Fantasea Dive Shop, Playa del Carmen, QR, Mexico
Down two blocks watching the early morning activities, across Avenida Quinta, "Fifth Avenue," and down the hill toward the beach.
And there, in the midst of all this, stood Jason.
Bad news, he said, the water is just too choppy to go out, the current will be too strong, and the viz will be poor. Jason has his dive shop in a little thatched-roofed shack, the third oldest building in Playa. Playa is only about 30 years old. The development of Cancun and environs is recent. But that is another story. We chatted for a while. After all, we will be diving for the next couple days.
I teamed up with a couple from Arkansas - Jason said you had to take a cab from the highway to Tulum so I suggested we share a cab once we got there. Eventually, the bus to Tulum boarded and we took off in the typical plush Mexican bus, with a Hanna Montana movie and all. The bus dropped us at the Tulum ruin entrance, rather than the town of Tulum, so no cab was necessary. At Tulum, we meandered toward a booth that had guides to offer. The Arkansas couple opted for the "fun" excursion, where they would tour the ruins themselves and then board a boat to view the ruins from the sea. Wanting a tour guide, and at the cheaper "3 for 1" rate, I convinced a French-Canadian uncle/niece duo to let me join their tour in French. It does come in handy speaking another language! We ended up with a most delightful guide - half Italian, half Mayan who was perfectly willing to repeat the explanation in English if I missed a fine point. The uncle could speak English as well, so we all got along famously between French, English and Spanish.
We entered by one of the northern portals.
Tulum is the only ruin situated right by the sea - you see it gracing many advertisements for the Yucatan. But there is much more to the ruins than what is pictured - the chief's house, houses of nobles, foundations, an observatory, spread over several acres. Our guide had lots of interesting tidbits as we made our way through the ruins, among them, that the archeologists still don't know where the people who lived at Tulum went to the bathroom! As was the pattern, these stone ruins were the "power centers" of the community - where the priestly class lived. The ordinary folks, who contributed their young for sacrifices, lived outside the walls in grass huts. They made their living off the sea and trade. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes and which made it an extremely important trade hub, especially for the obsidian trade. Coral, shells and chicle (chewing gum), feathers, copper (from the interior) and jade were also important exports.
As we progressed through the ruins, it got hotter and hotter under the midday sun...so incredibly hot! we were soaked with sweat. And we jumped from time to time as iguanas emerged from what seemed an innocent perspective. They were big, munching on the grass, sometimes with a baby nearby. Finally we got to the amazing view over the water during a brief period of sun.
The beach below was so white with water of such a light aqua blue hue it was hard to believe it was real! The wooden walkway down was inviting, but the sea was full of detritus from the storm. And I had neither a bathing suit or a camera, having taken this trip on a whim. Now I know - always take a bathing suit with you in the Yucatan. This knowledge will serve me well when we go to Chichen Itza.
I saw the sky filling with clouds and, even though rain would be a relief from the heat, preferred to stay dry. I headed back to the road and went to the bus shack. I had gotten poor information - the bus did not arrive on the hour, every hour. The schedule was posted on a board - it would be another half hour before it arrived. The bus station manager sat behind his booth. I stepped outside the shack toward the road and sat on a concrete wall - it was cooler. Realizing I had some time, I decided to risk the ice cream the young girl had tried to sell me on the way in. I walked over to her shack and paid an exorbitant price - $3 I think - for a cone. But boy, what a relief. And delicious coconut ice cream.
I find these sort of interludes were fascinating. After about 10 minutes a tourist couple arrived and sat in the open-air building until they too figured out it was cooler outside. Then a thin, young, foreign? man arrived, spoke to the manager, and eventually settled opposite me, reading a book. He looked like someone doing a lot of traveling. A group of 4 young men arrived with suitcases walking down the road from behind us, probably heading to one of the rustic beach hotels. At one point, the station manager walked over and stuck his head out to look at the sky - "Lluvia," he said. This sort of image makes an indelible mental imprint that helps with learning a language - "Rain" - a strange word. But now I know it is derived from the Latin "pluvia," and we see the cognate in French, "pleuvoir." Maybe the "pl" to "ll" (pronounced "ya") transformation is something I should look for in other words. And indeed, by the time we were on the bus, the rain had started. It broke when we got to PDC, and I walked across the street to get a cab. The cabs were lined up, with the drivers in crisp uniforms standing around chatting.
Tuesday will be the first day of diving. But right now, writing this Wednesday night, I need to get dinner and to bed for my third day of diving. Just a prelude, the first diving day was off Playa, and today at Cozumel. Much to tell! Tomorrow a cenote!
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