Breakfast on the roof, then a walk east along the beach for a couple of miles. We hit the high tide about 10:30. Beach was very secluded with just a few walkers and playing dogs. Many large homes, some almost mansions, some run down. Not much sign of life, no "for rent" signs, so probably vacation property of Mexicans. Saw many overturned fishing boats up on shore, and one fast-moving catamaran out on the water. Saw a couple of small kids playing in the water. The wind was very brisk. Lots of washed-up kelp along the shore. I picked up some small white shells as we walked along. Got a good view of the long pier. It goes out straight, then turns to the left. About 2.5km were built in 1942, a terminal was built in ... read more

Good breakfast of fruit, rolls, and coffee included at the hostel. Noticed this morning they have three house cats. Very cute. We reserved the same place for two nights after our return from Progreso. We spent the morning sightseeing. Walked to Plaza Grande. This time noticed lots of purple flowers, posts in which to plug your devices, lots of laurel trees, and several shoeshine chairs. Horses and carriages lined the street. On the east side of the Plaza is the Cathedral de San Ildefonso, begun in 1561. It Is on the site of an old Myan temple. Some of the stone from the temple was used in construction. There is a giant crucifix behind the altar, but the interior is not particularly ornate. A statue which was burned without charring was supposed to be present, but ... read more

Last night after the blog was published, we decided to get milkshakes. Found a good spot on the edge of Pargue Francisco. The park was lit up, and two church towers in the background were lit. Just beautiful. Wish we could get our photos into the Kindle. Found out this morning that Valladolid is an hour earlier than Cancun. Got up a little earlier than necessary. Got hot water immediately for showers, which is unusual here. Then we saw that the hot water heater was right next to our bathroom. After coffee and good bakery items for our included breakfast, we rented bikes at the hostel. Biked to a couple of cenotes, Samula and Dzitnup. The bikes were pretty old and one speed, but the ride was fairly flat. We followed a couple of back streets ... read more

Good flight to Cancun, landed early. Got through customs quickly with a green light so no luggage check. We were on the bus to downtown Cancuun ten minutes before we should have landed. ADO Autobus tickets were $5 each, and the bus left just after we got on. Good connection! We had reservations at our hotel, Hostel Mundo Jovan on Avenita Uxmal, just a couple blocks from the bus depot. Nice bright, colorful room with A/C and super-fast Internet. Bob was the tour guide and we were off on a walk around the area. First stop was the park Parque Palapas. Lots of food stands along the edge, many tables. Bob found this area written up online when planning our trip. We were entertained by a guitarist and an accordionist. Lots of pigeons, a kid's playground, ... read more

Back home, safe and sound! We really had a good time on our adventure. Thanks to those of you who followed with us, and thanks to those who left comments. Always fun to hear from friends at home. We put some videos on dropbox. They may take a few minutes to load. The first is from Devil's Cauldron in Banos. There is not that much water but it falls so far and you are so close to it, it is impressive. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ux54v7xpog3u6u9/Devil%27s%20Cauldron.MOV?dl=0 The second is the hummingbirds in Mindo. The hummingbirds are so quick it seems like the video is in fast motion. This is one of about six feeders that have the same action and birds change weekly. I don't know why there are different birds at different times as the climate doesn't change much ... read more