Boogie-Boarding

Yea, fun day, but am tired right now. AND almost lost the "#% thing..and not in the water. Stopped to put on my Teva's for the street and walked out of the resort without my boogie-board! After a few minutes, walking and looking for lunch, I realized I was missing something!!luckily, after backtracking a bit I found it safe and sound at the InnatMaz. So I went back out. The waves were pretty rough today. Am on my way in for a shower now. Hoping to catch up with Diana, Jophn, etc for New Year,s manana.....
Hard to find cyber cafe's nowdays. Guess most people just use their phones...

Prospero Ano Nuevo!! Steph

Ellos tigre, puma y buo

Found them on the beach!

Yep, walking along the shore and see these three creatures with their owners ´´ 0 So I had to take a pic. HA-HA

Luvia en la Noche!

Yes, it rained last night! A pretty good rainstorm, but still warm, very! I went boogie boarding yesterday up by EL Cid. REally fun, though it was cloudy. So today, I venturned into the Old Town on a bus. Couse, Matt, I got lost a time or two, but eventually found my way to the Catedral, the Main Plaza and the Market. I had a nice lunch in the plaza, but I really don't like the market much. I am looking for a watch, guess I'll try the shops in the Golden Zone this afternoon. Tomorrow, hoping to do some more boogie-boarding.

I thought I'd be able to post a couple pics here, but the computer is old, no USB, so I'll keep looking for another place. Check back in a day or two.

Mazatlan 2010

Heading south again this New Year's. Going back to Maz this year, Pura Vida is calling me! Will be leaving on the 27th, so check back & see what I'm up to. A whole lotta 'siesta y fiesta'.

Back home

Yes, I did make it back home, but not easily. I am working on pics & will post more soon.

Domingo o lunes...

Yo, no se. Today I was laying around on the beach, bought a lounge chair for 2.00, I have a wierd keyboard, forgive the errors.
for the privilege, i recieved a wristband, also included use of the banos. well, about noon as i was enjoying some guacamole y quesadillas, i noticed that the wristband was marked 'lunes'... can't find the exclamation point

lunes! (Oh, there it is) Lunes! But I have to be on a bus at noon on Lunes! What kind of Mexico time is this?? I was in a moment of panic, had to ask the waiter, who did assure me that today was Sunday and that my stay with them on the beach tomorrow was free....So, guess i gotta stay :p

I also sidled today, yep, sidled. There were no umbrellas available, so i had to sidle closer & closer & closer to the one next to me as the sun moved my way, so i could have some shade. Although today was mostly cloudy, even a short squall of rain which sent everyone running, but i just continued to sidle till the sun came back out & then ...the umbrella was mine ; ) Ha-ha, Tricky, heh?

Well am off to try another splurge, a noodle place called Babe's. i will be able to hit the pura Vida place once more for breakie & then on my way.

Matt, Mom, let me know how the passes are, i'll call you when i land. i get into Seattle at 8:00 or so & hope to catch the 11:00 PM shuttle if the Pass is open. otherwise i may have to shack up with John & Diana for the night. Thanks much for getting my car to yakima. Dad, mi perros are doing fine...mi gatos?

Coincidences

Well,

I just enjoyed a nice Mayan meal at a popular Mayan restaurant that has been recommended to me several times, so I splurged a bit (no PB&J sandwich tonight). I had a spiced fish fillet grilled in a banana leaf with rice & veggies, mmmnm. I may have to go back tomorrow for the tamale de abuela. It was pretty hot here this afternoon, I am trying to soak up as much sunshine for everyone as I can without getting burned. I walked up north of town today & checked out the beaches there, they are better than in town, but very crowded. The hotels are all-inclusive, except for me, so my towel was not so effective, but that's OK, the water was fine & lots of places for snacks, etc. I enjoyed a Pura Vida breakie w/jugo this morning, so it was a very good, sunny relaxing day.

Yesterday, I did get to Xel-Ha, gorgeous place. i spent most of the day in the water, snorkeling & going through the mangrove forest river on an inner-tube. Most of the rest of the time I was at the food courts. you pay one price for the transport, activities and food, so i made sure to get plenty & didn't need to spend more money for dinner. Also, in the van were a couple from Mexico City that i met on New Year's Eve and as we were waiting for our pickup, I met up with Gabriel, who was the driver on the Loco yucatan Trip ( the one that we, the tourists, guided to Uxmal )...really wierd. Then today, on the beach I met the couple from Finland that were also on the Loco trip. Strange, eh? With all the people around here & I meet up with some 2X???

WEll, tomorrow is a repeat of today with maybe some shopping for a bracelet, though i have bought a couple peices already. A pretty blue stone necklace and my name carved in Mayan on a silver pendant. Course I must also get packed, leaving about noon on Monday to catch the bus to the airport. Hoping i can get over the Pass Monday night....I am missing mi perros, they probably think I've abandoned them to the cold. Other than that i could sure stay for another few weeks till the winter goes away.

