Two weeks ago we were looking at the Travel Section of the Sunday paper and saw a trip we couldn't refuse. Five days and four nights at the Reef Club Cozumel, all-inclusive, two travel for the price of one. We made our reservation that very morning.
We flew out on Tuesday, June 1st and arrived at our hotel without anything eventful happening. That day we enjoyed the beach, sea-kayaked, and snorkeled, as well as, all the food and drink the resort offered. We found the food better than on cruise ships and the inclusive drinks do include alcoholic drinks. There were more activities than anyone could possibly do including wind surfing, small sailboats, intro to scuba, aerobics, horseback riding, and on and on.
Wednesday we flew to Chitchen-Itza, which was the main reason we went on the trip. We flew on a very small plane that couldn't fly above the clouds and the pilot didn't speak English. Forty minutes later we were about to land on a very narrow airfield cut out of the jungle. As we were landing it appeared to be no more than 20 feet between the wing tips and the jungle trees. It was the bumpiest landing we ever experienced. Five minutes later we were on the grounds of Chitchen-Itza. Spectacular and incredible are two words that would describe the place. We had a guided tour that was very informative and provided a lot of information about the Mayans and the area. Many of the building are in fairly good shape especially the main building called the "Castle". This is the 90-step building that you see in pictures of the place and the one, which everyone climbs. The steps are very narrow and steep and difficult to climb and even more difficult to climb down. There is a rope that runs up the middle of one set of stairs to help people up and down. The view from the top is extraordinary. The land is flat and you can see forever from the top. When we climbed down we went inside and climbed up (more like crawled up) the stairs that go to an interior room. Anyone who is claustrophobic would not want to do this. Most of the buildings were constructed around 1200-1600 BC One of the very special places we have visited.
The trip back was not smooth sailing. We experienced a great deal of turbulence, which Cathy was not used to. Most of the way back she was holding onto the seat in front of her like she was on a rollercoaster. And we were, but we made it back in one piece. On our return to the resort we spent the rest of the day snorkeling.
On Wednesday we rented a VW bug which redefined the word stripped down. It had a light switch, a turn signal switch, and an odometer. Other than the seats and tires, that was it. We drove the road around the island. The island is not that big. Ten miles wide in the middle. The loop is about 36 miles. We stopped at San Gervasio, which is another set of Mayan ruins on the island. Most of these structures are almost complete destroyed. Very interesting, nonetheless, even when compared to Chitchen-Itza. The beaches on the other side of the island are very wild and very beautiful. They have direct exposure to the Gulf so they have a lot of wave action. We also made a stop in the downtown San Miguel. The island is Cozumel and the city is San Miguel. (Our resort is about 8 miles out of town.) We made the trip through the shopping areas and bought a few things including a hammock for our new house. On our return to the resort we went snorkeling again.
Our last day was certainly the most exciting. We started off the day with a quick trip to one of the pristine beaches for a walk. And then it was hurry back to turn our VW bug in. From there we went to horseback riding through the jungle. Our guide let us gallop the horses down one trial going and coming back. It was great fun.
From there we changed into our running stuff and ran to Chankanaab National Park. Zach said it was only 3.5 miles and we could make it in a half-hour. We did but the temperature and humidity were both over 90, which made it a pretty tough run. Chankanaab is a very diverse and interesting Mexican National Park. It has one section devoted to archeological findings not just from the Mayans but also many other Indian groups from all parts of Mexico. Then there are the botanical gardens, which has many tropical species of plants as well as a wide variety of iguanas, both in size and shape. There is a swim with the dolphins area, for a price, of course. Finally, there is the reef with the vast variety of undersea life. We went to snorkel on the reef and only discovered the archeological and botanical wonders upon arrival. We arrived at the equipment rental area for masks and fins and the next thing Cathy knew was Zach and Fabio were talking about doing a scuba mini-dive. It took some persuading but Cathy agreed to the dive if Fabio would hold her hand the entire time. She did and he did. It was our first scuba diving experience but certainly not our last. After a half-hour of instruction we went with Fabio into the water and scuba dove for an hour. We were in about twenty-five feet and saw many varieties of fish and coral. It was a great experience and we look forward to becoming certified and doing more dives in the future.
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