A lot of kids signed up to come to the meetings to get more information about the program but we were a little apprehensive about whether or not kids would show up..we thought we might be sitting alone at the red cross again. We went on Tuesday prepared and hoping for some kids would show. Four girls came from the high school and we talked a lot about the team of US volunteers (called TEAMM USA, Teenagers Educating about AIDS in Merida, Mexico) and the team in Komchen (TEAMM YUC) and if they would be interested in doing more activities with Brazos Abiertos in the future. They all seemed excited about going foreward and we talked about how to keep in touch with them to let them know when TEAMM US was going to be coming in June and what the plans are. After talking a little bit about the mission of Brazos Abiertos and TEAMM we did name game and a condom game. We didn't have a lot of time left in the meeting so I told them they could choose one game and save the other for next week or we could do both if they wanted. We ended up staying an extra half hour with them because they wanted to hang out and do more activities. Hopefully we will see them next week!
On Wednesday morning we woke up at 5am and took the first ferry over to Cancun in order to catch the 7:30 bus to Mahahual. The bus was ride was about 5.5 hours long, but it was a direct route so we didn't have to change buses and we could rest a little without worrying about missing a stop. Our trip ended up being about 6 hours because our bus kept dying and we would have to stop in the middle of the road for a while to let it rejuvenate. We finally got there around 1:45 and started our search for Marie and Diane. We walked up and down the beach for about an hour asking the waiters if they had seen one woman with very long blond hair and another one with very big red hair, Diane has extremely long blond hair and Marie said she was going to wear it down so we could see her big red hair from far away. After about an our of no luck we got a phone call from Fabian, who worked at the jewelery store at the cruise ship dock, telling us to meet the ladies at the Hard Rock cafe to receive our "fake ID's" for the cruise dock. As it turns out we were 3 KM away from where they were and even if we had found the right place, we couldn't have gotten in because we weren't apart of the cruise. Thankfully, Fabian coordinated a plan to get us in a Diane's long time friends Faith and Jim lent us their badges so we could get in.
We we were able to spend a couple hours with Marie and Diane and hear about the cruise and everything that was going on at home. Marie even brought my rain jacket that I have been sorely missing. Eventually they had to get back on the ship and continue on, but it was so good to see them and I still am amazed that it worked out.
We had originally planned on staying at this place on the beach that has palapas that you can stay in for around $25 a night, so after dinner we found a taxi to take us there. Even though the place was only about 6km away it took us almost half an hour to get there because the road was so bad and the darker it got the harder it was for the taxi driver to maneuver the car around the giant potholes in the gravel road. When we left the sun had just begun to set and by the time we reached the camping place it was pitch dark. Even though the ride was long and bumpy the driver told us all about the town and its history.
The actual town of Mahahual is not actually on the beach but when the cruise ship dock was built, restaurants and shops began popping up on beach that is close to Mahahual (there is still a lot of undeveloped land in between the pueblo and where the cruise ships dock). On the days when there are no cruise ships most of these places are closed because they are mostly staffed and run by people who live farther away and only come in when there are cruise ships. When there are no cruise ships the town and the beach is very quiet. He said that normally there are only about 500 people in and around Mahahual but on days when there are cruise ships the number of people jumps to 15-20 thousand people because there are so many tourists and there are a large number of people who come from other towns to work in the restaurants and shops. The set up of the town is a little strange because there is so much land in between the port and the the original pueblo and the beach and port are completely closed on days when there are no ships coming in. In fact most people on cruises do not know they are even in Mahahual because it is commonly referred to as "Costa Maya".
Anyway, back to the taxi ride...When we arrived at the place we wanted to stay the taxi driver rolled down the window and yelled out "Jorge! Jorge! ¿Tienes palapas esta noche?" (Jorge, do you have palapas tonight?) and Jorge yelled back to us from his house "Lo siento, no tengo nada" (I am sorry I don't have anything). So, the taxi driver turned around and took us to the first place that had a vacancy sign, Balam Ku. Luckily we were catching the owners as they were going out for dinner. Also, if i remember correctly from their website they have a 3 night minimum stay but they had no problem with us just staying one night.
Balam Ku was a good place to stay for the first night we were there because we definitely needed a warm shower and comfy bed after the crazy day of travel, but it was a little out of our price range to we moved on the Travel In' for our second night in Mahahual. It was a little more rustic and more our style, plus they have a yummy restaurant. The restaurant is their main business and they do not really even advertise that they have 2 rooms in a palapa for rent, they are just there for the weary and "in the know" travelers..Honestly though, we would go back to Mahahual just to stay at the Travel In' and eat at their restaurant. They were so welcoming and the atmosphere was great.
The highlight of our stay at the Travel in' was definitely the food! We had the best meal since we have been in Mexico. We wished we had known about it the night before so we could have taken advantage of the Wednesday Tapas Night...Just means we will have to visit again.
We talked with Justa about getting back into town the next day and she told us there was a bus that comes around 5:45 or 6:00 am that would take us to Limones where we could then catch a bus to Tulum, our next destination.
I am all computered out for today and do not have any more energy to write about Tulum but here are some pictures for you to drool over.
The two pictures are stolen from the internet! Unfortunately we do not have pictures from our favorite day of being in Tulum...we went snorkeling in Casa Cenote, it is surrounded by mangroves and is right on the ocean. We saw a lot of fish, including barracudas!! We swam through the mangrove channel and then climbed out on some rocks to take a rest for a little...it was so hard to get back in the cold water once we got out, but during our swim back through the mangroves the sun was shining right into the cenote and we were able to see a lot more.
Tulum Ruins:
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