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Read Zihuatanejo or San Miguel de Allende
Dec 14 2014 - Jan 3 2015
This was the year to
return to two countries, Mexico and Cuba, that we had enjoyed in previous years.
December in Mexico proved to be first of all nostalgic and then time for a
family Christmas.
We flew to Cancun in
mid-December booked into a timeshare condo on Cancun Beach. Hotel Club Regina
was just a short distance up the beach from Club Med, where we celebrated joint
25th wedding anniversaries with Ray’s siblings, Richard, Jack and
Carolyn, and their spouses, 24 years ago. Three of us had been married in the
1965, and Jack and Jenni just two years later. We thought it was amazing we were
all celebrating 25 years of marriage and didn’t anticipate planning a joint 50th
anniversary next spring. We managed a
small tour of the beachside facilities and confirmed that Club Med looked a bit
expanded but almost the same as we remembered. The surf was high in front of
hotel Club Regina and the Club Med beach included a more protected section at
the end of the beach. The beaches in Mexico are mostly public property so nearly
every day we walked over to Club Med and swam in front of the resort. Nobody
minded.
The town of Cancun has
grown exponentially beyond the village it was back in 1990. It proved much too
busy and commercial for our liking. We did find a large, new grocery store to
buy provisions to make our own meals in our condo. Our stay was relaxing, with
daily walks on the beach and swims in the ocean.
Family time began with
the arrival from Paris, France, of our daughter Erica, her husband Andrew
Auerbach and their two boys, Atticus and Roman. They arrived late Dec 18, while
we were still at the Cancun condo, allowing them an extra day to get over major
jet lag. They needed the time. Atticus came down with flu type symptoms,
probably contracted from school friends in Paris. We joined them on the 20th,
just in time to move everyone to our condo apartment on Puerto Morelos Beach.
Atticus was still not feeling 100% but he recovered quickly.
We were pleased with the
layout of our apartment on the second floor of a complex with about 12 units
surrounding a pool on the beach front. The boys topped off every ocean swim with
play time in the condo pool, which was just the right size and depth for
multiple games, often with other children staying at the condo. We had two
bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a large sitting area with sliding door to a
balcony, and a separate dining area that doubled as our games table. Clue, left
by the owners of the apartment, became the most popular game. The Auerbachs had
the large family sized room with one bed area leading to a small balcony where
we hung our laundry and wet suits. Folding doors separated the room into a
second sleeping area with a large bed for the boys. There were lounge chairs and
tables around the pool and in a roped off area on the beach. We were very
comfortable.
The first activity for
everyone was a swim in the ocean with snorkels brought from home, outside our
condo. Erica and Roman came ashore asking if it was safe to swim above the
several barracuda right close to shore. We assured them it was fine as long as
no one was threatening the barracuda. We quickly got used to them and delighted
in identifying yet another new fish each day.
There was always
something new to see on the beach and in the water. The coral reef lay just 600M
offshore and several large coral rocks with colourful fish close enough from
shore to be reachable by each of us, even the boys. A strange phenomena, called
the Ojo de Agua, (Eye in the Water), was just offshore. It was formed when a
small piece of the coral shelf in the ocean floor collapsed, leaving a hole. The
water above the hole was almost opaque as the fresh water of an underground
stream, released through the hole, mixed with the salty ocean water. If you dove
down close to the hole, the water suddenly was clear again.
I hadn’t realized
Stingrays liked to jump. Ray and I were surprised to see one leap high above the
surf, not once but twice, as we took our daily walk. We wondered what bigger
fish was out there chasing the Stingray. Eagle Rays abound off Puerto Morelos.
On one of our snorkeling trips off the beach, we were all thrilled to encounter
two of these large, spotted rays gracefully flying in formation through the
waters.
Erica and family had a
snorkel trip out on the reef, which was a first for the boys. The family also
took a trip to swim in one of the many local cenotes, fresh water swimming holes
created in the same manner as the Ojo de Agua. The Yucatan Peninsula is a large
limestone shelf, riddled by underground fresh water rivers. When a cave, carved
out by an underground stream, collapses, it leaves a large, deep pond, perfect
for snorkelers and divers searching for more underwater caves and fish varieties
able to survive in less saline waters.
Several days the wind was
strong enough to bring the kite surfers out. We loved to watch them race across
the ocean front. We tried our luck with a large kite left for our use in the
apartment. First the strings had to be untangled. Then with Ray’s assistance we
got it into the air. The kite had two handles that needed more coordination that
we had to fly it for any length of time. Roman and I had a turn each controlling
one handle. We had it up in the air for a while before it started to spin, madly
out of control. I think Roman considered the spin the best part of kite flying.
We did put up a few
balloons and Christmas decorations in the condo. Erica found a banner in a local
store, with “Felice Compleanos”, Happy Birthday, in honour of Atticus’ 10th
birthday on Christmas Day. The boys were up early to open stockings from Santa
and a few presents from their parents. The favourite presents were sets of Nerf
Zombi Blasters, big guns that shot foam bullets. They had a great time aiming at
everything in sight. We all had a turn aiming at the balloons. Roman helped
Erica and I bake a cake, decorated with Smarties and candles for the Birthday
celebration that day.
Erica and I took the boys
to visit CrocoCan, a nature park just a few km from Puerto Morelos, featuring
reptiles, animals native to the area and of course, crocodiles. We were guided
around the site by a knowledgeable young woman who told us about the animals and
allowed us to hold several of the inhabitants, even a baby crocodile, with its
jaws closed with an elastic. There is an active crocodile breeding program at
the park. The last section wound around the crocodile pond where large beasts
lounged in the sun. Our guide had to go ahead and shoo a few crocs off the path
so that we could proceed. We were glad we didn’t have to escape from any hungry
croc. Thankfully they were all well fed and lazy.
We all took a day trip to
visit the very popular and crowded Tulum archaeological site. We survived but I
would recommend the less popular Coba over Tulum. We did enjoy the Voladeros who
perform the the amazing feat of dropping from a high platform, attached by ropes
on their ankles, and twisting their way to the ground and we had a nice lunch in
Tulum before driving to our second stop of the day, Akumel, on the most popular
day of the year. The draw at Akumel is the turtles that come to feed in the
shallow waters. We had to wait in line to get flippers and required life
jackets. Finally, Erica and family got equipment and off they went. They were
thrilled. They saw turtles galore, various rays and even an octopus. Ray and I
swam from the beach without flippers or life jackets. It was fine. I spent most
of my time shadowing two turtles as the fed on sea grasses and came to the
surface periodically for air. Erica declared Akumel as a definite repeat
location.
We were sorry to say
goodbye to the Paris family. They flew home on New Year’s Eve, the most
affordable time to travel, and Ray and I stayed on alone until our flight to
Havana, Cuba on January 3 2015.
Read 2015 Zihuatanejo or San Miguel de Allende
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