's actually pretty hard to describe, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. The cenote was at the end of a short jungle path, and absolutely incredible. Deep, amazingly clear green water filled with fish. Giant slabs of limestone, formerly the roof of the cave, at the bottom of the water.







But the best part – a 20 foot limestone cliff perched over the deep water on one side of the cenote, perfect for a nice long jump. I watch as a couple of other folks take the jump, find the path up to the top, and make the leap. What a freaking thrill. Swim and and do it again a few times. The fourth time, I finally talk Heather into jumping with me. We ask another guy who is there to use our digital camera to take a short video of our jump. Awesome.





Click for the video


After a couple of hours at the cenote, we head back to town, navigate the maze of one way streets, and drop the car and snorkeling equipment back off. While Heather is getting ready for dinner, I head to the nearby Internet Cafe. My friend Ryan has sent out the screenshot of Heather and I kissing on the webcam. My folks let us know that everything is good with the kids, and the weather is damn cold.

We find another small joint on 5th Ave for dinner, and watch people. We decide that tomorrow we will take the bus south to the next large town, Tulum, and then further south to a national park called Sian Ka'an. While we're waiting for our food, I walk down to the bus station and purchase 2 tickets to Tulum – 32 pesos apiece – leaving at 11am the next morning. Love the small little thrill of buying those tickets, not knowing what's at the end of the route.

While we eat, a family (father, brother, son?) sets up this large xylophone nearby and plays for ½ an hour or so. Very nice addition to the atmosphere. One more long walk to watch the people, then call it a night. Tomorrow we move on.

posted by Bob @ 5:31 PM