Dolphins and Cenotes

I suppose that yesterday was all about Arden...she finally got what she wanted and swam with the dolphins after 4 years of begging and pleading. We traveled about 25 miles south of Rivera Maya to a small area named Puerta Adventura where all kinds of things happen. There is the dolphin adventure, tons of eating places, and sloths, monkeys, macaws, toucans are on the little island inside the dolphin swim area. Arden swam with them for a solid hour, got to ride on one´s belly holding on to its pectoral fins and just had a blast.

There were also lots of other marine life on the island as well, sea lions and manatee (one with a new baby) and lots of tropical fish

On the way back to Rivera Maya we found this small local swimming spot in this cavern system called a cenote (see-no-TAY). They are natural caverns and caves that are filled by springs and rain water. The water is crystal clear with up to 200 ft visibility and quite cold, the water temp was about 70 degrees. There were several underwater tunnels that went through the mangroves and through the cave systems that all had guide ropes through them, naturally Jack Aaron and I had to try it out and dispel the fear of drowning. They turned out not to be long only about a 15 second swim, you could see the opening on the other side from under water. And of course there is always a high place to leap off of.

We were able to swim for about 2 hours before the hypothermia began to set in.

This morning we woke up early (sans Jack Aaron) to watch the Mexican sunrise, which was just spectacular coming in over the eastern ocean. The cloud cover was just right to scatter the light into a million colors. But we also got a bonus out of it walking down the beach where we haven´t been--we found where the sea turtles had been coming out of the Caribbean and laying their eggs. Most had already hatched out, Arden is holding an empty shell. The ones that had not hatched had been moved by the biologists to a small protected area. The following picture is the turtle trail going back out to sea

We are heading to the car ferry today to go to the island of Cozumel, where we are going to dive the great wall at Paradise Reef. Be home tomorrow....adios from the land of the Mayan sun

Diving in the Carribbean

Jack Aaron and I woke up early yesterday to catch the dive boat out to the reefs just off the coast of Rivera Maya. Ranging from 40 to 80 ft the colors were unbelievable and the sea life was more than plentiful, the seas were relatively calm and the water temp was about 80 degrees¬¬so there was no need at all for a wetsuit. I was able to get some good photos of the parrot fish and spiny lobsters but i cant share them here, my uw camera is old school and actually takes film. After the morning dive tip we went on a snorkeling trip with Arden and Leah back to one of the same reefs we dove on just on the shallow side which was about 3 to 10 ft. Lots and lots of fish here, the guide took bottles of fish food out with us and released it right in the front of Arden and they promptly swarmed her nearly completely covering her...and of course she squealed under water and promplty climbed on my back. On the way back from snorkeling the boat stopped off at this remote beach where we all could just hang out...Arden found some horses and rode down the beach and Jack Aaron found a small puffer fish swimming in the shallows and gave it a ride in his dive mask for a little while before releasing it again.

The day before yesterday (Monday I think) was a fairly sedentary day, so not much to tell. We sat on the beach under the palm trees (and still managed to get sunburned)and had the waiters bring and endless supply of coronas to our little hut...very nice

The grounds at the resort are immaculate they are cleaning at all hours of the day and night and spend lots of time on the gardens and the flowers. And the iguanas are just everywhere

till next time.............

Ahhhhhhh......Playa del Carmen

What can you say about a beach fabled for its beauty and serenity....I've been trying to get to this beach my whole life and finally made it yesterday. The water is bluer than the sky and clearer than glass with a long reef perfect for snorkeling only about 40 yards off shore. Although the beaches were a little crowded, the Caribbean Sea was wonderfully clean and smelled like a dream and was just completely satisfying

We took a drive down Hwy 307 toward Xel ha past Playa del Carmen and found many caves and cenotes to explore on another day. The ruins at Xel ha turned out to be quite commercialized as they have developed a huge ecological park around the site, which they promote as all inclusive at $75 USD a person...I'm not that in tune with the ecology....sorry Nana you and Al Gore can berate me when I get home......

