Part 1: Christmas in the Yucatan

As you may have heard, from my endless bragging or copious rubbing it in, I got to spend my Christmas break in Mexico with Matt and his mom. We are home now, and I've posted the first album of photos here. We flew in to Cancun late Christmas Eve and immediately caught a ferry to the Isla Mujeres (Island of Women), a photogenic Caribbean Island to immediately get to the business of relaxing.

We stayed in the cozy Casa Kubena, a casita with the water reservoir on the roof, gas for the stove in a 3 foot tank outside and wifi. The screens didn't seal well, but we had regular gecko and anole visits that seemed to keep the bugs in check. There is a picture of a 5 gal jug of water- this is how we got our drinking water- Matt carrying these jugs from the tienda 2 doors down.

On Christmas day, we took a walk to the beach on the Caribbean side. We ate a picnic, collected shells and watched Frigate Birds. Can you feel the stress of the semester melting away?? The next day we caught the bus into Centro- the downtown area of the Isla. This is where the tourist shops are, the main hotels and restaurants, and all the businesses wanting to take you diving, snorkeling, fishing. Our hosts (ex-pats), recommended we go to the fisherman's Co-operative to take a trip to the Bird Sanctuary on Contoy with their friend Raul. We got that set up for the next day, and enjoyed taking in the beaches, shops, markets and ice cream that Centro has to offer. Back at the Casita, we also found the Loncheria Condor- these nice folks took care of most of our cooking for the rest of the trip. Why? at 7 pesos (50 cents) a taco- we could eat like kings within a block of our house. And the carne asada was great! This is the neighborhood diner as it were- no one here spoke English but they were terrifically patient with us every time we came by.

The trip to Contoy was dreamy- although if you weren't into the 'speeding across the ocean in a small fiberglass boat' thing, I guess the transit might undo the tranquility of the island. The jungle there was full of wildlife- birds especially, but also hermit crabs and lizards of all shapes and sizes. The reef in the cove also hid dozens of exotic 'only in the aquarium, and never that big/ many' specimens. The Magnificent Frigatebirds were a sight to behold too- they filled the mangrove trees, weighting down the branches into the lagoon, and making a deep cooing noise that slowed down pigeons. Our host, Captain Raul, was really wonderful too- he cooked up great food, showed us all the great things to do on the island and piloted us safely back and forth. Once back to Isla Mujeres, we decided to try the Fresh, cold Coconuts being sold on the street. Ah, tropical refreshment.

We ended up 'taking the cure' on the beach the next couple days- reading paperbacks, eating well, enjoying the company and sleeping a lot. With all that white sand beach and the island mentality, it was hard not to let the tension just sweep away. Ahh... The photo album shows a sunset we enjoyed a palapa bar on the dock over fish tacos. Four beers and guacamole for US$7? Life is good.

Let me know what you think of the pictures, I'll be posting one of our visit to 3 separate Mayan Ruins soon.