2-28 Playa Del Carmen, Chichen Itza, and Coba, Mexico

We spent 2 nights in total in Playa del Carmen, mostly relaxing and checking out the beach.

This cat reminded me of Xavier:



Playa del Carmen:





Extreme street performers:



We got up early the next morning to take a bus to Chichen Itza, a huge Maya ruins complex and one of the seven wonders of the modern world. While the ruins are massive and breathtaking, Caryl and I kept thinking how wonderful it would be if we could walk closer to them, as they were all roped off and could only be viewed from a slight distance. Ever since an American fell off and perished a few years ago, they no longer let anyone anywhere near anything dangerous.

Finally made it:





Side view:





Close up:



My favorite, the Caracol (Snail) Observatory:



The Nunnery:



Lots and lots of souvenir booths:



From a distance:



"Soccer" field - the small opening protruding from the side is the goal:







Caryl playing "Where's Waldo" amongst the tourists:



Caught an iguana doing yoga:



Check out all the skulls - this commemorates fallen soldiers, and scares off potential enemies:



Lots and lots of columns:



And one more view of the "Castillo" - the main temple.



We spent the night in Hotel Chichen Itza, just down the road, in downtown Piste. As we were quite hungry, we ventured out to find a snack. While walking, we were innundated by the overwhelming smell of spicy grilled chicken. We sat down to one of our best meals yet! One whole grilled chicken, rice, tortillas, and bean soup. It was obvious the owner wasn't expecting anyone to actually eat at the restaurant, as it was mostly a busy takeout place, and he had to run next door to stealthely grab a can on beans, and ask his wife (the grill master) how much to charge (about ten bucks).

The next day was another early morning, with a second class bus (read, stops all.the.time. The guy in front actually spit on the floor. But ac worked!) ride to Coba. Here we finally got our climbing fix, as this temple, the tallest in all of the Yucatan, still lets tourists climb.

Lagoon just outside the ruin entrance (we did not see any crocs):



Map of Coba:



Feeling confident and ready to climb:



Relieved to have made it (scarier than it looks!):



Caryl heading back down:



Back on solid ground!



In a good mood, some pics of us goofing around:





And after a quick bus ride to Tulum, we celebrated with some cheap vodka :)

2-25 Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Yesterday we finally left Cozumel. Before leaving, though, we had lunch at Burritos Gorditas, a highly rated restaurant located by the ferry pier. Since we had some time to kill, we chatted for a while with the owner. She was really wonderful; an ex-pat from San Francisco. We discussed the situation regarding cats and dogs on the island. She told us that Cozumel has one of the only facilities that spays and neuters pets for free in all of Latin America, though there are still many animals in need of homes. She shared she has rescued four dogs and three cats so far.
Some pictures:

In case anyone is interested, here's a picture of my pack and everything that goes inside, about 25 pounds in all:



Our first home cooked meal (our hotel room has a kitchenette). Caryl is learning to use a fork without a thumb:

2-24 Cozumel

We've mainly been taking it easy these last few days - giving Caryl's dislocated thumb time to recover. He's doing much better - we're hopeful a week or two more and it'll be like new. We've mainly been snorkeling during the day and attending Carnival at night, with frequent stops at Mega, the grocery store, for water, yogurts, and coffee. I'm really loving snorkeling - while it sounds cliche, I feel like it's opened up a whole new world - I guess I never thought about all the life just under the ocean's surface.

While we've managed to stay mostly safe, we did almost get run over by a boat 2 days ago. We were swimming, and all of a sudden a boat wanted to dock at the pier near us, and honked for us to move. I of course immediately panicked and started swimming around in circles, sure I was destined to become fish food. I thought the boat would be unable to stop, and we wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. Thankfully, Caryl managed to calm me down a bit while the boat captain patiently waited for us to move aside - apparently boats are very agile and maneuverable - who would have known! While this cut our underwater exploring short the first day, yesterday we found an awesome (and free) open beach access point, right next to the Swim with Rays park. So, we got to see the rays, and all the other fish waiting to be fed. Best part - no boats!

Here are some pictures from Carnival (including very sketchy electrical wiring):

2-19 San Gervasio, Cozumel, Mexico

Yesterday was a busy day - we rented a car and drove around the island. we started at the Mayan ruins of San Gervasio, which I promptly renamed the Lizard Palace (no need to explain, I don't think). Caryl amused himself and reminisced about his childhood while chasing baby iguanas into their hiding places. We paused midday for a quick swim, lunch, and sodas on the beach - no drinking and driving (or drinking and navigating, in my case). After returning the car, we found a small taqueteria in town with pretty good tacos. Some pictures below of our new friends (I have more pictures of lizards than ruins):














Today was equally eventful - we started the day early snorkeling. We saw rays, turtles, flounder, innumerable colorful fishies, and even flying fish! Unfortunately, Caryl dislocated his thumb jumping off the boat before even touching the water. He was able to pop it back in quickly, but had a hard time swimming. I cannot imagine what motivated him to keep going. Luckily, I got sea sick half way through, so we both sat out the last snorkel of the day, though we got to chat with Miguel, our captain, who entertained us with stories of month long fishing trips and getting seasick for 3 days during his first voyage. Tomorrow, peaceful snorkeling by the hotel for us! (And laundry!)

My attempt at immobilizing the injury: