Things Fall Apart

There have been a lot of adjustments for our family since moving to Belize. Some examples:  the people are friendly, but do things differently than we are used to; the food distribution system is radically different, and in many instances, the foods are actually different (more on that in a future post); the education system is different; but perhaps most strikingly and pervasively, the climate is really, really different.

We moved here during the rainy season. In addition to the frequent rain, it is always humid and almost always pretty hot. A normal day here over the past 2+ months features temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s, lows in the low 80s, and humidity in the 80-90% range. This feels really hot, particularly to someone relocating from the cool northern latitudes of Seattle.

The result of this hot humid weather is that things just...dissolve here. I don't know how else to describe it. Basically, if it can rust, it will, and if it can't, it will grow mold, or just kind of disintegrate. Case in point:  our bicycles.

The weekend we moved here we bought new bicycles for the entire family. They are cheap (and cheaply made) beach cruisers manufactured in China. Every week I hose all of them down, wipe them down with a rag, clean all the moving parts, and lubricate everything. However, late last week, I was having trouble steering and Amy's wheel was making a very disconcerting series of noises. My handlebars were conveying a sort of munchety-crunchety vibration, and I knew the bearings in the headset were shot.

Shiny new headset bearings from S.P. Hardware on the left, old busted retainer and rusty bearings on the right

I pulled the axle out of Amy's front wheel to find only 7 bearings, a paper-thin retainer, and a briny mixture of salt, sand, and watery grease in the cup

What I did not expect was the sheer level of destruction in just TWO MONTHS. I do a fair bit of bike maintenance on the family fleet of bikes back home, and I've seen things break, but never like this. The rapidity of the dissolution of the bearings in my headset and in Amy's front wheel is breathtaking. I have yet to overhaul the bottom brackets, but I fully anticipate a similar level of mechanical carnage.

So, I am learning a lot about cup-and-cone bearings and the wonders of grease!

Mexico Day 3 & 4: Turtles and Protests

For our last full day in Mexico we decided to go snorkeling with sea turtles! We found an outfit called iTour just across the Avenida from our hotel that would transport us to the beach and lead us in search of the turtles. It was a fairly big group, and we were the only Americans--most of our group was British, with a few Italians sprinkled in. Our Mexican guide, Emilliano, gave instructions first in English, then in Italian, and of course was speaking Spanish with all of his colleagues. It was pretty impressive.

The iTour people have a sense of humor.

We arrived at a dive resort and received snorkeling equipment (we'd brought our own, but were required to wear inflatable snorkeling vests) and instructions on the beach. Then it was off in search of turtles! Unfortunately it was quite crowded, there were numerous tour groups looking for the turtles, and many of the people in our group had never been snorkeling before. Some weren't very strong swimmers either, and this combination resulted in several flippers and elbows to the face, which did not enhance my experience. However! We did find the sea turtles, and lots of them.

Ready to look for turtles!

Green sea turtle

And another

Up for air...

...then back down again

Liam having a fantastic time watching the turtles

We also saw some rays, like this yellow spotted ray...

...and this Caribbean whiptail ray

According to Emilliano, the green sea turtles have become more abundant recently as the sea grass has expanded along the beaches. They graze on the grass almost like cows or goats, surface for some air, then descend back to the sea grass to graze some more. They are such beautiful, graceful creatures, and I could have watched them all day. Unfortunately, we only had a limited amount of time to swim with the turtles, and our group was led back to the beach and the vans so we could travel to our next stop, Tak Be Ha, an underground cenote.

Swimming in the cenote

This underground cenote was very beautiful, and thankfully we were provided with wetsuits so the cold water did not get to the boys like it did when we swam in the closed cenote with Labna Ha. But once again, it was jammed full of tour groups (including ours) and was strung with lights, so we didn't get the same solitude and magical darkness as our first closed cenote. It was still very enjoyable and interesting to note the differences between the two.

