September 2007 Mexico Trip

Back September 2007 Mexico Trip

by Greg Vandiver

Day 1 - The flight from Baltimore/Washington Intl. Airport to Cancun, Mexico was fairly smooth on U.S. Airways. I had redeemed a free flight with them, and only had to pay $65 U.S. for the taxes. By the way, I am alone on this trip. Once I arrived there, I caught an ADO bus to Playa del Carmen for $8 U.S.. I had a little time to kill before my next bus departed, so I decided to leave a deposit and the drawing of the next tattoo I would be getting, with Rene' Vanilla at Sacrificio Maya Tattoo. I made an appointment with him for 9-16-07 at 5:00 p.m.. I walked to Burger King for some lunch and then walked to the northernmost bus station in Playa, to catch the bus which would take me south to Chetumal. The 4 1/2 hour bus ride was $18 U.S.. As we approached the town of Limones, I started to see the devastation left behind by Hurricane Dean the previous month. There was a lot of damage from Limones to Chetumal. Once we arrived to the main bus station in Chetumal, I caught a taxi to the Holiday Inn Hotel for $1.50 U.S.. After I checked into my room and got a shower, I paid another taxi driver to take me 4 1/2 blocks to "Diaz Grill and Taqueria". The restaurant is at the corner of San Salvador and Heroes Avenue. I was pretty hungry, so I ordered a lot of food while there. I had 4 pork tacos, 4 steak tacos, and 3 Sol beers for $15.00 U.S.. I walked back to the hotel and got some sleep.

Day 2 - I awoke at 5:50 a.m. and walked to the small bus station, near the city market. At 6:10 a.m., I realized I was at the wrong bus station to catch the 6:30 a.m. bus to Xpuhil, and the next one was at 11:30 a.m.. I walked back to the hotel and decided to eat a good breakfast for the day, at the restaurant there for $11.50 U.S.. I paid a taxi driver to take me to the Maya Ruins of Oxtankah. The driver's name was Ricardo, and we talked along the way about the recent hurricane which hit there. We arrived to the ruin site, which is near the Bay of Chetumal, and I could see trees down everywhere. We talked to an older man there, which seemed to be a caretaker. He said the ruin site was closed for the next 2 months, due to the storm damage there. I waited until the manager arrived, and Ricardo told her that I only wanted to visit the site, or what I could, due to the downed trees. She finally gave in and allowed me to enter, but said I could only see the "Bee Plaza" and the Iglesia. I walked in and the site was small, but had some decent-looking structure. I was only there for about 20 minutes or so. I was not charged to enter the site, and told the manager I was grateful for her kindness.

We left there and stopped at the ranch of Nichpaatun. I told Ricardo I wanted to visit the Maya ruin site, of the same name. Ricardo said it was on private land, and the owners would not allow anyone inside. I told him I would pay him to talk to the owner, to see if he could convince him to let me visit the site. I even offered to pay the ranch owner, who was Maya, but he told Ricardo he could not do it. I guess there are even Maya people who can be stubborn at times. Ricardo took me back to the main bus station in Chetumal and charged me $30 U.S.. I thought it was rather expensive, but I would have paid that for seeing the Maya Ruins of Nichpaatun alone, so no harm done I suppose. I bought a ADO bus ticket to Xpuhil for $7.40 U.S. and caught the 11:30 a.m. bus which would take me there. The 2 hour bus trip was nice. I listened to my Ipod along the way and took in the scenery. We went through a military checkpoint and a soldier boarded the bus for checking everyone's luggage and such. He asked me what my Ipod Shuffle was. I guess he had never seen one which was so small. I told him it was for listening to music. I took him to be a person with an attitude, for he walked around the bus like he was big stuff or something. I simply allowed him to be as he wanted, while knowing inside what I could do to him if I chose to do so, since he was so small. We arrived at Xpuhil at 1:20 p.m. and I immediately hired a taxi to take me to some Maya ruin sites in the area.

