No special anonymous wake up calls this morning. Upon returning to our room the night before, we were greeted by the Sandos Honeymoon gift package: a delicious fruit basket, bottle of Chilean Vina Mape and a pair of challis’ from which to enjoy it. We decided to bring the wine home and have it on our anniversary.
Off to a lazy breakfast with our companion birds, who made a habit of swiftly swooping in on abandoned leftovers before the overworked, polite and equally swift wait staff was able to make it to tables to clear the plates. Usually the wait staff won these races ;-)
Taxis to 5th avenue and vicinity cost about $5.00. The rides are as good as any amusement park coaster, and the drivers are swift to exploit the thinnest crease between the giant tour busses and the trees along Xaman Ha Boulevard, which is a quaint cobblestone road generously, granted a full 1 & ˝ lanes in width:
A taxi to any other destination off 5th may cost you more – remember to ask the driver beforehand how much to your destination, and if you don’t like the price, either counter the offer (with a reasonable, not insulting counter offer) or walk out to Xaman Ha and flag down another taxi and ask him the price. The taxis will honk at you if they think you may want a ride, and the international symbol for hailing one is the same in PDC as anywhere else: a raised hand.
In town there are any interesting sights to see along the way. There are no “lanes” in these streets, with taxis, semis, scooters and people all jockeying for space between some brightly painted walls and shops. You may be lucky to get a taxi like this Formula 1 equipped model. Is that a Nitrus Oxide injector or fire extinguisher on the dash?
Once we arrived at our destination, we were charged $8.00 (not $5.00) for the additional 6 blocks from 5th to that Mecca of western Hemisphere shopping bliss: Wal Mart:
Parking below and an escalator up top – with shopping carts complete with funky wheels that dropped down between the escalator’s metal floor slats and held fast to keep the cart from sliding backwards. Once inside, the prices were easy to calculate (move the decimal one to the left) and flip-flops, the Chicka-hat, some souvenirs and other miscellaneous things were procured:
Aisle signs are in Spanish and English and the staff is helpful as any other Wal Mart around the world:
We decided to skip the expensive cab ride and hoofed it back along Calle 8 towards the ocean in search of Coco Maya along the beach. On the way we came across the beautiful town square with archways and monoliths commemorating the towns along the Mayan Rivera. A bit further we encountered the Sahara hotel, the Hotel Maya Turquesa and Yaxche, all places we’d read about. Another cool looking two-story restaurant appeared just before the last stretch to the beach:
Square:
Sahara:
Maya Turquesa:
Yaxche:
Two story restaurant:
Thought about buying shoes at this store but the name scared me off. Conjured up thoughts of a science fiction story where shoes are hand-sewed in a sweatshop built on a plutonium dumpsite:
Began walking the beach between the ferry dock and the abandoned pier. Beautiful, warm day with cool ocean breezes, colorful buildings, sights and people and a general ultra-relaxed feeling began to wash over us ;-)
We checked out where we had been the night before – you can see the upstairs, or balcony, in this picture:
Here is the Gran Porto real with the giant Flag of Mexico flying high atop:
Playa Palms:
And a few boats lazily roiling in the ocean:
Stopped at Coco Maya for the best guacamole we’d had so far on the trip, and they’ve got those covered beach loungers with good service for all:
Mamasita and I were done walking at this point so we hitched a cab back to the Sandos. We chatted with the tour rep about some ATV and other tours. Felt they were asking too much, since with a little research, the maps and some basic geographic knowledge, we could travel anywhere for less cost and less time sitting on busses stopping at other resorts picking up other touristas.
Finally some beach time. Para-sailers, whale riders and, of course, the customary on-the-beach-of-the-toes-aren’t-you-wishing-you-were-here-too pic:
Siesta til 8:30, then ready for a night out with some friends from back home. They were at the Riu Playacar and so we arranged to pick them up there on the way into town. Once again, ask the driver how much. Twice as many people = twice the price, even for a short ride that we could have easily and safely walked at that time of night. Oh well.
We’d convinced our friends that the fire dance was good entertainment, and thought that maybe trying Coco Maya rather than the parrot might be a good change. At first when we approached their bouncer, the cover was $15.00 (US) for the guys, girls get in free. OK, so we went to the parrot to check their prices and it was a bit more gender-blind there: $15.00 per warm body, whether you wore a skirt or jeans.
Back to the Coco, where a new female bouncer suddenly informed us that to get in now, it’d be $15.00 per, but thanks to our gals, they reminded all bouncers involved of the previous deal and we were able to pay the original cover.
After this bit of stressful negotiations, we headed for some comfortable beach chairs and had refreshments and chatted for a while. At this location the seating was “free” but that would change as we moved in. Anyway, soon the fire dance started next door and we were able to wander out onto the “public” part of the beach and watch it from behind a rope fence. It was as entertaining as the night before.
We walked back inside under their large palapa to find mostly deserted couches and cocktail tables. When we tried to sit down we were approached by a truly friendly waiter who informed us that in order to sit there, we’d have to buy a liter bottle of something to drink first (and not beer). How about tequila? “Si, senor - $125.00 US per bottle”. Off to the bar, where the high stools were much more affordable.
I must say that the music was good, especially when their saxophone player came out and hopped up on the Hummer and belted out pounding dance rhythms. The sand dance floor and atmosphere were fantastic.
We danced a bit and then left Coco Maya for the last time on this trip.
Out on 5th, looking for a taxi. This time I asked first, but taxis to the resort had suddenly doubled to $20.00! Hmmm… not sure why that happened. First thought was that the taxi drivers may have had some past success coaxing that type of fare out of people recently spotted exiting a bustling downtown club. Walk a block or two to the taxi station on Juarez and 5th and the price deflates quickly.
Taxi ride home was a hoot as well.
Room Service was enlisted to bring up croissants and chips, and they were great at that time of night. It took 1 hour to deliver but we tipped these fellow as it was late .
Fun night for all and what better, more charming item to greet you upon your return other than…..
Toilet Roll Art!
More tomorrow! It's like a soap, isn't it?