We made it back to Tulum in time for some sand castle building at the beach, then had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants on the Avenida. Lochlan made friends with a very friendly pitbull while we waited for our food, and we enjoyed the unusual bottle-based architecture.

Very proud of their enormous drip castle fortress

Creative way to use the empties

Lochlan's new friend

The next day we had planned to take the ADO bus from Tulum to Chetumal, shop for a bit, then take a transfer across the border back to Corozal for the flight home. As fate would have it, our friends Tara, Cathy and Aiden had also decided to stay an extra day, and their driver offered to swing by and pick us up for no extra charge. Amazing. It was not a hard decision to accept their generous offer, so we spent a relaxing morning packing, swimming in the pool, and waiting for our ride.

We headed south uneventfully...until we came to a road-blocking group of protesting teachers. That's right, in Mexico, when teachers protest, they shut down the highways, and the Federales are totally cool with it. Every hour they move the gates and lets some cars through, then they shut it down for another hour. So we hung out in the blazing heat, peed in the jungle, drank some beer, talked to the teachers, and just soaked it all in. It was a very unusual experience.

Well, this is different.

Protesters passing the time in the middle of the road. It was very hot and sunny, hence all the umbrellas.

Amy and Tara, gettin' messy in a mango

Eventually we made it in to Chetumal and were dropped off at an honest-to-god shopping mall. I wanted to purchase an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for my computer so the frequent brown outs in Belize would not shut down my computer, and Amy and they boys went in search of food and Halloween costumes.

It was somewhat jarring being in a mall, surrounded by more stuff than I have seen in months. I don't normally go to malls in the States, and being at the mall in Mexico, I was struck by how incredibly loud everything was. In the grocery store, right before I found Amy and the boy, I walked past this quasi-deli area with a sound system that was absolutely cranking, like 120 decibels, it was surreal.

 I found my UPS at Office Depot and Amy and the boys were sort-of successful in finding their food stuffs and Halloween supplies (apparently Mexicans do not eat granola bars, raisins, or nuts) and we were back in the van to finish our journey south.

We had a short wait at the Corozal airport, which I spent alternating between bird watching and playing soccer with the boys. I saw three large flocks of what I think were yellow-lored parrots flying across and around the runway. Even through binoculars it was difficult to find the characteristic markings that distinguish this species from the very similar white-fronted parrot. Regardless of the species, I always get such a thrill out of seeing WILD PARROTS in their natural habitat, it is just so freaking cool.

Homeward bound!

We made it home safely and were pleasantly surprised that returning to San Pedro really, truly felt like going home.

The End.

Tulum, Mexico Day 2: Zip Lining & Cenotes

For our second day in Tulum we decided to try a jungle adventure. There are many tour companies in and around Tulum that conduct what they purport to be 'jungle adventures' but they are tailored towards the cruise ship crowd and churn hundreds (if not thousands) of people through their tour mill daily. Fortunately Amy was able to find an outfit called Labna Ha that seemed to be focused on longer tours with smaller groups. The problem was how to get in touch with them.

Our hotel room was not equipped with a telephone, I suppose due to the ubiquity of mobile phones. However, our Belize cell phones do not work in Mexico, and I discontinued service on my USA telephone. Amy tried calling Labna Ha using one of the hotel employee's phones, but the call kept dropping. I  hit the streets in search of a pay phone.

Amazingly there are still pay phones in Tulum. The first one I found was not functional. The second one seemed to be functional, but it did not accept coins. It had a card reader, but not for credit cards. What was this deviltry?! Finally, after scrutinizing the Spanish directions at length, I determined that I needed to purchase a pre-paid calling card. But where to find one? Eventually I figured out they are available at Oxxo (kinda like 7 Eleven, but without the soda fountains and Slurpee machines, and with Mexican beer) and after using a whole bunch of barely remembered vocabulary from my 20 year-old Spanish classes, managed to buy a 50 peso calling card. After more mind-melting Spanish directions at the payphone--success! I talked to Jose, the owner of Labna Ha, and he said they had availability for an 11:00 tour.

