austxdan
25th June 2007, 06:27 AM
Day 1 - May 19, 2007
Chris and I are up at 3:30, to shower, eat breakfast, and get to the airport by 5:30. From Austin you need to head north to DFW first when flying American Airlines.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1248/528370020_fae045de5a.jpg
Figure 2 - Our trip begins
After a short layover in Dallas we are airborne and on the way to Cancun. This is where the adventure begins. Seating on the leg from Austin to DFW is critical. You want to be up front so you can race out of the plane, knocking others aside, and get to your connecting flight. Seating on the second leg is not as important. There is no such thing as getting through the Cancun airport quickly, so just take your time.
We had just settled into our seats in row 23 or so when some young family comes strolling down the aisle towards the back. Instantly Chris turns to me and we both make an "icky face" at the odor that has wafted by. Somebody needed a shower this morning! Whew - at least it was starting to diminish. We had turned back to our in flight mags when the previously mentioned dad slides into the window seat next to the couple seated in the row in front of us. It was fairly easy (although painful) to pinpoint the origin of the previous B.O. source. GAH! Was he going to sit there the entire trip? The look on the faces of the couple in front of us made me think the gal was gonna use the plastic lined bag. This was going to be a verrrrrrry long flight.
As the captain was giving us the standard "captain speech" in the standard "captain voice" and the flights attendants told us to sit for what seemed like the 5th time, "stinky guy" realizes that there is room in the back to sit with his family. Our prayers answered, he gets up and heads to the back, appropriately seated near the bathroom.
The flight itself was uneventful. We had smooth sailing, and even had a fairly quick breeze through the customs line at Cancun. But since we had to check a bag this year (unlike "stinky guy" we tend to pack things like deodorant and other liquid hygiene products) we had to wait for our bag before turning around and heading to customs. The customs line was a nightmare, but we were on the ground in Mexico! Hence, I took a deep breath and smiled at my lovely bride. After about 30 seconds a gal opened a new customs line and we shot right in. I said a quick prayer before pushing the green button (maybe I was just praying "verde") and bingo we were through the sliding doors.
As we exited the airport we saw the large sign from Caribbean Car Rental with my name on it. We were taken to a van and driven to the office in Cancun to pick up our car. I paid up front with a combination of travelers checks and some pesos left from last year, although they do take an imprint of your credit card for any damages you may incur. More on that toward the end of the trip ;-(
Our car was some sort of Volkswagen. Smaller than a Jetta, it was called a derby? Or maybe it was called an M1 because I saw other cars with the derby designation on it. Whatever, let's just call it a VW. When we get outside the guy shows me all the dents and dings currently in the car, so that I wouldn't be responsible for them. He was good, pointing out things that I would not have even seen. OK, maybe I would have seen this one:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/528753418_1a72c94c0e.jpg
Figure 3 - Doh! Not my fault
And the kicker is that the car currently contained about 1/8th of a tank of gas. So very early on I would have to deal with Pemex. In fact, we pull out onto 307 and about a quarter mile later there is a Pemex station on the right. How convenient. I get out and tell the woman "dos cientos pesos verde" to get the cheap gas. But there would be no swapping out my 200 peso note for a 20 this time. I held two 100 peso notes out instead. Score! We headed back out south on 307.
This was our first major car rental trip in Mexico. In the past we have rented for a day or so either in Tulum or on Cozumel. Driving is fine in Mexico, you just have a few things to deal with you don't see too often in the US. Things like police checkpoints on the highways where the cops carry AK-47's or Uzi's. You learn to keep your hands in plain sight, smile, and drive past slowly. And you learn to drive on the shoulder, so that locals, taxi's, and even buses can fly past you at amazing speeds.
It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Tulum pueblo. The first stop was the HSBC ATM machine to get another load o' pesos out. Since we were famished we decided to head up to Don Cafetos for a bite to eat (and a cold beer). This was our first stop last year, so why not keep the tradition alive. On the way up there was a vendor on the corner of the street selling various necklaces and trinkets. We waved and gave him a "maybe later gracias" in my broken span-glish. Then we stopped into Don Cafeto's for lunch - at about 2:30. It was hot out and I was happy to have my first SOL of the trip in my hand. Chris ordered the chicken enchiladas and commented that the chicken had absolutely zero flavor. So of course I had to try some. Yup - no flavor here. I ordered the chile relleno. My lunch was quite tasty indeed. On the way back to the car we stopped at the little corner vendor again. I spotted a nice cross that looked like it was made from a couple of black sticks. "Ees coral" I was told by the vendor guy. So after an intense negotiation session, I scored me a nice cross. "Ees coral" I like to tell folks. We get back in the car and soon we were on the beach road and pulling into Tita Tulum.
