Xcaret by day

http://www.xcaret.com/

Wednesday we went to Xcaret, an ecological park with animals, cultural displays, and lots of water activities. That was where Tara and I had gone on the cruise ship stop, mainly because I wanted to do the underground river swim, which we did. Julie and Maria had serious doubts about doing it. We took swimsuits along, but they decided against it. 

The problem with Xcaret is that you cannot do it all in one day. It is 40 acres, and they have a lot of stuff. That was one reason I wanted to come back after the first time--after all we had seen, there was still a lot left. I had originally thought that it would take two days, and then I was thinking that if you do stay the entire day, including for the night show, then it probably would be enough, but it turns out that you really cannot see it all in one day. 

It covers several acres, and there is a lot of everything. Actually, it kind of works as a microcosm of the Yucatan. You have archeological zones, which are basically different Mayan ruins. There are the big well known sites with multiple buildings, which took up our Thursday, but even when we got lost on the way to the Aviary we found the remains of an old building. They are so common, it appears that a lot of them do not get studied. Many of them are not easily accessible due to the surrounding jungle. You can see a few here in the park, and you can climb them, which you are not allowed to do at Chichen Itza.

There is also much of the flora and fauna of the area. There are bromeliads (orchids) and butteflies and bats, as well as much bigger animals. Some of the animals are just on regular display, but many are part of conservation and breeding programs. This is especially noticeable with the sea turtles, where they have turtles at different life stages in different pools, and they have release programs. We love turtles, so being able to see so many was big for us, and also knowing that those eggs and hatchlings aren't just going to get eaten, but that they have a chance of surviving and reproducing.

Navigation is a bit tricky. They gave us maps, and we thought we were following them, and there are signs that we thought we were following, and still, we would not end up where we thought we were going. One time we were just trying to get out of one area, and we suddenly found ourselves in an aquarium that we didn't even know was there. This may be part of why we could not see the whole thing, but I still think the biggest part of that is the vastness.

We saw the sea turtles, the coral reef aquarium, jaguars, flamingos, some of the archeological zones, the orchids, spider monkeys, tapir, deer, manatees, sting rays, and the bird breeding area. I think we passed by the mushroom farm without realizing it, as the scent of the fertilizer was quite strong and so we hurried faster. We definitely saw the fish and shrimp breeding area. 

We missed the butterfly pavilion, chapel, and cemetery, but I saw those last time. Because we stayed for the night show, we saw all of the various cultural demonstrations that you can see at other times during the day, like the costume demonstrations, dancing, riding, ball game, and Papantla flying men. However, we completely missed the Mayan Village, the underground river and snorkeling, the Paradise River ride (15-minute boat ride), the rotating scenic tower, the bats, the stained glass plaza, the house of whispers, and the museum of folk art, as well as the river swim. And those are all just what's included in general admission. You can purchase special activities separately, like encounters with dolphins, sharks, or sting rays, snuba or other underwater treks, a sweat lodge purification, or spa packages.

In addition to the sea turtles, the manatee was a big highlight for us. It was the first time I had seen one live. It's like a minibus floating there in the water. I know that sounds weird, but it's so massive to see, and yet so cute, and obviously gentle.

Also, there were iguana everywhere. I remembered this from last time too, but it is still pretty amazing. Out of the corner of your eye you keep seeing things scurrying across the ground and up trees, like squirrels, except they will also chill out and sun themselves on logs or benches, whereas our squirrels aren't as much into the sitting still.

So, Xcaret is strongly recommended, but realize there is a lot to do there, and you will need to decide that some things aren't important, or give yourself a lot of time. It is associated with two other parks, Xel-Ha, a large natural aquarium primarily for snorkeling, and Xplor, which is more of an adventure park. 

I am not not ruling out going back for all of them. 

Xaman-Ha Aviario

I will talk about the aviary, and I do recommend it, but the story about getting there is also valuable, because it teaches us some lessons about navigation in Playa del Carmen. I don't know how much this applies to the rest of Quintana Roo or Mexico, because any time we got out of town we had someone driving us.

One thing to know is that there are often not street signs. The streets to have names, because we had a map with street names on it, but when you don't know what the street is, it is hard to make it correlate to the map. We knew which street we started out on, because the hotel was on it, and there was one street leading off to the left, and then the aviary was up there. We assumed that was the one street that led into the gated community, except that it was a gated community. We kept going.

