Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 35 - January 31, 2012 Mahahual

We awoke today to wind, overcast skies, and scattered showers. Not my idea of great diving weather, but we gathered our gear and walked down the malecon to the Dive Life Dive Shop ( http://costamayascuba.com/mahahual/ or www.DiveLife.com.mx ) to see if the dive was still on. Secretly, I was kind of hoping for a small craft warning to prevent boats from going out. Didn’t happen.

We met with Nestar Zuniga, the shop manager and dive instructor, signed our papers, paid our $1500 pesos (about $115 USD), and got fitted with wet suits. Juan, a young man studying for his Dive Instructor certification, and Sami the boat captain loaded the gear into the boat and we were off.
Our first dive site, Los Escalones, was about a 10 minute boat ride away. While there was some chop on the surface, once we were under the water, there was just a small surge. We dove at a depth of about 70 feet for 40 minutes. We saw a sting ray, an eel, lobster, groupers, a sea turtle, and lion fish, as well as many different varieties of coral.

After a surface interval, we moved to the second dive site, The Gardens. It was located almost directly in front of the Blue Bay where we are camped! This area has a shallow reef – only about 5-10 feet high in water that is about 45 feet deep. The sandy bottom in this area was stirred up a bit from the surge, so the visibility wasn’t as good. We did see lots of coral and colorful reef fish and more lion fish. After 40 minutes, I was cold and started getting leg cramps, so we returned to the surface. The water temperature is between 80-82°F, chillier than I like!

One of the more interesting aspects of these dives involved a new highlight that this shop has recently started. Nestor and Juan had spear guns and caught six lion fish during our dives, which we took back for lunch. Nestor explained that after Hurricane Katrina, lion fish started showing up in the Caribbean and have been destroying the reef marine life here. Divers and fishermen try to catch them to rid the reef of this predator fish. Watching for these fish added a different twist to the dive.

Chikitas Beach Club (Chikitas Beach Club/Facebook) is located directly south of Dive Life. They fileted the lion fish and cooked it up fajita style. We were served beans, rice, tortillas, guacamole, chips, and drinks. There was almost more than the four of us could eat for $145 (just over $10USD) pesos!

It was 5pm by the time we got back to the RV and we are beat. The rain held off until we got back here! YEAH! Sorry no pictures today, no underwater camera. Send money to….

GPS 18.27014°N, 87.83475°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 34 - January 30, 2012 Xcalak -

We took a walk through Xcalak today. There wasn’t much to see, although a circus was in town. It was pretty small – we saw they had a horse and 3 monkeys. We have been told that you should not support the circuses in Mexico because they do not treat their animals very well.

We also stopped at the school to see what it was like. The teacher told us the students have English lessons one day a week. The kids seemed pretty shy about having “norte Americano” visitors in their classroom.

We had lunch at Toby’s Restaurant, splitting fish tacos and chips and salsa. Their pico de gallo was very good – a nice mix of tomato, onion, and lime. 

After lunch we headed back to Mahahual. Tobey wanted to drive the beach road as we had been told it was a nice scenic drive. We were told we would have to wait until KM30 to take it because there is a bridge out between Xcalak and KM30. No problem – we knew where to turn since we had been on that road yesterday checking things out. We went past the place where the guy keeps his cell phone in the tree – and there it was, hanging in the plastic bottle!

We turned north and the first km or so was okay – narrow, dirt, but not too bad. Then the overgrowth of the trees made it almost impossible to drive the RV. The tree branches were scraping and scratching the sides of the RV.  After 2 km, we knew it would be disastrous to continue, so Tobey backed up until we could find a spot wide enough to make a 10-point turn and head back to the inland road. Talk about no fun! The branches pulled some of our weather stripping lose and we had to stop to tuck it back into the channels. Tobey seems to think that 80% of the scratches will wash and wax out, the other 20% will be memories of the trip. Note to self – if the road looks too narrow for an RV, it probably IS too narrow!

We are back at the Blue Bay Restaurant & RV parking for the night. It is very quiet today, so Maria closed the restaurant and only the night watchman is here. We took a small walk on the malecon and have arranged to go diving tomorrow.

