Arriving...

Always a panic, not so much about getting up at 3:30 AM, but anxiety that I WON'T get up at 3:30 AM.  As it was, I was up on the dot (not too painful), but half an hour was just not enough, and I ended up leaving at 4:15 rather than 4.  That translated into (finally!) being dropped off at the United SFO terminal just in time to check my bags at 5:00 AM on the dot.  I had forgotten about United's 45 minute rule.  And since my plane left at 5:45 AM, 45 minutes exactly is too close!  Lucky for me I had checked in on line and read the page about where the "Bag drop" was for Internet checkees.  Anyway it was a fast-paced walk out to gate 83.  Nice 767 to Denver, with an aisle seat in Premier Plus.  Managed to sleep most of both legs of the trip.  Recommend the Chili Cheesesteak place in Denver airport terminal B.  Plane to Cancun was smaller, but still had the best seat behind first class.  Breezed through customs, made my way to through a phalanx of touts to the right bus drivers for the transfer. 

The Yucatan is so, so much more developed than San Carlos.  I love my little funky San Carlos where the town and the expats mingle more freely.  The road to Playa del Carmen (PDC) was lined with mega-resorts, albeit not highrises like Cancun (so I hear), but low-rise timeshare or all-inclusive resorts about a mile from the highway, right on the ocean, each fronted by a massive and showy entrance.  Everything was up to 1st world standards, with the highway, etc..  After driving from Hermosillo I would have no problem driving here.  On the other hand, not dealing with a car lifts a certain level of anxiety. 

Seems like most of the people on the bus to the resort rarely venture out of the resort, unless on tours.  This was not what I had planned.  In Hawaii, yes, there are some days I don't leave the resort - but there I feel I am in Hawaii.  Here, surrounded by couples from middle america, with all the conveniences of home, with a beautiful beach, but on my first visit to the area, I was eager to get out and about and experience Mexico.

And, I found that the resort really is not set up to facilitate getting into Playa del Carmen as I had planned.  I think I'll be able to manage between cabs, shuttles back to the resort and maybe the bus.  In retrospect, though, it would have been better to rent a car.  Nevertheless, besides 4 days of scuba and one of ruins with Jason of Fantasea Diving ( 1 day cenotes, 1 day Cozumel), I should be able to squeeze in a night visit to Chichen Itza, a day visit to Tulum, and Puerto Moreles, as well as exploring PDC. 

So, I finally got to the Royal Haciendas.  It is very nice.  Everyone here speaks much more English than in San Carlos, although maybe it is just because my Spanish is getting better.  Very beautiful and clean 2 bedroom unit with  balconies looking over the pools, and, there it was, the hot tub on the balcony.

And a view of the Yucatan landscape and ocean from the entrance to the unit.  I had to go down to the ocean as soon as possible. 

Tropical storm Matthew is over Honduras and Guatamala, and we're seeing the side-effects.  They were changing the yellow flag to red just as I arrived at the beach.  The introductory materials had said don't bring your surfboard to the Caribbean, but this was a surfing ocean.  Blue, blue Caribbean, and, dipping my toes into the water, not too warm, not too cold, but the 3mm wetsuit is still probably justified.  Lovely beach chairs under palapas.  I plopped down and just listened to the waves, enjoyed the warm wind.  Oh, and the humidity.  It is overwhelming, especially with the atmospheric wetness.

I'm starting to soak in the Yucatan.  Flying in, you could see areas that were clearly on their way to becoming sinkholes, cenotes.  And the long straight roads similar to the ones the Mayas built, even though they did not use the wheel.  Flat, jungle, barely divided between ocean and land, swampy.  Those with Mayan ancestry are easy to identify.  Walking back to my villa, then down the walkway on the backside, looking out over the dark, steamy flat Yucatan plateau, I can almost see the temples, the fires, the sounds of civilization - the drumming, the howls.