Inside the Labna Ha lodge

The bathroom sink is made from a conch and a hollowed out tree trunk

We hopped on one of the many collectivos zooming down the Avenida, and for about US $2 each, he drove us the 7 miles or so to Labna Ha. The lodge looks like it was hand made from found materials and is really, really cool. Jose explained that Sergio would be our guide for the day, and he drove us to the first activity--zip lining. During the drive, Jose explained that he used to be an economist in Spain but hated the work. He moved his entire family to Mexico in 2002 and he started diving the cenotes (say-no-tays) that are all over the Yucatan peninsula. He discovered numerous closed cenotes, and discovered that many of the known cenotes are in fact connected by underground rivers. Eventually he created Labna Ha and formed partnerships with local Mayan communities to take tours onto their lands. Initially, they conducted only diving tours of the cenotes, but in 2006, he was leading a trip of divers when a non-diving spouse wondered if there were any other activities that she could participate in while she waited the 3 hours for the dive to finish. They took her snorkeling, canoeing, etc., and since then that side of the business has exploded and now comprises 95% of their business.

They've done a tremendous amount of work putting in trails, bathrooms, signage, zip lines, etc. throughout their tour area. I was really impressed with their operation. As it happens, we were the only people on a tour that day and had the entire place to ourselves--amazing.

The first order of business was the 'small' zip line. This was a total blast. We were strapped into harnesses, marched up to a platform, clipped on to the zip line, and then flung into the void by a tiny but surpisingly strong (and silent) Mayan fellow. The boys absolutely loved it, and since we were the only ones there, were able to ride the zip line three times. 

Ready to zip line! We are holding our 'Mayan brakes' (yes, they are sticks, and we really did use those to stop)

Liam, clipped in and ready to fly

And he's off!

Lochlan, with not a trace of fear

Kid number 2 away!

Amy, a little less certain than the boys

Looks to me like she might be regretting this decision (definitely click this one to embiggen)

Then it was time for the 'big' zip line. This one ran all the way across the longest part of the lake, and when we all made it to the other side, we were given a canoe and explored the lagoon for about half an hour. When we made it back to the other side, it was time for our first cenote.

In the canoe on our way across the lagoon

Finally, I have a pot to piss in!!

This first cenote was 'open' meaning it is not within a cave, but more like a deep, circular pond with crystal clear water and hundreds of tiny fish. We spent about an hour snorkeling, swimming, and diving off the dock into the water. The water was cool but very refreshing in the middle of the hot day.

The open cenote

The water was extremely clear

Taking the plunge

After the open cenote we took a short drive to our next stop, a closed cenote. This was really, really cool--we walked down a flight of stairs through a rock-lined entrance into a water-filled cave. This was like something out of an Indiana Jones set.

Lochlan about to descend into Xibalba, the Mayan underworld

A bat greeted us at the entrance (there were bats flying around throughout the cenote)

 The roof of the cave was covered with stalactites, and the water extended off into the distance beyond the reach of our guide's flashlight. We put on our snorkeling gear and jumped into the chilly water. Looking down through the water, I could easily understand why the underworld plays a huge part in Mayan mythology--it seemed to descend forever. I also noticed several white ropes running in various directions at different depths. These are the lines the divers use to find their way between the connected cenotes. Some of the dives are several kilometers long, and if the divers lose their way, they are trapped and can run out of air. Although I'm sure the diving tour is an amazing experience, it sounded pretty dangerous to me and I was happy to be snorkeling.