GPS 18.72274°N, 87.70294°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 33 - January 29, 2012 Mahahual - Xcalak

Lounging on the beach and a short walk on the malecon took up most of our morning into the early afternoon. We enjoyed watching a black lab and golden retriever that were chasing each other into the water then swimming around to cool off. They then raced back to shore and were off again. Race, swim, roll in the sand, repeat. It was really fun to watch. Maria’s dog hung out with us by our lounge chairs for a while. She loved getting petted, but wasn’t much for playing with the other dogs. We at least got our dog-fix for the day.
The Blue Bay is a really nice operation. They have the restaurant and cabanas that they rent. The cabanas look like they have bunk beds and a small bench – they are the small hut looking things at the back of the picture. They also have a large RV in the parking lot that they use as a rental, as well as beachside palapas and lounge chairs.
The malecon was pretty deserted – cruise ships come in Tuesday-Friday, so it is mainly local folks and some Mexican tourists the rest of the week. Just north of the Blue Bay is the Navy base. We walked by and a couple of the sailors were doing landscape maintenance and waved to us.

We met an interesting young man from Spain who was renting Blue Bay’s RV while in Mahahual. Pablo is a journalist and has been traveling throughout Mexico for about three months so far. He told us that the unemployment rate in Spain for people his age, 25-35, is about 53%, but he left his job with a good newspaper to make this trip. He is traveling with friends and will also go through Central America and hope to reach Argentina by the end of the year. Their trip will be about 13 months long or until their money runs out! They try to find work when they can and try to support themselves with their writing. They were interesting and intelligent young people concerned about the plight of the people and interested in the political climate in many of the countries. He is writing a blog,  www.dromanos.com, but it is all in Spanish, so we really have no idea what it is like! We will need to wait until we have better internet service to try translating some.

 
We really enjoyed Mahahual, but had planned to head to Xcalak (esh-ca-lack) today.

We packed up and headed south 46 miles arriving about 4pm. There are two roads heading south, the beach road,  which is on our map, and the paved road, about 10km inland, which we actually took.

We checked into scuba diving at the  XTC Dive Center. It appears to be an efficient and very professional operation, a PADI 5 Star center.  (www.xtcdivecenter.com) The center is run by a group of New Zealanders.

A local group worked with government to establish the Xcalak National Marine Park. Their purpose was to promote ecology and  save the local fishermen’s territory from being overfished. Now only local Xcalak fisherman are allowed to fish this area, thus saving their livelihood. As a bonus, the Chinchorro Banks Biosphere Reserve and Xcalak National Marine Park have seen a rebound in the variety of fishes in this area, adding to scuba divers’ enjoyment.

Xcalak is at the tip of a peninsula that borders the Caribbean Sea to the east and Chetumal Bay to the West. We are very close to Belize. Ambergris Cay is only about 4 miles across the canal!

How remote are we? Earlier in the day we stopped to check out the campground located in the middle of the map. While there was no one camping there, there was a young man eager to check us in. After we explained that we were heading south, we bid farewell. Just then we noticed him lower a “basket” made from a 2 liter coke bottle from the top of a palm tree. In the basket was his cell phone and he explained that it was the only way for him to get his text messages!
Xcalak is a small fishing village with about 400 residents. The main draw for tourists seems to be scuba diving and saltwater flats fishing in Chetumal Bay. We are camped on the “beach” road in town, looking out to the Caribbean Sea. In the

Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping, you are supposed to be able to camp at the Restaurant Bar Xcalak Caribe, but it is closed up and has a “For Sale” sign on it. We spoke to a couple people and they told us we could just camp on the beach road anywhere with no problems. We seem to be somewhat of a novelty as just about everyone in town has driven by to check out our rig. One car even stopped to take our picture!
There is another interesting place here – Toby’s Restaurant! They are closed on Sundays, but the owner was there when we stopped to see about having dinner. He let us use his free WIFI since there is NO CELL service here!

 
The beach here, however, is not what either of us had envisioned. There are lots of fishing boats and not much sand.There is not a single place I would want to walk along the water, which is really sad.
The primary school was really easy to spot as we drove through town. The fence was marked by these gigantic pencils. I can imagine happy children eager to pass through this fence to get to class!

