Travel Tips

We picked up our car and followed the rep to the resort where we had our timeshare presentation. We got an excellent free breakfast and they tried very hard to sell us a package but it wasn`t going to happen. We got our free gifts and then they shelled out $110 in cash, I presume we then have to pay that to the car rental company. Well for two hours`work` we got ourselves a decent car (dodge neon) for two days and free breakfast. We will give the gifts to Luiz at out hotel (Kalhua, Tequila, a beach bag and t-shirts).

After that we headed for Coba. Once you get off the road to Tulum and head inland it can get pretty narrow (especially when you have an 18 wheeler headed straight for you!) We then missed the road to Coba, completely our fault as it is well sign posted. When we reached a T-junction, one way to Cancun and the other to Merida we knew it was time to do a u-turn. What a waste of 45 minutes. What we did see though was a guy jogging on the road carrying a torch with a big Van decorated with the Mexican flag and backup runners in the back. We have no idea what it was all about, we saw two more later on as well. You wouldn`t catch me jogging in that heat.

The day got weirder when we got to Coba and they were doing a bikini photo shoot in the parking lot. You see it all in Mexico!
Coba was fantastic and even better because it seems that not many tourists know about it or of they do they skip it in favour of the more well known ruins. I would almost say it is better than Tulum. From the entrance it is a 2kn walk throught the jungle to the great pyramid (Mohoch Mul). It gets very humid here so I highly recommend hiring a bike (25 pesos) or there are rickshaw type things (prams for adults) which take 2 people for 75 pesos. 2kn may not seem far but the two kilometres back again will feel very far especially after climbing the pyramid!
We went straight to Mohoch Mul which was amazing. It is very steep and 45meters high (higher than Chichen Itza). Marc climbed to the top and the view is stunning. I know because he took the camera up, you couldn`t pay me enough o go up there. Despite the fact that there is a rope to help you get down again I would have a major panic attack, I am not good with heights. Out of the few tourists there, there was a South African couple which I didn`t expect!
On the way back from Mohoch Mul we stopped and Xaibe, the circular building is extremely well preserved. We then got tot the second ball court which has only recently been fully restores. Further on you get to the Mayan Palace and about 60m beyond that through the jungle is another pyramid,(which you can`t climb).
Back near the entrance where you hire the bikes is the first ball court and behind that is another pyramid. By this time the sun had dipped below the trees and you realise how thick and dark the forest is.
If you decide to walk buy lots of water at the shop by the ticket office as there is nothing once you are inside. Entry is MX$38 each, there are a few artisan shops in the parking lot but otherwise Coba is a very small town.

Driving back was not much fun as it was dark and we had a 15 minute downpour. It is interesting to pass through the tiny villages, well you can hardly call then villages. The place comes ot life as wood fires are lit and families get together for the evening meal.

Sam had been very good so we took her to McDonalds for dinner (puke!).

We managed to be on the road at 6am. We decide dot fill up before we left Playa and boy did they try it on. Yesterday the attendant tried to short change us 100 pesos today they didn`t set the counter back to zero and started on 33 litres. Good thing I had my beady eyes open. Of course we got the blank stare and `no entiende` and then he still tried to overcharge us by 50 pesos on the correct number of litres. You have to be checking all the time!
We made really good time to Chichen Itza and got there about 9:30am. Again we saw lots of people jogging with torches on the roads, it must have something to do with Xmas as it is a religious thing, I really need to find out the story though!!

Chechen Itza, well we have all seen the pictures but it is awesome. Marc went straight up and then decided to take the video camera up so he did it again. I am such a wuss when it comes to heights, I went up a few steps and turned around and decided there was no chance that I was going any further. It is very deceptive going up but coming down is another thing! The Mexicans were just running down (completely bonkers I tell ya!) while the Europeans do it on their bums.
We then explored the palace of the Jaguars which Sam decided was the dragon castle anfd he sneezed so it all burnt down and only left the stone columns.
The ball court is absolutely enormous compared to the one at Coba, truly amazing and gruesome – the captain of the losing team and sometimes the team members were killed after a game. I saw the same South African couple that we saw at Coba yesterday, freaky!!! I have a thing for remembering faces.
Entry to Chichen Itza is 89 pesos and parking is 10 pesos.

We then drove to Ik Kil about 4kms towards Vallodolid. Entry is 60 pesos (kids under 12 are free) but it is worth it. It is an open limestone sinkhole filled with the clearest water ever. You can look down and see your feet and the fish swimming around you without goggles, apparently the water is 50m deep. You climb stone steps down to the bottom (very civilised no Indiana Jones styles here!) and it is sacrilege to come here and not swim, the water is fantastic. The roots of the trees surrounding the hole hang into the water and waterfalls seep for the surrounding rock, stalactites hang from the ceiling. Absolutely stunning!
If you get to Chichen Itza early you miss the bus crowds and the same goes for Ik Kil. You can just wait for then to leave though, since they are on a schedule they done stay long and you get the whole place to yourself.

We drove back to Playa after that, we weren`t keen to drive in the dark (it is dark by 5:30pm) and we were all tired and broke besides!
We had dinner at Mannes since it was pork roast night and we missed it last Friday. Sam got treated to ice cream (actually Marc wanted decent coffee so that why we went to Ciao Gelato!). Sam is really proud that she swam in a cave because thats where dragons live. Today she has been obsessed with dragons. I don`t know if she got it form the Jaguar carvings at the base of El Castillo but everything was about dragons!

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I finally found out about the torch runners! We are very lucky to have seen them as it only occurs a few days before the 12th December. They are the `Virgin of Guadelupe torch runners`. The runners run in a relay (a van with other runners follows close by decorated with an altar type scene with a picture of the virgin). They run to honour or keep a promise to the virgin of Guadelupe, patron saint of Mexico. Routes are different for each church group, they first go to the furtherest point and then run back to their town. We noticed they had the names of their town on their t-shirts. They plan their arrival to co-incide with a Mass on December 12th. Some runners just do it over a day while others go as far as Mexico City and take a good ten days to do it. So it looks like Sunday is going to be festive.

We had another beach day. Sam got to wear her new cozzie, we finally found a decently priced one away form the tourist areas. She seemed to have gotten an attitude to match the hot pink. She had all the kids in the pool doing exactly as little madam commanded. Out the pool, hand in the air, jump in the pool, sit on the side and repeat. She`ll make a good drill sergeant especially since they were all Mexican kids and I doubt they understood a word of what she was saying!
She was exhausted and passed out straight after her shower, good thing we decided to have dinner before going back to the room!