We followed Sergio through the water, and as we swam, he stopped at intervals and explained the geology and ecology of the cenote. We passed through a pretty low and narrow passage and entered into yet another cave of equal or greater size to the one we started in. Sergio asked us if we were ready to see something cool, we said yes, and he turned off his flashlight. It was utterly, impenetrably, indescribably dark. There was no discernible light of any kind. We posed for pictures, and the boys were getting really cold, so we swam back to the cave entrance and ascended back to sunshine and warmth.

Stalactites! The dust you see in the photo is actually minerals falling from the roof of the cave

Another view of the cenote

Deep inside the cenote--it was DARK

Further into the cenote

We had to navigate some tight spaces, but the boys were very brave

We returned to the lodge where Jose had laid out a bunch of fruit, guacamole, and chips. We snacked and talked with him at length about our experience, and he gave us a DVD with a bunch of video footage and information about the cenotes and the surrounding jungle.

The tour was a really great experience for all of us, and I highly recommend Labna Ha if you are interested in doing something similar.

With Jose, after the tour.

Tulum, Mexico Day 1: Mayan Ruins on the Beach

Columbus Day was on Monday, but here in Belize, a different (and completely unrelated) holiday called Pan-American Day is observed, and is also a school holiday. We decided to take advantage of the long weekend and head north to Mexico.

We flew Tropic Air from San Pedro to Corozal, Belize, and had originally intended to take a transfer to Chetumal, Mexico where we would catch an ADO bus north to Tulum. As fate would have it, our friends Cathy and Terra and their son Aiden were on the same transfer bus. They were heading to Playa del Carmen (north of Tulum) and the driver offered to take us all the way to Tulum for only $50 USD. Done!

Liam, Lochlan, Aiden and a big bag of chips on the transfer

Mexico!

There is a strange geographic anomaly along the border between Mexico and Belize, called the 'Free Zone'. Apparently this strip of land was (is?) claimed by both countries, and consequently exists as a political no-mans-land. However, some enterprising capitalist realized that if both countries claim it, neither one is governing it, so he set up a shop and sold all of his wares duty-free. Then another shop opened, and another, and so on, and now it is a legitimate place of commerce where citizens of both nations can purchase cheap goods (mostly from China) and pay no tax or duty. For the traveler, this means clearing out of Belize, driving for several minutes through the no-mans-land, then entering Mexico.

The drive was uneventful and we made it to our hotel with plenty of time for dinner. We found our way to Don Cafeto, where our waiter Lorenzo took a liking to the boys and asked for a portrait with our entire family (currently on Lorenzo's Facebook profile!) Coincidentally, the Mexico vs Panama soccer game was on, and the entire wait staff erupted in cheers when Mexico took the lead with an amazing bicycle kick.

The courtyard and unique pool at the hotel

The next day we rented bicycles and pedaled to the Tulum ruins, one of the last inhabited Mayan settlements. The ruins are enclosed by a wall, situated on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, and are remarkably well preserved. The setting is absolutely stunning. We hired an English-speaking guide for a tour, which was well worth it--he provided many in-depth explanations of the social structure of the Mayan society, and how the location, design, and ornamentation of the buildings related to their function. We also saw TWO green-headed tree snakes. I managed to get a photo of one of them, and our guide was shocked that we'd seen them--he said we were extremely lucky.

Entrance to the park

In front of the 'Painted Temple', which used to be covered with colorful murals

One of the green headed tree snakes we saw

Travel poster scenery everywhere

Wish Willy--these guys were everywhere

A view of the ruins looking landward

After our guide was finished we spent more time exploring the ruins, then rode our bikes to Playa Paraiso for some lunch and beach time. The beaches near Tulum are amazing--sugar sand, beautiful blue water, palm trees, the whole enchilada. The only downside is that (unlike Belize) almost all the beaches in Mexico are privately owned, so you have to pay the property owners or eat at the resort restaurants to get access. We didn't really mind, but the overall principle of private ownership of beaches wrankled a bit. I got over it quickly.

Amy, clearly having an absolutely miserable time

Look--it's NOT Belekin!!

Beach time!