30BE Part Three: The Island That Shall Not Be Named

So, we decided that we liked Cancun so much that we would stay for a few days. Having gone to bed early, we also rose early and took the first local bus out to the beach. Mike immediately started hitting the bottle, hard. I tried to stop him, but he was a madman. "Tequila!" he roared! "MORE Tequila!!" I tried to at least get him to have it in a drink of some sort, but he would not listen. He slapped a $50 bill on the bar and told the 'tender to just leave him the bottle, and he better damn well bring another when he saw it was gett'n empty. It was downhill from there. With a half-empty bottle of Pepe Lopez in each fist, he went stumbling down the beach. It was all I could do to keep up. Finally, he faltered and went to his knees. As I reached him, drool flew from his lips as he mumbled something about Cuba. Then he was gone - face-down in the sand. I threw him over my shoulder and hiked all the way back to our hostel. No bus would have him. I put him in the bottom bunk and listened to him ramble - some fever dream. You can read his version of it here. I took notes, and helped him to re-create this fantastical journey inside his own addled mind. Even in his own account he has forgotten parts of the dream. I will do my best to fill in.

Mike forgets to mention that on the imagined plane ride to Havana, illicit Cuban rum, Havana Club, was served to all willing passengers. What a dream!

This is the Bar Monserrate, where Mike says we whiled away the first evening...



This is a vista of the valley of Vinales, where Mike dreamt we travelled to the next day...



A re-creation...



A dramatization...



Another re-creation...



Cars like one might find in a dream about Cuba...




The following are things one might see in Havana, if you were to return there after Vinales, in your dream...













Ah, Mike. What an imagination, you drunken sot.

30BE Part Two: Chichen to Cancun

OK, so as Mike mentions, we got up real early and took the first bus possible to the ruins of Chichen Itza. He does a good job of writing about it, so I'll just show you my pictures with a few comments...

The above shot is mine - I just manipulated it a bit on the 'ole computer. Kinda looks like a Holga shot, if you know what that is. Below is our buddy shot. Damn, look at those socks.

Below is one of the famous feathered serpents...

Funky noses...

Nice foreground/background juxtaposition...

I amped the shadows on this one so you can see more details. The eagle is devouring the heart of a sacrificial victim...


Where the Mayan CEOs lounged, watching the ball games below. Very Roman of them...


Another method of doing-away with people was throwing them in large sinkholes, or cenotes, as they are called here...

Chief Smoking Snake, in the Observatory, with the Jade Sword...





Say hello to my little friend (baby preying mantis)...


By the way, I'm REALLY looking forward to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. If anyone knows how to indulge in the finer details of violence, it's Mel. I think he'll do the Mayans (or Azteks, or whatever) right.

So we hopped back on another bus and rode on to Cancun. Yes, we were pestered by a little kid. Yes, I hit him in the head with my guidebook, but it wasn't in the back of the head - it was in the face. Not hard, just a swat. He was looming over the back of my seat, literally breathing down my neck. Like Mike, I actually started to warm up to the little brat by the end. He earned points for perseverance.

In Cancun we found a hostel in town rather than accomodations out on the strip. Shared a four-person dorm with a couple of German kids coming over to do humanitarian work. After a wonderful dinner of rice and shrimp, Mike and I tried to brave the bars and clubs on the beach, but just couldn't handle the "WHOOO!" factor. Too much. However, there was a lot of nice scenery. Still, we came back in and called it an early night.

30BE Travel Tip #2: Men, talcum powder (polvo de talc) can be your best friend, especially in hot, sticky climes. Oh, yes. Now when the ladies leave the table, saying they need to powder themselves, you can say, "Me too!"

30BE Part One: Merida

June 15th, 2006: First day of vacation

Good thing I was already packed, because I did not wake up until my ride to the airport called to say she was on the way. Turns out that three of my co-workers were taking the same flight from Southville to Atlanta (on their way to vacation in San Francisco), so it made things convenient. I stayed up late the previous night, drinking with Matt, who would be meeting me weeks later in Costa Rica. The spark for this last-minute binge was a last-minute break-up with the girl I’d been dating for the past few months. It was more implied than explicit. We had an argument in the afternoon, separated on bad terms, and didn’t speak again (until about a week into my trip). But, good ‘ole MySpace let me know exactly what she was thinking. “Single” again - no strings. Probably a good thing for an extended trek through Central America.

So, after some Ben & Jerry’s in the Atlanta airport (to make my head feel better) I took leave of my friends and trekked down to my next gate. There was Mike, ready and waiting. If you have read this blog before, you might remember Mike. We met in Beirut awhile back and planned this trip out several months ago. He’s actually ahead of me on the blog re-caps, so rather than write anything redundant, I will direct you to his version for shared portions of the journey. I will add my pics and additional anecdotes.

Post #1 from Mike

This is Mike watching the in-flight movie -- Schindler's List.


30BE Travel Tip #1: Don't use the bathroom for any long stays (you know what I mean) in the International Terminal. Whoa. Lotta cross-cultural stuff going on in there. Doesn't come out too well.

So we hopped down to Merida, capitol of the Yucatan state of Mexico (for details, see Mike's entry, linked above).









Mmmmm... ice cream.



This is what was going on in a plaza near our hostel...



La Plaza Central in motion...



Whew! This catch-up posting takes longer than I thought! I still have travel laundry to do, so check again in about 24 hrs for another post...