GPS 18.27014°N, 87.83475°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 32 - January 28, 2012 Xpu-ha – Mahahual

Tobey got up and walked to the beach for the sunrise today. It was still a bit cloudy, but pretty, none the less. (I got to see it in the pictures!) We were on the road early, headed south to Mahahual because we had about 170 miles to cover today.

 
We stopped in Tulum for some groceries and gas and tried to find propane. Oh my gosh, that was a wild goose chase. Some folks told us that we just had to flag down one of the propane trucks and they could fill our tank which is built into the RV. Another person told us there was a propane station behind the bus terminal. Well, around and around we went! We found the Imperial Gas Office, but not a station, behind the bus terminal, so we kept going. We finally spotted a propane truck just finishing a fill at a house, but he told us he could not fill our tank. Another propane truck only has the tanks you exchange – but he told us that, yes, the Imperial Office could help us. We returned and the office manager told us that in Tulum their company did not fill RVs. With correct information, we reached Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and were finally able to buy propane!
We arrived at the Blue Bay Restaurant and RV Parking about 2:30 and met Maria, the manager. They have restrooms, cool water showers, and free WIFI at the restaurant. Our dry camping spot is $130 pesos per night (about $10USD) and just across the malecon from the beach.

Two years ago we stopped here while on a cruise. It is a very laid-back area and the malecon is at least a mile long. We walked most of it this afternoon, then enjoyed relaxing on the beach with a book. After dinner tonight we walked to the very southern end of the malecon and back. We talked to one shop owner that said the ships are usually in Tuesday-Friday with the people here between 9-3. He said the rest of the time it is nice – for the locals.
GPS 18.72274°N, 87.70294°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 31 - January 27, 2012 Xpu-ha

We woke up early to see the sunrise out our “bedroom” window, then promptly went back to sleep. It was very pretty, but much too early to rise and shine. Tobey woke again and noticed a “federales” truck parked next to us and the soldiers with their guns, so he went back to sleep. These are first we have seen in days. By the time we got up at 8, they were gone. Because this is such a nice beach we decided to stay another day.

It was very overcast this morning, but still warm so we took a nice long walk on the beach. There wasn’t much wind today and the air seemed much heavier. The clouds started to break up a bit this afternoon and we had patches of blue sky. It was hot enough, however, that we had to take a dip in the water in order to cool down. We have access to the cool water showers so we utilized those to get the salt water off.

We saw a couple with two little Chihuahuas. One of them wanted NO part of the water and stayed on their beach blanket. The other one wanted to be with his owners, but every time a wave came in, he scurried back to dryer territory. He finally made it out to where they were standing in ankle deep water and wanted to be picked up. You could tell the dog was saying, “Come on, would you, ? I came this far! PLEASE?!” When they didn’t pick him up, he raced back and joined the other one on the beach. It was pretty funny.

We have been careful not to get too much sun – don’t want to look like a boiled lobster. Yes, Mom, we are wearing sunscreen.

It started raining here about 6 tonight so we are watching for leaks, but it seems to be okay. Tomorrow we will head south to the Costa Maya area to check it out.
GPS 20.47185°N, 87.25854°W and still loving it!

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 30 - January 26, 2012 Xpu-ha

We thought we should check out the other RV park, Paa Mul, near us so we unloaded the scooter and headed back north about five miles. It was like a little village with lots of permanent palapas built around RVs and travel trailers and not many short-term rentals. The sandy beach area was really small and skirted on both ends with lots of rocks. While they offer full hook-ups, they also charge $40 USD per night and don’t even list their prices in pesos! We are really happy with our choice of Xpu-ha. The best thing about Paa Mul was seeing this iguana on the beach!

Seeing several new “tourist” adventures advertised along the road, we decided to see what they were. The first one is called XPLOR. It looked pretty cool – 14 zip lines – apparently one of them even has a water landing! It has underground swimming in caverns with stalactites and stalagmites and some kind of jeep drive underground. It was all-inclusive with food and drinks but neither of us really wanted to spend $109USD per person for the experience today!

