[bill2354]

Day 6 Thursday This is the day we go back to Tulum to see the ruins and then back to Sunscape Tulum to decide whether to buy. It turns out to be the most interesting day of the week.

When we get to Tulum, we are given our ‘free’ trip and guide as promised by the friendly resort huckster on Tuesday. Our guide is an 80 year old former archaeological inscription interpreter. Not really accurate, but the best I could figure from what he told us. He was extremely informative and knew an incredible amount about the ruins. Unfortunately it was the hottest and calmest day of the week and he spoke and moved verrrry slowly. We eventually told him that we had had enough after an hour and a half and wanted to go swimming. I tipped him very well, as I felt bad that he traveled from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on">Cancun</st1:place> to do this 6 days a week with no pension or any other retirement funds.

The most fascinating story he told us was not about Tulum, but about his discovery on the west coast of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> of the boat that one of the lost tribes of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> came to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> on, and the grave of the pilot of that boat. WOW! This was a world class and history changing discovery, why hadn’t I heard of it? He said that when he uncovered the boat, it began to desinigrate and he had to cover it back up until he could raise the funds to buy the right preservative to protect it. Apparently he didn’t trust the Mexican government to treat either he or his find properly, and he wanted to be sure that he got the proper credit for his discovery. I really wasn’t sure how much to credit this, but he was quite convincing. I expressed my concern, as gently as possible that he might not survive the fund-raising activities and his find be lost, but he assured me that he had chosen a few people to carry on after him!! You have to realize what this follow was claiming here. He said that he had evidence of one of the great unproven claims in history-that the Twelve Tribes of Israel had scattered thousands of years ago to populate the globe, and that all early peoples were descendants of these Twelve Tribes!! Well, I was pretty skeptical, but I’ll keep reading the historical journals to see if he ever gets his funding and changes history!!!!

Off to Sunscape where we had a lovely day of swimming, sunning and eating, and, yes, did do the deal!!! So, next year we’ll be staying in Tulum! (Anyone want to by a master suite at Fishermans'Village??? )

Driving back to PDC we decided to stop somewhere for dinner, and made our next great discovery-Puerto Aventuras. We had no idea what was there, and simply took a turn down the road looking for food. We were amazed at what we found. I’d really read very little to nothing about PA on this board and was quite surprised to find this bustling, upscale area. We drove around and gawked at the homes, resorts and stores for a while, and then parked at what I think was the main retail area. They have these great lagoon areas where they keep the dolphins for the dolphin swims, and in the evenings they just swim around and do flips and other things to entertain themselves. They also have come lagoon areas with manatees and seals in them. Lots of interesting restaurants and shops, and we finally were persuaded to go into Gringo Dave’s.

What an experience!!! Gringo and his son wander the restaurant chatting and entertaining and they offered us free ceviche, guacamole and other appetizers. The food was very good, but what was amazing was the way we were treated. I ordered a margarita, but only drank about half. When the waiter asked why, I told him it was too sweet for me. 2 minutes later he brought over the biggest margarita I had ever seen! He had made it himself to be sure that it was right-and it was!!! Jan and Drew had great fajitas', (everything we asked about, we were told were 'the best in the world' lol) and later, when Gringo Dave noticed that I hadn’t eaten much of the wahoo in my wahoo and shrimp special, I told him that I loved the meal, but hadn’t realized when I ordered it that I really didn’t like wahoo-but that it was fine as I had plenty of other food to eat. Five minutes late, he comes back with a plate of about 8 jumbo grilled shrimp. Holy cow! I swear I didn’t complain about anything, they just noticed something I didn’t particularly like, and replaced it with bigger and better!!! Before leaving, Jan and Drew decided they wanted to buy t-shirts at the Gringo store, and Dave came up and gave me a Gringo Dave’s straw hat. (Had to wear it home so it wouldn't get crushed, and boy did I look like the typical tourist!). Man, I thought I had become his best friend or something, but I saw that that was just the way he liked to treat his other customers as well.

By the way, I noticed that they were selling a tequila that is made in the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State>-can’t remember what they call it, but if anyone has tried it, I’d be interested to know how it tastes. (they offered me a taste, but that huge margarita put me at my limit ).

Before we left we wandered through the Omni Hotel to look at the Puerto Aventuras beach and it was beautiful. We decided that PA was definitely worth another trip next year, and also that we’d try Gringo Dave’s in Tulum as well.
All in all a very full and educational day!
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