The other thing to know is that a lot of the names repeat. We came to the next street. There was a gate here too, but there was a lot more traffic, and it was not just housing. Just to be sure, we asked the men at the gate for directions, and they said to go up and curve around to the left.

The other thing that is important to know is that names repeat a lot. So, the aviary was Xaman-Ha, but also the school, neighborhood, street, and I think the section of beach, and maybe some other stuff. This is why, after we went up the street and curved around to the left and saw a stone marker that said Xaman-Ha, leading down a path, we went that way. It seemed reasonable. However, then it led us through some trees and to the beach, where we were now back on the other side of the gate where we asked directions.

Our next move was partly due to embarrassment, because walking by those people we asked for directions would clearly show failure on our part, but also, we were not sure we would not just get lost again, so we hailed a taxi and he took us right there.

It turns out that the street going through that gated community would have curved around by the school and tennis courts and connected with the main road, which, after curving around to the left, would have gotten us to the aviary. I don't know how GPS would fare down there, but that was our experience.

Once at the Aviary, it was fine. As I mentioned earlier, they get visitors from all over Europe and Asia. The admission did seem a little high, and I think either they only took cash, or they did not take US Currency (most do), so there was some issue with the payment, but it was relatively minor.

Really, it is not a big thing. There is just a little hut for admissions, another with bathrooms, and the paths are fairly rough, where it might not be particularly wheelchair accessible. The reason to go is for the birds. They have a lot, and you can get close. There were parrots, flamingos, spoonbills, vultures, egrets, pelicans, and many others. Also, though this is not a bird, there were some peccaries there, which are quite common for the area. The most important thing for me is that there was a toucan.

I don't know what it is about toucans for me, but I love them. I would like to feed one grapes. I don't know if they eat grapes, I know we were not supposed to feed them, but still, I got to see one up close. Initially he was far away, but I could still see him and take some pictures. Suddenly he flew and perched on a branch right in front of me, and just stayed there posing while I took pictures and told him how beautiful he was.

Ultimately, walking along rustic paths and looking at animals is totally my thing, and when you can get closer looks, it is even better. In this case, the bird was cooperative without being caged. He came to me. So it was awesome and I loved it, and it was worth it, even though we did get lost.

Return to Playa del Carmen

I have written recently in the other blog about learning that I need to plan far ahead for birthdays and holidays, because I just get too busy, especially for Halloween through my birthday. I remember one year in particular where I was working in online retail, but there was a manufacturing issue that caused huge delays in shipments, and for all of December the phone did not stop ringing. We did not get caught up on email until well into February.

As you can imagine, I was exhausted all the time, and an American Express Travel insert for Mexico came with the papers and I so wanted to go there. Many of the spots looked good, but it was the underground river at Xcaret that really tugged at me, as well as Mayan ruins. Still, it seemed impossible to go.

The DC trip was sort of a life-changing thing in that I realized, hey, I can go to places. I'm an adult with a job. Since that was Tara's idea, it made since to suggest a cruise to her, and part of that cruise did involve swimming the underground river and a Mayan pyramid (Dzibilchaltun).

As great as that trip was, I wanted to see much more of Xcaret than we did, and I wanted to go to Tulum, and there was just a lot more to see. Also, at our landing spot in Playa del Carmen, it was so beautiful. It was quiet, white sand beach, with every type of small boat imaginable in the harbor, and enchanting cabanas, and I wanted to go back.

It took a while, but trying to decide how to commemorate my 40th birthday, suddenly I realized that was what I wanted to do. I was working again, we were starting to travel again, and I could finally go back. Much to my surprise, Julie and Maria were on board. That meant I was going to put it off a week, because depriving my mother of three of her children on the day when one of them turned 40 seemed too much, but then I did not have to find someone else to take, so it all worked out.

The trip had its ups and downs. I thought Julie and Maria would not like it that much because they don't like hot weather. (I'm not that big on hot weather either, but I can handle it better.) There was definite heat, and lots of humidity, but we survived. We got to see more of Xcaret, and went to both Tulum and Chichen Itza, and there was other cool stuff, which I shall cover over the next few Saturdays. There was also a downside.