Anyway with the mission failed at Xel ha we just decided to walk the streets of Playa del Carmen and have some really delicious Mexican food at this little sidewalk grill. Word of caution here...when a Mexican waiter tells you that the Habanero salsa for your fajitas is REALLY spicy, it is probably a good idea to take what he says to heart...I have yet to experience such suffering upon my palate. Hot sweat and a snotty nose are the immediate side effects but the worst to come hits in about 4 hours after the digestion process. Lemanz breathing works quite well in this situation for those of you that care to take part in this habanero adventure.

This is where the locals light a candle for Mary each night. The left over wax had a nice effect on the little grill we ate at

On the drive back from Xel ha Arden found a dolphin discovery facility where the biologists take the kids out one on one with the dolphins and let them interact. Once again Arden became like she was on the first day and was real excitable, the workers at the dolphin discovery had to scotch guard their carpets....The prices were actually reasonable and we have a spot reserved for tomorrow. There are also manatee and sea lions here that you can interact with.

Lots of activities here at the resort for the kids, treasure hunts, crafts and things, they even get to go out with the resident biologists and help with the sea turtles by releasing them into the ocean. For some reason the poaching of sea turtle eggs is very bad here and the biologists dig up the eggs and rebury them in some coral. When they begin hatching the kids get to take the baby turtles to the edge of the ocean and send them on their journey. Also, every night at the pool they show movies for the kids and they can just hang out in the water and enjoy.

We are now able to cook in the room and save us $100 USD a meal eating here at the resort or anywhere else for that matter. The food and drinks everywhere are quite expensive... so who can you turn to to save money...good ole' Sam Walton is always there when you need him. Wal Mart is only about 10 miles away and we went and loaded up on groceries and snack stuff, strangely the grocery prices are much cheaper in Mexico than in the US. Once we found out exactly what it was we were buying everything worked out well. They had fresh whole fish and squid some other unidentifiable animals laid out on ice.

Till next time

Cancun to Riveria Maya

Well we are now full fledged pseudo-Mexicans having been here for a full 24 hours, we are already darkening and have an incessant urge for beans and tortillas and tequila. We got to sleep late on the 26th and headed out to the monstrous pool area of the hotel for some relaxing before we tried to tackle the driving thing again. And by the way, in Mexico, this position in the vehicle is a permissible place for a passenger as i have seen it frequently~ with a matching pair on the other side and 19 in between them

Oh and in case any big magazines call, tell them we aren't interested just yet.....Ever the poser, Arden found some opportunities in the vast pool area of the Hotel ME in Cancun. Vogue and Sports Illustrated has been calling us wanting a portfolio :¬) but we are holding out for a larger fee.

The ride from Cancun to Rivera Maya was slightly uneventful with the exception of a massive wreck right in Centro Cancun that had the traffic backed up, but at least the ambulances were there and in prime working condition to transport the injured, i think that they were buying this ambulance one piece at a time and were quite near getting a full truck out of it.

Went all the way to Mexico to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company which is in every American tourist trap in the world, but hey when in Rome..huh We did get to play ping pong with Forrest Gump's paddles though.

We didn't have too much more trouble getting to Rivera Maya (except for one wrong turn that led us back though the airport loop, but we we were able to vacate the area again with the help of the Federalies from the first night who had mobilized a small force against the lost Americanas anybody know what vamonose! vamanose! means?) Rivera Maya was about 40km from Cancun which is about 25miles for all you Americans locked in the world of standard measurements. The resort at the Grand Mayan is amazing, it is spread out over several square miles, right on the beach, a private pool on the balcony, and a 2 acre pool that is just magnificent. The beach is very rocky and you have to have some sort of water shoes to make it out to the artificial reef that is about 50 yards off shore, but everything here is just wonderful.

Much like the resident wild chickens of Key West, Rivera Maya has wild iguanas that are just everywhere as well as a few crocodiles. Jack Aaron was able to get some good photos of both, the iguanas are quite active and are ready for handouts of fruit from random pedestrians.

We did find out that they were lying about that 88 degrees mess, its hot as July Milo field here but we will be okay i suppose as long as the water stays cool and the margaritas keep flowing. Today we are heading to the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Xel ha....till next time