The next one we checked out is called Rio Secreto and is a trip to a protected natural reserve. You swim in a cave with stalactites and stalagmites and they give you a buffet lunch. This one ran $69USD per person. We also picked up a brochure for Xel-Ha, which is a huge natural water experience. It has lagoons for snorkeling, tubes for floating, zip lines, and swimming with dolphins. Some of their activities are at an extra charge, but their entry of $79USD per person seemed fairly reasonable. We both wished our son, Tyler, was here – it would be fun to do some of these with him. We also think he would love to try the kite boarding. As it was, we opted to head back to our beach and relax
!
After lunch I had a siesta while Tobey was off to the beach again. He met a young couple, Ben and Lindsey, at the resort up the beach and had fun sharing “frugal” stories with them. In addition to her “day job,” Lindsay writes a blog, http://www.frugalandfabulous.org/. We walked back so I could meet them and they were really delightful.

Later this afternoon, the sky turned cloudy, and we had a brief shower lasting only a few minutes, but it was still great to be able to walk close to a mile with the waves lapping at our legs. The sky seems to be clearing – we’ll go out later to check out the stars. Last night we could see the lights from Cozumel in the distance across the water.
GPS 20.47185°N, 87.25854°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 29 - January 25 Moon Palace - Xpu-Ha

Today was a tough day of driving. Ha, ha. We left the Moon Palace and headed south to Xpu-Ha, 51 miles on a real easy road!

We are camped at Playa Xpu-Ha near the restaurant with no hookups and are still paying $200 pesos per night! (about $15USD). Their actual camping spots are full with long-term RVers, mostly Germans and Canadians.

We walked the beach and there are a couple small resorts both north and south of here, but it seems like there are more Europeans than Americans.

There have been lots of tour groups stopping here. They have scuba excursions, kite boarding, and massages on the beach. We had the best time watching these kite boarders – they really flew across the water. Some of them were really good and were doing flips!
We saw this dog when we got here and he only changed positions a couple times all afternoon to get more comfy! It’s a tough life.

At one point this afternoon, there were more than a dozen of these “explora Caribe” jeeps parked in the lot around us. Only a few tourists are still here this evening. There are apartments that are part of this complex with long-term visitors. 

GPS 20.47185°N, 87.25854°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 28 - January 24 Moon Palace Resort, Cancun

This morning we went to a presentation at the Moon Palace Resort where we own a timeshare. It has been almost five years since we have been here and we wanted to see what changes have been made. After the presentation, we were given two day passes to enjoy the resort and $300 spa credit. As always, Moon Palace did not disappoint!

We changed into swim suits and headed out to the beach. We only waited a few minutes before a sailboat was available, so Tobey was in heaven! We sailed about 45 minutes before heading back to shore. We did a little pool time before taking the Hobie cat out for another ride
.
We had a nice buffet lunch then headed out to the spa. Tobey had a deep tissue massage and I opted for a manicure and pedicure. Afterwards we both enjoyed the sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, and delightful showers. It is wonderful to be pampered.

 Changed for dinner, Tobey was craving sushi. Unfortunately it is low season and the sushi bar is not open. We were directed to one of the restaurants and Armando, the restaurant manager told us that it was “no problem” – they would make some special for Tobey. They brought out a HUGE plate of sushi for Tobey and I had a nice grilled fish in garlic butter. YUMMY for both of us. We were both full, but I was craving some flan. We stopped at the Mexican restaurant and got two to go.

The Palace Resorts runs specials from time to time, so if you are interested, let us know and we can hook you up.

It will be very hard to leave here tomorrow – I love this place and love the quality of service! Tobey reminds me that we have more places to go and things to see, so I guess I don’t have a choice! Until next time, Moon Palace, adios.
20.98792°N, 86.8302°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 27 - January 23 Merida - Cancun

Whit and Jan headed out this morning and we were not far behind. After heading south to get a roundabout to go north, we were on the ring-road highway around Merida by 9:30. It took about 30 minutes to circle the city and connect with MX180. MX180 divides and we took the cuota (toll road) to Cancun. The tolls were $712 pesos (almost $53!), but it was very smooth and hardly any traffic. Tobey was able to drive about 60mph. With a stop for lunch, we still arrived at the Moon Palace just south of Cancun at 2:45. Not bad, we traveled from Merida on the left of the map to to the top yellow spot on the right - 200 miles in 5 hours!

OUR MAP HAS BEEN REMOVED - BUMMER!