Playa del Carmen is no longer that sleepy, peaceful little town. It's kind of easy to see how it happened. The tourism got stronger, and it boomed. There has been a lot of new construction, and clearly they tried to expand so that there were other types of industry. That went bust. There were so many empty office buildings, available for purchase or rental.

The downside is that everyone has to hustle. From the airport to the hotels to the attractions, everyone is trying to book you on other things, and there are always timeshare-type presentations, because most of the resorts are all-inclusive resorts. We want you to consider us, so come and we will feed you and give you a discount on your excursion, and you will listen to our pitch.

It is worse on the streets. There are people constantly calling to you. They will give you a massage, braid your hair, give you a once in a lifetime deal on jewelry, and I believe there are more corrupt experiences available as well. It's exhausting. It gives you some great service - we had the best taxi driver ever - but it wears you down to constantly be saying no, and constantly be asked, and also the realization of the desperation underneath it.

And you know, we are not rich, but to them, we are. We're vacationing in a foreign country, and honestly, they don't get that many people from the United States. Most people guessed we were Canadian, but most of the other tourists we were seeing were from Europe and Asia. The guest book at the Aviary had people from Belgium and Luxembourg and there was a huge tour group from Russia that we encountered on our way to Chichen Itza.

And they value the tourists. Quintana Roo was like the only Mexican state without a travel advisory on it while we were there. There is a strong (paramilitary) police presence, and we knew we were very safe the entire time. It was just also a little sad.

Some of the resorts around Tulum had kind of the old feel, like there might still be peace and quiet there, and Playa del Carmen is still quieter and safer from Cancun, as far as I can tell, but it was eye-opening, I guess.

Anyway, none of this is to say it was a bad trip, and it should be obvious after the next few posts that it was not, and that I am still willing to go back. (I still haven't seen all of Xcaret; there is just a lot to it.) I guess I just wish for a kinder and more prosperous world, for wherever I go. That part of me does not take vacations.

Cruising

There was one thing that was great about the cruise, in that we got to do a lot of relaxing. We napped. We took walks around deck. I finished one book and started another. I finished at least one magazine. I brought three DVDs and watched them all, plus we watched a movie in the theater and we watched movies on the television.

I know, those all sound like things that we could do at home, and they are things that we do at home. Well, naps don't happen that often, but we do read and watch movies. We were able to spend more time on it here, because this was a vacation and we were not working, but even a day off at home is not that productively relaxing. It's just that there aren't those things that responsible people need to do. There was no cleaning house or cooking or washing dishes or running to the store.

When I was on my other cruise we sailed out of Galveston, and there were a lot of Texans on that boat. We were talking to one couple and they said cruising was the best deal for them. They could drive to port and park there, and then their food and entertainment was pretty much covered, with no worries about airfare, hotel, or driving. It made a lot of sense.

Of course the entertainment on this cruise was not great, and even on the Carnival cruise, it's more that it was fun than super high quality entertainment, but still, overall it can be a very relaxing and economical way of taking your vacation. You can run up the cost with spa services, shore excursions, and the casino, but even using only the food and services that are included, you get a lot.

I suppose this only works if you are not subject to motion sickness. Personally, I love being on boats. I remember my first night at sea was a little stormy, and I felt like I was being rocked to sleep. We had to hunt down some dramamine for my friend, but I felt good. I do admit that after getting off, I still feel like I am on the water for a while, and that does get annoying, but nothing's perfect.

It's not something I would do for every vacation. I like seeing stuff, and if there is a lot to see shore excursions tend to be wholly inadequate. However, if every now and then you just want to really relax, and not worry about food budgets or driving around, a cruise is a great way to go.

Alaska in May

I can't say that we regret the cruise, or how we did it, because we intended to have family time with our brother and his wife, we were celebrating her 50th birthday, and letting her choose was part of that. She wanted to go to Alaska, and since the earliest cruise is the least expensive, that's the one they picked. That is okay. I just can't recommend it.


The big problem is that it was too early to see any animals. A lot of them were probably still hibernating. We saw a few bald eagles, and several freakishly large crows, and some people who went on the chartered boat saw otters, but really, there is so much more that should have been visible. I want to see bears and caribou and moose and porcupines, and we saw nothing. Well, there were the two dogs, but it's not the same.


We might have seen more animals in Tracy Arm, but apparently we were in the lower part, and you have bigger chunks of ice with more animals in the upper part, and your cruise will not necessarily get into the upper part, so that is something that it is valuable to check. We had no idea about this before.

