Did we just visit Mexico?

Its just amazing how quickly time flies - it seems like yesterday that I was madly rushing about at work trying to get things finished ready for me to be away from work for three weeks. Im back at work now (yes, we are back in Australia). But, there is still a weeks worth of activities to cover, so If you are still interested in reading about our trip, read on.....

Up early. Though, admittedly, not as early as planned. I set my iPhone to wake us up at 6:30 as we were due to meet the tour group at 7:30 to ready ourselves for the MASSIVE trip ahead of us for the day. At 7am, Kylie nudged me and said 'What time are we supposed to be meeting them?' I quickly jumped up and it took me a while to work out what had happened. You see, as we were cruising, and my phone was set to update time automatically, and since we were almost in Cozumel, Mexico, the time on my phone had automatically switched. Despite the local time, the time on the cruise ship never changes. So, we madly rushed around getting ready and made our way to the meeting point. Our day consisted of the following;

1. Arrive in Port, 2. 45 minute ferry ride to Playa del Carmen, 3. 3 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza 4. 2 hours touring the ruins and then the same in return. It was about a 10 hour day. I was most concerned about the 45-minute ferry ride. I dont suffer from motion sickness - but Kylie does. So, even though we had to meet at 7:30, I made us late and made sure that we found the Drammamine (for motion sickness).

So, we arrived at the ferry and boarded. Very quickly, I was happy I had made the time to find the tablets.

I knew that when they were walking around armed with water and 'barf-bags' that the journey ahead was going to be pretty bad - and it was! The woman seated directly in front of me was heaving. The young child across the aisle was sick. And, a gentleman on the other aisle wanted the entire ground floor to know that he was heaving. Very quickly, the odor filled the cabin (well, according to my super-sensitive smell it did). Kylie popped the tab as we were leaving and she put her head on my shoulder and didn't move. And, she was fine. Phew! Though, the girl standing behind us in line was sick as we were exiting to boat. When we arrived, someone else that was on the tour described where they were sitting as a 'Barf-a-rama!' I think you get the drift.....

First leg over successful - now all we had was a three-hour bus ride ahead. Even though, I was tired, I couldnt sleep on the bus. Kylie, on the other hand, had no problem.

This was taken at the start of our journey.

This was about ten minutes later. It might have had something to do with the Drammamine. lol. She wasnt happy to see that I took this photo and she wont be happy that you all have now seen this picture either. But, it was the first of many photos that we took of each other sleeping. Dont worry - she got payback. We received our tickets and were VERY excited!!!

We arrived at the same time as about seven other buses and all of the tour guides said; 'When you arrive, use the bagno (toilet).' At times like this, I appreciate being male. Using the bagno is an easy affair - no waiting required. The amenities at the ruins were like grand central station at peak hour. There was pushing and shoving, people cutting-in lines - it was nuts!!!! We had been given headsets and a meeting point. So, after the three hour bus ride and after using the bagno, we were ready! Ready for what? For this......

We have to admit, that we really knew nothing about Mayan culture and history. We had a very informative tour guide (Patrizio) who schooled us on all things Mayan.

One thing about Patrizio - he had a headset and we had headphones. And, he never turned off his microphone. So, we heard him breathing in our ear the whole time. And, it was not pretty to listen to.

Here are some of the pics we took that day;

People still speak the Maya language. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "In the Mexican states of Yucatán, some parts of Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Quintana Roo, Maya remains many speakers' first language today, with approximately 800,000 to 1.2 million speakers." Interestingly, look what is also available in the Maya language;

It was stinking hot there. We were happy to get back on the Air Conditioned bus and the three hour bus ride home. And, then the 45-minute ferry ride home. And, then we were on-board and off again. 

Our stateroom attendant like to leave us with Towel origami.

Thanks for reading.....