We flagged down a guy at the restaurant and told him we were checking into "numero cinco", as I was flexing my knowledge of the local language. He gave us a key on a big honkin' keychain and we were on our own. It's a little tricky lugging a big wheeled duffel across the sand, or rather carrying it. But soon we were "in" our cabana for the next 8 days. We had arrived!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/528371052_a65c1a6e56.jpg
Figure 4 - Bienvenidos
After checking out our accommodations, and taking much needed pictures for this here trip report, we decided to change into our suits and trek on up the beach to Cabanas Tulum to hook up with Susy and Tim. I met Susy last year on the LogoGringo travel board (http://www.locogringo.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=2), and spent some time with she and her husband Tim while running back and forth to Akumal looking for my camera. They are great folks, and I promised we'd visit with them in Tulum on this trip. They had arrived on the 15th and were leaving to head up to Akumal on Monday. So although we had just gotten in, we wanted to head up to meet them at CT. Besides, Susy makes a great margarita!
So we dug into our bag to get our suits from the spacious closet in Cabana #5
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/528464095_cdd0104817.jpg
Figure 5 - Closet for #5
And proceeded to head north on the beach to go visit Susy and Tim.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/528479329_fc88e50e67.jpg
Figure 6 - North from TT
It was about a 20 minute walk up to Cabanas Tulum where we found Susy outside on a lawn chair, said our hello's, hugs, etc and went up to their room to find Tim. He was a little under the weather, but nothing that a couple of margaritas couldn't cure.
So we visited with them for a little while, or a couple of 'ritas, whichever came first. Finally we decided to head back down to Tita's to get ready for dinner. We were going to head up to Zamas to meet another couple I had met on the travel boards. Joelle and Adam were on a belated honeymoon, and world tour. After flying "across the pond" from the UK, and visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles, they had arrived in Tulum earlier in the week. We were going to have drinks and/or dinner with them to meet and finalize some plans to carpool out to the Coba ruins and Punta Laguna monkey reserve later in the week.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1092/528594553_345cca1012.jpg
Figure 7 - Joelle and Adam
After changing back out of our suits (we hadn't even gotten wet yet) we hopped in our trusty VW steed and motored on up the beach road to meet Jo and Adam.
We found a nice table at Zamas, as it was still early even by Tulum standards. I noticed right away that Zamas didn't have the stage set up for a band! !Chispas! Had they stopped having live music here?, that was one of the things I loved about the place from last year. That, and their food was light years better than Copal, but I digress. ;)
We enjoyed meeting with Jo and Adam. Chris had the black bean enchiladas, and I opted for the Capriciatto pizza. We split a large bottle of water four ways, as it had become apparent that we had not drank nearly enough water since . . . oh, all day. Oh, and there were margaritas involved here as well ;-) We finalized our plans for Monday morning, and then each went our separate ways. Jo and Adam were now staying at Cabanas La Conchita just north of Zamas, and Chris and I headed back to Tita's for the evening. After all, tomorrow was our anniversary and we would need our rest!
Chris and I are up at 3:30, to shower, eat breakfast, and get to the airport by 5:30. From Austin you need to head north to DFW first when flying American Airlines.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1248/528370020_fae045de5a.jpg
Figure 2 - Our trip begins
After a short layover in Dallas we are airborne and on the way to Cancun. This is where the adventure begins. Seating on the leg from Austin to DFW is critical. You want to be up front so you can race out of the plane, knocking others aside, and get to your connecting flight. Seating on the second leg is not as important. There is no such thing as getting through the Cancun airport quickly, so just take your time.
We had just settled into our seats in row 23 or so when some young family comes strolling down the aisle towards the back. Instantly Chris turns to me and we both make an "icky face" at the odor that has wafted by. Somebody needed a shower this morning! Whew - at least it was starting to diminish. We had turned back to our in flight mags when the previously mentioned dad slides into the window seat next to the couple seated in the row in front of us. It was fairly easy (although painful) to pinpoint the origin of the previous B.O. source. GAH! Was he going to sit there the entire trip? The look on the faces of the couple in front of us made me think the gal was gonna use the plastic lined bag. This was going to be a verrrrrrry long flight.
As the captain was giving us the standard "captain speech" in the standard "captain voice" and the flights attendants told us to sit for what seemed like the 5th time, "stinky guy" realizes that there is room in the back to sit with his family. Our prayers answered, he gets up and heads to the back, appropriately seated near the bathroom.
The flight itself was uneventful. We had smooth sailing, and even had a fairly quick breeze through the customs line at Cancun. But since we had to check a bag this year (unlike "stinky guy" we tend to pack things like deodorant and other liquid hygiene products) we had to wait for our bag before turning around and heading to customs. The customs line was a nightmare, but we were on the ground in Mexico! Hence, I took a deep breath and smiled at my lovely bride. After about 30 seconds a gal opened a new customs line and we shot right in. I said a quick prayer before pushing the green button (maybe I was just praying "verde") and bingo we were through the sliding doors.