I have to say it was beautiful, pretty much everywhere we looked. Of course, as Oregonians we are accustomed to clouds and gray and rain, and we do find it beautiful, so that helped, and maybe that would not work for anyone. If your idea of cruising is fun in the sun, then an Alaska cruise would not be ideal, especially early in the year. It was kind of interesting seeing blankets next to towels by the pool, and there was an indoor pool, but if you want to soak up the rays in a bikini, you should be looking at Mexico or the Caribbean.

We do still want to see more of Alaska at one point, and we know what we are going to have to do. We will have to fly into some coastal city where we can go out whale and otter watching, and then go into Denali for the land animals. It looks like Anchorage is the most logical point for this, but we haven't really researched it much yet. We will need to figure out our best points, and also the best time of year. That means not only that animals are out, but also that it is not mosquito season, and if there is a chance to view the Northern lights, all the better.

This will not be a cheap option, but we have time to think about it, because there are many other places to go. Look, if we ever go to Churchill for polar bears, that will be expensive too, but that's okay. We have a long list, and at least with polar bears, our zoo has them. We have some options.

Going South

This title is sort of misleading. Juneau was the northernmost spot, so we went straight there, and were going south the rest of the time. However, I can't really title this post Victoria, because it tells you nothing about Victoria, and is more about the deterioration of the cruise in general.

So, one thing I learned from this cruise, and I had heard it before, is that if the cruising company is foreign-owned, all of its stops cannot be US stops. Therefore, since this was Holland America, going from Seattle to Alaska, it is illegal to not hit Canada at all.

We were glad there was going to be a stop in Victoria. We had gone there many times as children. When we visited our friend in Vancouver, we had some hopes that we could take a trip there, but it was farther than we realized, so not practical. That's when I remembered that sometimes we went to Vancouver and sometimes to Victoria, but never really both.

Still, now we were going to have a chance to go back, and our friend had started taking classes in Victoria, so she had not completely relocated, but was spending a few days a week there, and we could meet up. It was a very short stop, but Victoria is a beautiful city, so wandering around a little with our friend should be just fine.

That ended up being the worst day of the cruise. First of all, we had the talk with disembarkation instructions. We were all supposed to go together, but we accidentally overslept, and I was the only one ready in time. I got out just as they stopped serving breakfast, and just as the dolphins everyone had been seeing were no longer visible. Oversleeping was our own fault, but scheduling an overly long and pointless, self-congratulatory thing with some important information during breakfast, when we were not even going to hit land until 6, is on the cruise line.

It really started the day on the wrong foot, but you need to keep going, so we went for our walk around deck, and at some point I got some varnish or something all over my purse, pants, and arm. I do blame this on the ship. At this point I ordered my sisters away, ordered room service, and took a nap. Yes, it was the last day of the cruise, but it was coming a day too late.

We were originally supposed to get into port at 6. That was moved to 7, then to 9. I don't know if the seas were rough or what. They didn't really give us any information about this. Better updates could have been good. Also good would have been them changing the Muppets Quiz to an earlier time so those people stuck waiting could participate. As it was, we waited in a long line and finally got to see our friend a little after 10, and spend about 40 minutes with, going and returning past a big and beautiful ship that had beat us into port by at least an hour.

Ketchikan

If Sitka was the least touristy of our stops, then Ketchikan was the most.

There is a big harbor and just a huge shopping section there. There was a vending machine with used DVDs, something that I had never seen before, but that made a lot of sense in the context of the last major stop for many cruises. There was a lot of decorative artwork, and everything was well-maintained, and it was probably the best stop for nicer handicrafts. There were some great quilts and mobiles. (At the same time, some of it was quite pricey.) The shop staff that we spoke to were all very helpful.

For these reasons, this was probably the favorite stop for my sisters. I spent most of my time waiting outside for them to be done shopping, because I am not into that. Still, the stop was not a total loss because I got to pet a dog. I saw a dog in Juneau too, but I did not get to pet it, so in that specific area, Ketchikan was superior.

Of them, my favorite store was Christmas in Alaska. There are a lot of nice ornaments and decorations, but the really cool thing is that you can get your picture taken with Santa all year long.