OK, OK I quit complaining....Am off for some Haagen Dass & a walk through the town...hasta manana...I will check on things tomorrow night, maybe I stay???

S

Photos

I'll just try to post some photos here & leave a few captions.





our guide at Uxmaal, once we arrived (not Pepe, he was sleeping at the hotel). This man was very good.



Uxmall pyramid


Chitzen itza (chicken pizza) pyramid. One of the new 7 wonders of the world, you know.



IF you zoom into the ocean here, you can see the building of Cozumel, the island off the coast of Playa. Didn't get there this time, I hear it is very touristy with cruise ships.


These are the coconuts right above my patio. hoping one is not ripe and ready to fall for a couple more days.



These next three are photos from Xel-Ha, a beautiful lagoon that has been made into a Disney-like water park. Great fun, really...

Loco Viaja a Yucatan

This post I will tell you about Pepe, our guide, Gabriel, the driver and the five of us: Gary & Lynn, another couple from Finland, and myself. i thought I had a pic of Pepe, but cannot find it now. Gary, the photographer of the group, is supposed to send me a few photos also.

Anyway, my pick-up was for 7:15 AM, by the time Gabriel & Pepe drive up with the others it's going on eight and they have been driving since 6:00 from Cancun! Now, the road down south is really bad with construction and military checkpoints, both can take up to an hour to get through as drivers play chicken to squeeze infront of one another. i am so glad i didn't decide to try to drive here : P
So, we drive and drive and drive, stopping once or twice. I slept and slept and slept, having the whole back seat to myself : ) It takes a while to get through traffic in Merida to our hotel, finally arriving about 1:00 and scheduled to leave for Uxmal at 1:30. no food included until 5:00 PM dinner : ( the others race out for a bite. i luckily had some kind of breakie bar & must put in my eyes for the pyramids of Uxmal.

Well, Pepe, the guide (who also slept most of the way) sends us all off while he sleeps some more in the hotel. Fine and Dandy, except that Gabriel can't even find his way out of the city! And once we finally get out we miss the turn off for Uxmal. All of us are looking at the maps in our guidebooks and trying to get Gabriel (no English) to pull over or call Pepe for directions. We finally insist and after two hours of more driving arrive at uxmaal with one hour before closing.

now, it's a good thing that we all had a very positive outlook or it could have been ugly...we all laughed and made the most of it, discussing how we would sacrifice Pepe the next day on top of the Chiten Itza holy pyramid. So, we had a tour, enjoyed a decent meal (the tours do always manage to have really good food) and went to the light show (disappointing, Pepe didn't provide English translation headsets, so couldn't understand much.

The next day was better, I splurged on room service, knowing that breakie was not included in the tour. We set off for Chiten Itza at 8:30 AM, making a quick stop at a beautiful colonial town on the way. Then finally Pepe had to work! He, himself gave us a whole one hour tour of Chitzen itza, but sneaked away before we could do a ritual sacrifice : P We enjoyed a nice buffet meal, before hitting the road again ( I slept, the whole back seat to myself. Got a nice massage, it was kind of like Devi's massage chair, but I was laying down and it was hours long, really quite nice. Of course, in Mexico, take the long way. Pepe tried to find a way to split us up so Gary & Lyn wouldn't have to go clear to Playa, no luck. it was hours! (I slept)going back and getting through the construction/military sites. Gary was getting a bit irked by the end, which I really can't blame him. They couldn't have gotten back to Cancun much before 8:00 PM on New Year's Eve! And were headed back to Singapore (30 hour flight!) in the early morning!!! UGGG ; (

Me, I got back around 7:00, cleaned up & enjoyed New Year's out on the Pedestrian street, one block from the hotel & filled with revelers.

Nothing to be done...we saw the State of Yucatan, Uxmaal, Chiten Itza & enjoyed ourselves and our predicament. Both couples were really very pleasant, the Finns didn't speak much English, but we all got on well, Even with Gabriel & Pepe (when he was awake....

Too Lazy!

Too lazy today! I saw a good dance last night by a professional Mayan dance group at a restaurant. A fight between the snake & the Eagle, lots of rattling, noise and insence-burning...way cool! Lots of people out on the street dancing & drinking. Got to sleep in today and had a good breakie, then slept more on the beach. Now, I{m going to try to get a tour to Xel-ha for tomorrow. it's a water resort about an hour down south. After that some pan at Walmart & a bit to eat, so I can rest up (some more) for more beach & snorkeling tomorrow. Ahhh! Paradise!

K...heard you have been looking in on my cats? Thanks sooo much! I don't want to even hear how many bird feathers are all over the house!! Not a word, por favor.

Matt, did you watch the fireworks from your place or sleep through it all? I'll try to post more pics tomorrow or the next, but just toooo lazy today.

Hasta la vista.... Steph