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Ernesto is here…

Just a quick post tonight because I’m afraid the electricity and/or internet may go out depending on how strong Ernesto becomes. The day started out pretty gloomy…

It poured for awhile, then let up a bit, so I decided to bike into town so that I didn’t go stir crazy here in the condo. It’s a cute place, but I don’t want to spend every waking hour here while I’m on vacation.

My first stop in town is the little convenience store for these…

Because on my bike ride, my flip flop got caught on a damn topes. I lost the flip flop and the bike pedal came up and hit me in the shin. It’s like, “Really, Deb??? You can climb a mile up Coba (well, maybe not a whole mile, but it felt like it), and you get wounded on a freaking bicycle??” Tell me about it. At least I didn’t fall. That would have been one major embarrassment. But I did have to stop the bike and go back for the damn flip flop. Lovely, huh?

So, on the way back to the condo, it started pouring. And the weather has been pretty awful since then. The wind is the worst…it just won’t let up. It also rains…but not continuously. Sometimes it will just drizzle, sometimes it will pour and right now it’s not raining at all. I took a walk on the beach just a few minutes ago and the waves are fierce. A couple may seem pretty tame, and then all of a sudden a big one will come and just about knock you off your feet. I took this picture this morning when it was raining…

This is from the window of my dining area where I do all my blog work. As you can see from the blurry photo, the wind and water are working up a storm. When I took a walk out there a little while ago, some of the waves were getting up to that middle palm. The condos right on the beach have their hurricane shutters up. I don’t have any hurricane shutters! I look out on that churning sea and I can see how powerful it is. I don’t think we have anything to worry about here, but it definitely is a reality check when it comes to Mother Nature.

On a final sad note, there was one fatality from Ernesto. While biking back from town, the downpour effected my camera and it’s pretty much gone. I’m very sad. That camera has accompanied me on many trips to Mexico and I’m sorry to see it go. I didn’t bring another camera, so I won’t be taking anymore pictures during my stay. Luckily, I saved all my previous pictures on a flash drive, so I will still be able to do posts on Tulum and the cenotes. Right now, I’m kind of in mourning. Goodbye, G12…you’ve been a good traveling buddy.

August 8, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The cycle of life…

I didn’t do much of anything today. I did rent a bicycle from the condo office, though. Quite a sweet ride, wouldn’t you say? Especially the basket…I love the basket. Much easier to bring home trinkets from the souvenir shops. Although I have to say that after climbing Coba…and now the bicycle…my legs have had quite a workout this vacation. That’s not a bad thing, though.

So I drove into town, although I didn’t really take many pictures. Did a little shopping, ate a little lunch, came back and sat out on the beach for awhile. While I was sitting out there, I noticed these little areas in the sand surrounded by rocks and coral with little signs that looked like crosses.

While they may look like mini grave sites, they are, in fact, the opposite. I asked someone who was passing by and these little areas note the places where mama sea turtles have laid their eggs. This person also told me that some had surfaced just a short ways down the beach. Luckily, I had my camera, so off I went. I should have taken a picture of the group of people surrounding this little scene, but I was so intent on what was happening, I didn’t think of it. Apparently, the mother turtles come to the beach during the night and lay their eggs about a foot underneath the surface of the sand. (This is what one of the people who was in the group told me.) When the eggs hatch, the turtles slowly make their way to the surface. It is a very slow process and when a few turtles pop their heads through the sand, it can still be awhile before they come all the way out.

The woman who seemed to be the head of the group said that they would probably be popping out at about 7:00 p.m., so I made it a point to be there by then. Well, these baby turtles’ schedules weren’t exactly “on time,” and we anxiously waited about 45 minutes before they made their appearance. The few that had popped their heads through were motionless for almost the entire 45 minutes that I was there. Then the one that was on top started to move his flippers. That’s all it took and then what was probably about 50 or so baby turtles poured out of that hole and headed for the sea. It was pretty amazing.

For these little guys to come to life and know exactly what they’re supposed to do is a miracle. And I couldn’t believe how fast they moved!

And after about only a couple minutes, they were all gone. These little guys were only about four inches long. They can grow to over three feet and weigh about 400 pounds. I wish them well…they certainly made my day.

It’s raining now. I think Hurricane Ernesto is stopping by for a visit. I have my window open and I hear the sea crashing against the shore…and the rain. Two of my favorite sounds. Life is good.

August 7, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Where is Deb now??

I am behind on posts, but that’s okay. When I get home, I’ll be able to add things I didn’t have time to do on the trip…like the Grand Cenote and Tulum. For tonight, I’m just doing a simple post on my new digs. I posted a picture on facebook of where I’m staying and I got a question as to what was on the bed. As a frequent traveler to Mexico, I’ve gotten used (and almost expect) towel art on the beds and in the bathrooms. This isn’t the norm for hotels north of the border other than maybe making the end of a toilet roll into a point as opposed to leaving it straight. Mexicans take their towel art seriously and are very good at it.

But let’s get back to the beginning of this post. Here is where I got off the bus and had about a quarter mile traipse to the taxi area to take me to my new digs.

Let me give you a little history of the morning when I thought I would have a leisurely breakfast and have plenty of time to catch a bus to the mystery destination. I was going through shops and taking my time, then stopped at the ADO bus station in Tulum to purchase my ticket to ____. I was informed it left in 10 minutes, otherwise I would have to wait for another two hours. Sh**!!! I should have researched this beforehand. So I rush back to my hotel which is about three blocks away to grab my stuff and get the heck out of there. Luckily, I had packed pretty much everything up so it was just a matter of stuffing some minor stuff into the suitcase and throwing my keys at the desk clerk and running out the door. I get there right at the time the bus is supposed to be there, but of course, it’s not there and doesn’t appear until 20 minutes later. In the meantime, I’m sweating buckets in the million degree heat for running three blocks there and back and must look like a crazy woman. My bus finally appears and it’s only me and another guy who gets on board. This is not an ADO bus..it’s a Mayab bus. Mayab buses are definitely not as upscale as ADO buses. They may not have chickens sitting next to you, but the other guy who got on board with me stuffed basketfulls of produce in the luggage department, so it’s not far off. No movies on this bus and the air conditioning consists of open windows. I sat next to a Guatemalen guy who kept looking at me like I must be sick or something because I was so freaking hot from running the six blocks and kept wiping my face off with a cloth. He probably thought I had some ebola virus or something that I caught in some Mexican village somewhere and was totally contagious. I think he was very glad when I got off the bus.

So…let’s get back to those new digs!

It’s really nice having a condo as opposed to a hotel room because of the convenience of having a fridge, microwave, dinner and silver ware, etc. This was a last-minute choice on-line and I lucked out. It’s pretty much like a little home and I told the person I made the arrangements with that I’m not moving out. She thinks I’m kidding. Okay…I am. But, seriously, this would be a very comfortable place to spend a long time. It’s very clean and completely equipped.

Now we get to the towel art. Here’s the swan art on the bed…

Toilet paper art…

Wash cloth and hand towel art…

Kleenex art…

Kitchen hand towel art…

Spare toilet paper roll art…

I’ll have to say, they outdid themselves. I’ve never seen it to this extent and I have to hand it to them.

Onto other aspects of the property, this is what you see when you step out the door…it’s on the second floor of a two unit property. The first floor property has two double beds.