The driver's name was Vicente. He said he would take me to 4 sites nearby, for $35 U.S.. I told him I would pay him and we were off. We first went to the Maya Ruins of Chicana'. It was raining along the way, but had stopped once we arrived to the site. I paid $3.40 U.S. to enter the site, as Vicente stayed with the car. I visited the site for about 25 minutes and took a few photos while there. It was a very nice site. After we left there, Vicente took me down the road a few miles to visit the Maya Ruins of Becan. I payed the $3.70 U.S. to enter the site and Vicente waited for me out front. I stayed there for 20 minutes or so, and took a few photos while there. I had originally asked Vicente to take me to the Maya Ruins of Rio Bec, but asked him instead if he could take me to another site, which was reached by a very rough road. Most people tell of how inaccessible this particular site is, and that one should have a 4 wheel drive truck, to go there. It is advertised to be seen or visited, by only true Maya enthusiasts. I guess I fit that description. Vicente said he could take me there for another $25 U.S. in his Nissan Sentra car, and we were off to visit the Maya Ruins of Hormiguero.

We stopped at a small store along the way, and I bought Vicente and myself some gatorade, granola bars, and some Japanese peanuts for lunch. I must say, those peanuts were rather strange, for they had a hard coating on them of some sort. The road to Hormiguero was not so bad, as other people say, in my opinion anyway. Heck, I would probably ride my Harley there, and might I add that I think a lot of my motorcycle too. Once we arrived there to the entrance, I saw 4 black howler monkeys eating, up in the trees. I took some photos of them while they looked at me. I entered the site at 4:00 p.m. and was the only person that day to sign the visitor registry. The caretaker there allowed me to enter the site for free, for some reason. Once inside the site, I saw how beautiful it was. I think everyone who is visiting the area, should go to this site, no matter how remote it is and fairly inaccessible it is known to be. I took some photos of the site, and had a spider monkey shake some branches at me, while he was up in a tree eating. I guess he was trying to scare me away. I only laughed at the monkey and he decided to go elsewhere.

We left the site there at 4:30 p.m. and went to the Maya Ruins of Xpuhil, near town. We arrived to the site at 4:48 p.m., and I asked the caretaker there if I could visit the site, knowing that they would close at 5:00 p.m.. He allowed me to do so, and told me I could have 30 minutes if needed, to visit the site. I paid the $3.40 U.S. entry fee and hurried to the main structure there. I walked around behind the structure and scared away 8 ocellated turkeys. I did not get a photo of them, for they were into the woods before I could get my camera ready. I took a few photos there and came back out of the site after 23 minutes had passed. I thanked the man there and Vicente took me into town. I told him I did not have a hotel room for the night, and asked him to take me to the Hotel Calakmul. He asked me if I needed transportation for the following day, and I told him that I did. He said he would take me to 2 sites the next day, and would be in front of the hotel at 6:30 a.m., for $80 U.S.. I told him I would pay him $70 U.S., and he did not want to negotiate any. After we argued for a short while, I decided to pay it anyway. I don't have time for arguing about money, when I am on a short trip as this. I paid for a room and it was $47 U.S.. I thought the room was a little expensive, but did not care, for all I wanted to do was take a cold shower and rest my legs. I turned on the air conditioner in the room and it sounded as if the compressor was having trouble starting. Finally, the compressor kicked in and it sounded like a diesel engine running. It would cycle on and off, and not due to the fact the temperature was satisfied in my room. Also, the tv did not work either.

I took myself a cool shower and decided to walk to town. It was only about 1/4 mile to the main part of town, from the hotel. I found an internet cafe which was absolutely terrible. I tried to get online with 2 different computers there. The lady did not even charge me for attempting to access my hotmail account, for sending an email to my travel buddies. I was getting hungry, so decided to eat at a restaurant called "Genesis". The steak fajitas I ordered were pretty good. I also had 4 Estrella beers with my meal. My bill was $9.70 U.S.. I left there and bought some snacks for a makeshift breakfast the next morning, at a supermarket, along the way to the hotel. Once back at the hotel room, I could see that my air conditioner was working better. The outside temperature was a little cooler, and the compressor discharge pressure had probably lowered. I could probably have fixed the air conditioner by cleaning the condenser with some water, but I was on vacation, not at work. I got some much needed sleep.

