We arrived after a killer long day. A winter storm fell on Spokane as we awoke at 3:30am to catch our 6:00 am flight. By the time we got to the airport, 3 inches had fallen on the city. Flying to Salt Lake City then on to Mexico City was a breeze and we were feeling ready to go. In Mexico City our early morning departure caught up with us as we waited for 4 hours in a not-so-interesting airport. Catching a commuter plane at 6:30pm, both Susie and I prayed that it would make the journey as it rumbled up into the air. Too tired to think much, we both fell asleep on the last leg of our journey.
When we awoke we had arrived in the capital city of the Yucatan - Merida. Warm air, humidity, all the tropical goodness you could ever want greeted us as we stepped into the taxi line. A quick and friendly taxi ride delivered us to our Airbnb casa and we headed off to bed.
The first morning, having skipped dinner the night before, we were famished.
We took the morning to grab some coffee and then started wandering around the city. Truly a beautiful and non-touristy city. Skinny streets, beautiful homes and only an hour from the beach. The most remarkable thing is it was litter free - spectacular.
Susie and I found ourselves sitting, like true Latinas, on a park bench and watching the world go by. We were both very happy to sit there for what seemed like an hour and chat. Ahhhh, the beauty of no agenda.
The houses were absolutely amazing - some were remodeled and some were pretty rustic. Everyone sported a color and a story.
The streets were teeming both with people and heat. After a morning of wandering around we were happy to head back to our beautiful Airbnb for a swim and to read a book.
On a hot day a beer is always a good thing.
Following our time in Merida, we sought out, with a little bit of effort, a car and drive to take us the 5 hours to the ferry is Isla Mujeres, located in the huge city of Cancun. Our guide we found didn't speak much English and our Spanish was a little rusty - but we were able to communicate that we wanted to head to the ferry and along the way wanted to see the Cenotes. Our dear driver not only took us to out of the way Cenotes, but found a great authentic Mexican diner for lunch. A highlight of our trip was going to non-touristy Cenotes; the first was actually more like a cave pool - complete with Stalagmites and Stalagtites. The second looked more like a green pool, the third was guarded by naked men so we didn't get to see it, just the naked men.
The fourth was truly a gem, with clear blue water complete with hanging vines and tropical vegetation. It was the highlight of the journey, though definitely a tourist attraction.
Amazingly we met up with Balin and the kids at the ferry and made our way to Isla Mujeres. I have to admit I was expecting something closer to Hawaii. The food was spectacular and worthy of the long journey. The house was spectacular that we stayed in - truly a GORGEOUS house but the island itself was a little disappointing. Dirty and littered, it represented a side of Mexico I'm not a huge fan of. We did enjoy a great sailing trip, and did I mention amazing food close to stunning beaches?