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Published: March 12th 2009
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Sunrise at Bahia de Chetumal
Should have used that tripod I bought for the trip. March 5th, We are now at Yax Ha camp ground just north of Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quintana Roo. Chetumal is just a few miles north of the Belize border. This city is unique in Mexico in that it has very wide boulevards due to the fact that it has had many opportunities to rebuild itself after hurricanes devastate the place. Because this is not a tourist town, shopping is as laid back as in the U.S. or anywhere, i.e. no pushy hawkers.
The 18 rig Fantasy caravan was in here when we arrived. We had shared Freedom Shores RV Park at Isla Aguada with these folks and I had made fun of them in my blog. This time they were much friendlier and we had a good time visiting with the wagon masters and some of the folks in the caravan. The wagon masters are very familiar with Mexico as they both grew up here. They gave us suggestions for places we should see along our route. We thought that was very generous of them.
The RV park, Yax Ha is on a point over looking Bahia de Chetumal (Bay of Chetumal). This is the
Tony the bartender at Yax Ha
He told us about local sights we otherwise would have missed. first time that we have had an unobstructed view of sunrise over the water. The grounds are surrounded by walls no doubt built for practical reasons but then somebody whimsically interspersed them with fake but fairly authentic looking old cannons. There is a beautiful pool and the camping areas are on well groomed grass. The banos are impeccable with matching berry colored fixtures. Heck, at this point, we are pleased if the toilets have seats and tissue is available.
For the first time in about a week, we have internet. We were stuck waiting around the campground most all day because our propane tank had emptied and we had ordered a refill. After catching up with e-mail and completing my blog, I wandered over to the camp ground bar/restaurant while Ray caught up with bill paying etc. I struck up a conversation with Tony the bartender. Tony speaks excellent English which he says he learned from watching American TV while living in the border towns of Tijuana and Juarez and while working in hotels in Cancun. He described some of the best items on their menu but encouraged us to take the bus into town to see city first.
We did that and then came back out here to eat dinners that are among our all time most memorable meals. My two chile rellenos stuffed with shrimp were delicious but Ray’s two bacon wrapped fish filets stuffed with shrimp were absolutely out of this world. As we got two each, leftovers took care of tonight’s dinner. These dinners only cost 110 and 130 pesos respectively. (The dollar has improved to 15 to 1 so 150 pesos is equivalent to ten U.S. dollars.)
March 6th, This morning, we again caught the bus into the city of Chetumal for a tour of the city’s Mayan museum. I am not qualified to describe Mayan history and culture as it is something of an enigma even to anthropology experts but it is known that they had immense knowledge of astrology and had developed an amazing mathematical system before they abandoned their massive complexes and practically became extinct long before the Europeans arrived. This too is a mystery. The museum was one of the prettiest we’ve ever visited. The floors were tiled in dark green marble. Fake trees and vines were abundant. The exhibits showed replicas of various Mayan temples found in the
Yucatan and dioramas of Mayan life. Thankfully, all descriptions were provided in Spanish and English.
I am not a shopper but after our museum tour I visited the museum tienda (shop) just for the heck of it. There, I found the perfect summer alternative to a winter hoodie - a simple white cotton, short sleeve pull-over with a deep pouch. Being blind as a bat, I always need both indoor and outdoor glasses but I can not stand to carry a purse. It is, of course, Ray’s job to carry keys, cards, cash and camera but now I will have solved my personal dilemma forever after I have my new shirt duplicated in various colors by my San Jose seamstress.
This afternoon Ray humored me and pulled up stakes in the camp ground to retrace our drive north about thirty miles in order for me to dip my toes in a cenote. Cenotes are almost unique to the Yucatan. There are no “normal” rivers in the Yucatan. All rivers flow underground except in a few places where caves have given way or sink holes have formed to create pools, called cenotes. These are not lakes because the water
is flowing on its course. In any case, Cenote Azul, roughly circular, and we’d guess about 1000 feet wide, is known to be 90 meters (about 300 feet) deep, and is the largest in the Yucatan. I waded in on the rocks for photos but not being a good swimmer, I never let go of those ropes. The water was at least 80 degrees. Kids were jumping off the adjacent restaurant into the cenote.
Driving to Cenote Azul, we passed Las Lagunas de Siete Colores (The Lagoon of Seven Colors) so called because of its shallowness and light reflecting bottom. The water changes color depending on the time of day. The deeper area was a vivid turquoise when we passed. Shallower areas were different shades of blue. We were not able to take any pictures of the lagoon because there was nowhere to park along our route.
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