We have timeshare here and with the member services office’s permission are staying overnight in their parking lot. We will take a tour of the property tomorrow. In the meantime, we can relax and read.
 
GPS 20.98761°N, 86.83020°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 26 - January 22 Merida

We had a laid-back kind of day. We took the scooter into Centro to check out the city. There were lots of activities – entertainment for kids, food and craft booths, and later in the day music was scheduled.

The woman above is wearing a huipiles, a sack-like white cotton dress trimmed with gaily colored floral embroidery. Below is a view of the cathedral from the main plaza.

The Montejo family palace (below), on the south side of the square, was built in the 1550s. The Montejo family was the most powerful Spanish family and was responsible for much of the building of Merida after the defeat of the Mayan people. Today the building is a bank.

The Governor's Palace (the green building below) is on the northeast side of the square.

The architecture was very interesting.

The Cathedral

We saw lots of calesas, horse-drawn carriages, taking people for rides, but we opted to walk.

During the 1880s the number of wealthy people in the city grew as the demand for henequen grew. Henequen is a fiber produced from the sisal cactus and made into rope and twine. The millionaires turned Merida into the wealthiest capital city in Mexico. These are just a few of the houses that were built along “Millionaire Row” during the 1880s.

A wealthy Frenchman had his architects and workmen build the house on the right (below) with the help of Mayans. When it was completed, he instructed the Mayans to build a “Twin House” next door for his daughter. They seem to have accomplished the task! 

After some shopping at the local food Mercado and a stop at a super-grocery store for meat, we headed back to our camp. We passed this interesting Mayan-inspired roundabout. We spent the evening with new friends, Norma and Croft, and Whit and Jan.

GPS 21.04172°N, 89.63047°W

Mexico 2012 RV Trip - Day 25 - January 21 Celestun - Merida

We bid farewell to our wonderful Celestun beach parking and headed to Progreso and Merida.

We retraced our route to Uman, then headed north. When MX261 hits the ring road around Merida, it turns into an 8-lane superhighway. Northbound from Merida it is 10-lane!

Progreso is a beach resort town north of Merida. The water is very shallow and we read the city had built a pier that is supposed to be about 2 miles long to allow cruise ships to stop there. We weren’t allowed to go out, but it certainly looks long. It curves to the west when it gets out about a mile! After lunch on the beach then headed back to Merida.

We are camped at the Rainbow RV Park – the only one in Merida! When we arrived, Croft and Norma were here, along with another couple, Whit and Jan from California. They both know Johnna and Mimi, US expats living in Merida. 

 Johnna and Mimi joined us and we all went to dinner at a local restaurant then later went to one of the squares to see the free evening entertainment.
GPS 21.04172°N, 89.63047°W

Mexico RV Trip 2012 - Day 24, Jan. 20 Celestun

Today was paradise. We walked from the beach to the town square where we caught one of those funny little motorcycle taxis to the Celestun Docks for a flamingo tour. He had a flat tire about halfway there and kept going! $20 pesos later we were there.

The one hour tour of the Ria Celestun is $750 pesos (about $56 US) whether you have one person or eight in the boat. There was a young couple getting ready to buy their tickets so I asked if they wanted to make a group – yes! Half the cost $375 per couple – much better.

We left and headed out on the river. First thing we saw was a crocodile sunning itself on the shore.As we headed down the river we passed many pelicans and other birds.

It was amazing to see so many flamingos in one place. Migration in this area peaks between November and March and This is a prime destination for many of these birds. 

The babies (up to about a year old) are mostly white. They get their pink color from the shrimps they eat. 

We watched them for about a half hour before our boat trip took us through the mangroves.

https://youtu.be/i1CbrPmHU6w

Flamingos

We saw several types of birds and fish in the shallow water before heading back to the docks.

No taxis in sight so we walked back to town – about a mile. We checked out the restaurants for fish tacos, but no luck. Back to the RV for our leftovers from last night. Swim suit time, a walk along the beach, a cool drink, and relaxing! We put the awning out have been enjoying the sound of the waves and people watching.

While Celestun is not a major destination for most people, for us, seeing the flamingos and relaxing has been great. Another day in Paradise!

GPS 20.85798°N, 90.40228°W