Ketchikan was also the place where we came closest to going on a shore excursion. We tried to get tickets for the Lumberjack Show, but we waited too long. There was only one spot left for the 11:00 show, and we weren't motivated enough to go to the 8:15 show, so we did no official shore excursions on the entire cruise. It is much cheaper that way, though, some of the money could have been well spent. (There will be other posts on cruising in general and that specific time of year.)

Honestly, we probably should have taken the funicular, and gotten a view that way. Apparently that only costs $2.00. We did get fairly near there on our way to the library, but there were no free terminals, and we really weren't feeling it, so we got back on the ship. It was a short stop, leaving at noon, so we did have some concerns about making it back in time, and ultimately, that was our day.

Sitka

Sitka was the most disappointing of our Alaska stops. I feel like I'm being mean for saying that, but I will explain why, and then you can judge.

First of all, it was probably the smallest of the stops, with a smaller harbor. We needed to board tenders rather than just walk down the gangway. That may have been part of it. It is probably the town least set up for tourists. There is a main street with shops, but it is not as in your face about it as Juneau and Ketchikan. The first place you find is the library, and there is a visitor's center, and then you start getting into shopping.

There is a Tlingit Ceremonial Canoe set up right by the library, so this was the first attraction, and we walked around and took pictures of it. This one specifically was commissioned for the Alaska Purchase Centennial.

We had thought we would check out the cathedral, because that was a stop for most of the shore excursions, and it was certainly within walking distance, but when we got there it was not really that grand on the outside, and kind of peeking in it did not really seem worth exploring.

Not to be discouraged, there was also a Totem Pole Park within walking distance, and so we headed there, and somehow I thought there would be multiple totem poles, but there was just the one. That was pretty much at the end of the main walk too, so we were going to turn around, but then I saw a path leading uphill, and a sign that said Castle Hill. All right, that sounds intriguing.

I started up the hill, and there was no castle. There was a sign explaining about the different things that were once up there, but there were all gone now. It was a really good view though, so I took pictures from various angles, and continued to get wet, because it was also raining. Feeling adventurous, I decided to take the other path down, which put me pretty far from where I had left my sisters. I was working my way back, but at this point they were already starting to get worried and call me. Fortunately, this was one of the spots where I had a phone signal, so that ended up being fine.

I mentioned enjoying the small town feel in Juneau, and this seemed smaller, but less friendly. Actually, I did have a few people greet me, but they were all people from the ship who had been at karaoke the night before. They were telling me I had done a good job, so that was really pleasant, but that could have just as easily have happened on the ship.

From a livability point of view, it is probably better for the town that it is not as touristy. I'm just saying that from a tourist point of view, this is probably a place where you really need to sign up for a shore excursion. The most tragic thing is that I have a friend from Alaska, and I had tried to reach her before we left, but we didn't get a chance to talk. If we had, her mother would totally have come and picked us up and shown as around, and that would have been great. Rats.

Juneau

Our ship stopped in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. (It stopped in Victoria too, but that almost doesn't count. I'll explain when we get there.) I think the favorite for my sisters was Ketchikan, because there was more shopping. My favorite was Juneau.

I know it's the capital, but it had a nice, small town feel. Actually, I can tell you what won my heart. We were working our way up the main street and stopped to look in a toy store, and were chatting with the owner. Not only was she very helpful with going over the merchandise and where to find different things, but after we had been chatting for a few minutes she asked if we could watch the store for a few minutes while she went to get a cup of coffee.

Okay, on one level it was some pressure, but still, it felt kind of of cool. Also, fortunately, we didn't have to do anything. She was quick and no one came in during that time.

We also found helpful assistance at the information booth. The guide told us everything we wanted to know, including pointing us to the library for internet access, which was right there and it was free, and it was the nicest of the different libraries that we visited.

In general, I think Juneau did better for public art. There was gorgeous stained glass in the library, murals on buildings, and statues in the park, including one of Patsy, a dog who elected herself as Juneau's ship ambassador. We are suckers for animals.

All of the cruise ship stops tend to have well-maintained houses visible, but somehow with the setting, and the public art, to my  mind Juneau was the prettiest of the three. Plus Juneau was the one with Mendenhall Glacier and they also had a tramway you can ride up Mount Roberts, and they are the location of the famous Red Dog Saloon.

So, Juneau is the way to go.

http://www.juneau.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau,_Alaska