Day 3 - I awoke at 4:45 a.m., raring to go for the day. I checked out of the hotel at 6:23 a.m. and Vicente was waiting for me in front of the hotel. He was to take me to a couple of sites on this day, and I was pretty excited too. We headed west on hwy. 186 and turned left near the 98 km. marker, alongside the road. We had to stop at a gate, which was the entrance of a park, and I had to pay $4 U.S. just to enter. After the gatekeeper allowed us into the park, we had a pleasant 36 mile ride, down mostly a one lane road. Along the way, there were many animals to see. We saw 35 ocellated turkeys, 1 bird called a chachalaca, and 1 large bird called a hocofaisan which was very beautiful. All of them were standing near or in the road, as we entered the incredible ruins site. The site, which is probably the largest in the Maya World, was also known to be the military powerhouse of the area in it's heyday. Nearly all of the other cities in the area, were subordinates to them, at one time. The site also boasts to have the largest pyramid, but not the highest, in the Yucatan Peninsula. The site was none other than the "Snake Kingdom" of Calakmul. I paid the $3.70 U.S. entrance fee, and to my astonishment, only saw 2 other tourists at the site while I was there. I enjoyed the rather large site for 2 1/2 hours, and saw some very nice structure, of which I took some photos of. I found some polychromed pottery shards there at the tallest pyramid. Also, I did see only 1 spider monkey at the site, of which I did not take any photos of.

There seemed to be a lot of excavating going on there, in a part of the site which they had fenced off. I walked out of the site and there was Vicente waiting for me, near the car. He said there was a Polish couple, which had asked for a ride, and wanted to be dropped off at the campsite near the entrance to the park. I told him there was plenty of room for all of us in his car, and they rode along for the ride back towards the main road. By the way, I did see a tarantula cross the road in front of us, as we drove. We dropped off the Polish couple at the campsite, and continued to head out of the park. We headed west on hwy. 186, and turned right, at the km. marker 96. We were to visit the Maya Ruins of Balamku. I paid the $2.70 U.S. entrance fee, and Vicente actually went in with me, and did so for free. The mosquitoes were in full force at this particular site, and thankfully I had my deet insect repellant with me. I sprayed down really well and offered Vicente some, but he refused. The mosquitoes bothered him the whole time we were there too. At the main structure there, they have a beautiful stucco relief or carving, of which they will not allow you to take any flash photos of. I believe anyone who comes to Calakmul should see this site also, for it was very nice and not far down the road, from the entrance to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

Once we left the site, we stopped at Restaurant La Selva for lunch. They had no working water in the bathroom, so I had to wash my hands in a bowl of purified water, which the waitress had poured for me. Vicente and myself had 2 carne asado dishes and also 2 coca colas, with our meal. The bill was only $9.85 U.S.. We rode back to Xpuhil, and I paid Vicente his money, when he dropped me off at the bus station. I bought a bus ticket to Chetumal on SUR bus line, and paid $5.50 U.S. for the second class bus ride. Thankfully, it had air conditioning, and was comfortable enough for the 2 hour ride. Once we arrived to the main bus terminal in Chetumal, I hired a taxi to take me back to the Holiday Inn Hotel. I checked back into the same room, I had 2 days previously. I watched a movie on tv and did some laundry in the sink with some small Tide liquid detergent packs. I went out to the entrance of the hotel, after taking a nice shower, and caught a taxi to a restaurant. I told the driver I wanted to go to an expensive Mexican restaurant nearby, for some good food. He took me to a western style Mexican restaurant called "Foras Eros". The restaurant waiters dressed in a western cowboy attire. They also had a deer head on the wall, of which when you pressed a button, would play the song "Rawhide". I was very hungry and ordered a dish, which was advertised to be for 2 persons, called "Parrillada Grill". The dish consisted of carne de res, puerco, pastor, chorizo, chuleta, guacamole, cebolla asada, and queso fundido. I also had 6 Sol beers, of which one was a Sol light. The food was great and I was very full. My bill was $30.10 U.S. for everything. Afterwards, I caught a taxi back to the hotel, watched the movie DareDevil on tv, and caught up on my notes for the day.

Day 4 - I slept late and caught a taxi to the main bus terminal in Chetumal. Once there, I decided to eat at a restaurant stall across the road, which had no name. I ordered 4 pork tacos and had some orange juice for $3.20 U.S.. Once at the bus station ticket office, I paid $18.00 U.S. for a one way 1st class ADO bus ticket to Playa del Carmen. A gentleman named Jerry sat beside me on the bus, who was originally from Louisiana, but had lived the past 6 years in southern Belize. He lived there in a small Maya village. Jerry was going home to visit his family in the U.S., and we talked a good bit along the way, for the 4 1/2 hour bus ride. He was 55 years old and was a nice man. We shared stories of our past travels, to different places. I also finished a great book called "Maya Archaeologist" by J. Eric S. Thompson along the way. Once we arrived into Playa del Carmen, I took a taxi to the Holiday inn Express. I had booked a room there for the next 2 nights, with my Priority Club points, as I did in Chetumal. After I checked into my room and left my backpack there, I decided to walk into town for at least 1/2 mile, to the south end of town. I saw a Sol Girl there in front of a convenience store, which was promoting beer sales there. I asked if I could take her picture, and she wanted me to be in the photo too. She was pretty and was advertising my favorite beer, so what the heck. Her name was Juliana. I walked to a McDonalds for a change in my diet. I bought a double big mac meal, and it was $7.40 U.S..