As we exited the airport we saw the large sign from Caribbean Car Rental with my name on it. We were taken to a van and driven to the office in Cancun to pick up our car. I paid up front with a combination of travelers checks and some pesos left from last year, although they do take an imprint of your credit card for any damages you may incur. More on that toward the end of the trip ;-(
Our car was some sort of Volkswagen. Smaller than a Jetta, it was called a derby? Or maybe it was called an M1 because I saw other cars with the derby designation on it. Whatever, let's just call it a VW. When we get outside the guy shows me all the dents and dings currently in the car, so that I wouldn't be responsible for them. He was good, pointing out things that I would not have even seen. OK, maybe I would have seen this one:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/528753418_1a72c94c0e.jpg
Figure 3 - Doh! Not my fault
And the kicker is that the car currently contained about 1/8th of a tank of gas. So very early on I would have to deal with Pemex. In fact, we pull out onto 307 and about a quarter mile later there is a Pemex station on the right. How convenient. I get out and tell the woman "dos cientos pesos verde" to get the cheap gas. But there would be no swapping out my 200 peso note for a 20 this time. I held two 100 peso notes out instead. Score! We headed back out south on 307.
This was our first major car rental trip in Mexico. In the past we have rented for a day or so either in Tulum or on Cozumel. Driving is fine in Mexico, you just have a few things to deal with you don't see too often in the US. Things like police checkpoints on the highways where the cops carry AK-47's or Uzi's. You learn to keep your hands in plain sight, smile, and drive past slowly. And you learn to drive on the shoulder, so that locals, taxi's, and even buses can fly past you at amazing speeds.
It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Tulum pueblo. The first stop was the HSBC ATM machine to get another load o' pesos out. Since we were famished we decided to head up to Don Cafetos for a bite to eat (and a cold beer). This was our first stop last year, so why not keep the tradition alive. On the way up there was a vendor on the corner of the street selling various necklaces and trinkets. We waved and gave him a "maybe later gracias" in my broken span-glish. Then we stopped into Don Cafeto's for lunch - at about 2:30. It was hot out and I was happy to have my first SOL of the trip in my hand. Chris ordered the chicken enchiladas and commented that the chicken had absolutely zero flavor. So of course I had to try some. Yup - no flavor here. I ordered the chile relleno. My lunch was quite tasty indeed. On the way back to the car we stopped at the little corner vendor again. I spotted a nice cross that looked like it was made from a couple of black sticks. "Ees coral" I was told by the vendor guy. So after an intense negotiation session, I scored me a nice cross. "Ees coral" I like to tell folks. We get back in the car and soon we were on the beach road and pulling into Tita Tulum.
We flagged down a guy at the restaurant and told him we were checking into "numero cinco", as I was flexing my knowledge of the local language. He gave us a key on a big honkin' keychain and we were on our own. It's a little tricky lugging a big wheeled duffel across the sand, or rather carrying it. But soon we were "in" our cabana for the next 8 days. We had arrived!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/528371052_a65c1a6e56.jpg
Figure 4 - Bienvenidos
After checking out our accommodations, and taking much needed pictures for this here trip report, we decided to change into our suits and trek on up the beach to Cabanas Tulum to hook up with Susy and Tim. I met Susy last year on the LogoGringo travel board (http://www.locogringo.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=2), and spent some time with she and her husband Tim while running back and forth to Akumal looking for my camera. They are great folks, and I promised we'd visit with them in Tulum on this trip. They had arrived on the 15th and were leaving to head up to Akumal on Monday. So although we had just gotten in, we wanted to head up to meet them at CT. Besides, Susy makes a great margarita!
So we dug into our bag to get our suits from the spacious closet in Cabana #5
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/528464095_cdd0104817.jpg
Figure 5 - Closet for #5
And proceeded to head north on the beach to go visit Susy and Tim.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/528479329_fc88e50e67.jpg
Figure 6 - North from TT
It was about a 20 minute walk up to Cabanas Tulum where we found Susy outside on a lawn chair, said our hello's, hugs, etc and went up to their room to find Tim. He was a little under the weather, but nothing that a couple of margaritas couldn't cure.
So we visited with them for a little while, or a couple of 'ritas, whichever came first. Finally we decided to head back down to Tita's to get ready for dinner. We were going to head up to Zamas to meet another couple I had met on the travel boards. Joelle and Adam were on a belated honeymoon, and world tour. After flying "across the pond" from the UK, and visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles, they had arrived in Tulum earlier in the week. We were going to have drinks and/or dinner with them to meet and finalize some plans to carpool out to the Coba ruins and Punta Laguna monkey reserve later in the week.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1092/528594553_345cca1012.jpg
Figure 7 - Joelle and Adam
After changing back out of our suits (we hadn't even gotten wet yet) we hopped in our trusty VW steed and motored on up the beach road to meet Jo and Adam.
We found a nice table at Zamas, as it was still early even by Tulum standards. I noticed right away that Zamas didn't have the stage set up for a band! !Chispas! Had they stopped having live music here?, that was one of the things I loved about the place from last year. That, and their food was light years better than Copal, but I digress. ;)
We enjoyed meeting with Jo and Adam. Chris had the black bean enchiladas, and I opted for the Capriciatto pizza. We split a large bottle of water four ways, as it had become apparent that we had not drank nearly enough water since . . . oh, all day. Oh, and there were margaritas involved here as well ;-) We finalized our plans for Monday morning, and then each went our separate ways. Jo and Adam were now staying at Cabanas La Conchita just north of Zamas, and Chris and I headed back to Tita's for the evening. After all, tomorrow was our anniversary and we would need our rest!