I decided to walk to a sports bar on 5th Avenue, named "The Tequila Barrell". The bar always shows college football games on it's tvs, when they are on. I watched Alabama and Arkansas on one tv, while 3 honeymoon couples watched Kentucky and Louisville play, on another tv. I had 6 Montejo beers at $3 U.S. each while there. Afterwards, I decided to walk to the central plaza in the city, for the fireworks show. It was "Gran Noche Mexicana" in Mexico on this night. In other words, it was basically the night before the Mexican Independence Day. I walked back to the Holiday Inn Express, and it was a long and very dark walk too, so one should be prepared if considering doing so, as I did.

Day 5 - I awoke late and ate a good breakfast at the hotel. I walked to town and bought a one-way ADO bus ticket to Tulum for $3.40 U.S.. Once I arrived into Tulum at the bus station, I searched for the restaurant which sells good barbecue chicken nearby, which I have heard about. I never found it. I asked around and nobody knew what I was referring to. I talked with a taxi driver, and asked him how much he would charge for taking me to the Maya Ruins of Chunyaxche, wait for me, and bring me back to Tulum. The middle-aged man was named Jose, and he agreed to take me there for $25 U.S.. There is nothing like having a Maya taxi driver to take you to see some Maya ruins, in my book anyway. He also spoke the dialect of Yucatec Mayan. Once we arrived to the site, he walked in with me. The site was small, but El Castillo was very nicely renovated. It was nicer than I had expected. As we were walking out of the site, I paid the $2.50 U.S. for entering the site, due to the fact the caretaker there, was sleeping as we walked in. Jose said he wanted to show me the lagoon there, which is in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. As he drove down a dirt road which was the entrance to the lagoon, he stopped to show me a carving in a limestone rock embankment on the left side of the road. I took some photos of it and we headed back to Tulum. Jose dropped me off at the bus station and I paid him the $25 U.S., which I owed him. I then bought the next available ADO bus ticket to Playa del Carmen, for another $3.40 U.S., and it was to depart in 10 minutes.

Once the bus arrived into Playa, I walked west on Benito Juarez Avenue to 20th Avenue. At the right corner of the intersection, there are 2 restaurants which seem to be very popular with the local people. The restaurant I tried was called "Fonda Yucateca". They mainly served pollo asado, but they had a few other dishes too, such as soup. Everyone stared at me as usual, for being there. I noticed the cook there had a large grill and watched him take 18 whole chickens off, while in return, put 18 more on the grill to be cooked. They had a lot of business there it seemed. I ordered a whole grilled chicken, which was accompanied by rice, beans, corn tortillas, onions, and Maya salsa. With my meal, I had a Mirinda orange soda, and also a glass of horchata. My bill was $9 U.S.. I was very full when I left there, and decided I needed to go for a walk. I stopped at a small painting shop on 14th street, between 5th and 10th Avenue. The owner and painter, named Jaime Fierro, invited me inside to look through his paintings. He was originally from Chile, and he was as good as any painter I had ever seen in my lifetime. He gave me the link to his website, for I wanted to visit it to see the photos of his wonderful paintings. His paintings were mostly of Maya warriors.

I left the paint shop and walked over to Rene' Vanilla's Sacrificio Maya Tattoo shop, beside Mambo Cafe, and he was there waiting for me as planned. I was to get a large tattoo on my back, of my birth date in Maya Long Count. After 3 hours of sheer misery, he was finally finished. I paid him the $500 U.S. for the awesome tattoo, and told him it was good to see him again. I walked back to the hotel and took a shower to wash off the excess ink and blood, which was on my back from the tattoo. I watched some tv and got some rest, for the trip home the following day.

This trip did not cost very much. Since I had redeemed a free flight with U.S. Airways and 4 free nights hotel with my Priority Club points for Holiday Inn, the roundtrip airfare to Cancun, and the 5 nights hotel, totaled $112 U.S.. Now that is a budget trip!