Posted by Shelley on June 21, 2001 at 14:45:06:
TRIP REPORT MAY 2001 Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5: Last Day: Dropped Danno off at Tulum, picked up some gas and decided to go to Bacalar!! It took us approximately 2.5 hours from D-Day: Met Steve and Beth for breakfast at Turtle Bay. Sadly packed up our stuff and tried to phone the airline to confirm It was quite a laid back vacation this time! And was perfect! I just got a new camara, so I took many, many pictures! I posted Shelley and Craig in Calgary (Some pictures may follow....)
This was our 4th time to the area, and we were as excited as usual about getting there! We thought our flight was going to
be late, but it ended up getting rescheduled and arrived early (3pm). Whoo hoooo! Just packed knapsacks this time, which
really saves time getting through the airport. There were no line-ups at customs and we were through in about 5 minutes
flat! We planned ahead of time to stay in Puerto Morales for our first night because of our late flight, but even though we got
in early, we decided to stay there anyways and I’m glad we did. I love Puerto Morales!! It is such a nice little laid-back town.
We went to Johnny Cairos on the south end of town. Yet another great place. Very nice atmosphere. We met "Johnny"
himself and he is really a cool guy!! We enjoyed chatting with him. Sat around soaking in the beauty of the sea then
wandered around town. We stayed at a place called Hotel Inglaterra ($25US a night). Very basic accommodation, not
directly on the beach, and no view-but very clean, and that is what matters to us. There was only a box spring for a mattress,
but it was fine and we had a good sleep. One bizarre incident; we found that when we got up in the AM we were locked in
the hotel! The front door of the hotel was chained and padlocked! BUT we were up way to early (4AM-hey, it was our first
day, and the roosters next door were crowing!!) and I believe the caretaker lives on-site so if you REALLY HAD TO get out,
you could. I'd recommend this place and stay there again sometime for sure. It is a cute little place.
In the AM we went to Goyos. He is from the U.S. but has been living down there forever (25 yrs) and we have met him
before. He does jungle tours, sweat lodges and that sort of thing. He has a cute little shop just south off the main street
(behind Hotel Inglaterra). Chatted with him for awhile then we headed south. On the way we stopped at Rancho Grande---I
would not recommend this place, the horses looked terrible, they were full of severe saddle sores and their feet were a real
mess....it was sad, so I won't say anymore about it. We ended up going to Casa Cenote for breakfast and decided to stay for
2 nights. Gary and Peggy are the some of the best hosts anywhere and their casitas are fabulous. I think they have the most
comfortable beds in all of Mexico!!! The room rates include breakfast and supper and the food is always awesome!! Fresh
lobster, huge shrimps, fish, steak, whatever you want!! We have never stayed in the Tankah area before, so we did alot of
wandering around, beach walking, snorkeling, and general hanging out. The snorkling around the “hole” where the cenote
connects to the sea is excellent. There is a big shelf that drops off very close to shore. Craig saw Manta Rays, I saw them
fluttering around in the sand, but missed them when they swam away. Lots of fish-awsome! The Tankah road extends well
past Casa Cenote now and there are a lot of parcels of land for sale there. The road is good and the power lines are run.
The second night, Bill (you know, the famous Bill in Tulsa!) showed up, as he was staying down the road at Tankah Villas.
We ended up having dinner with Bill, and June and Art from Tankah Villas. It was such a pleasure meeting June and Art,
they are super nice people! We then proceeded to indulge in yummy margaritas. Had a great time and lots of good
laughs---waayyyy too much Tequila-yikes! It was so nice to see Bill again; we really enjoyed visiting with him! He is one
special guy and is a very dear friend! (Hey Bill, did you ever find your glasses???)
Woke up with a severe h-a-n-g-o-v-e-r-yikes!! So we took it easy all day. Had breakfast and we ended up going to Akumal.
Decided to stay at Villas Maya (just behind Lol Ha Bar) and ended up staying there for the remainder of our trip. Although it
is not directly on the beach, it is very close and we loved it!! The suites are very nice and roomy. I also loved the
grounds-lots of huge trees and many different kinds of plants and flowers if you are into that sort of thing. Hit Turtle Bay for
breakfast and had a beach day. Drank about 10 gallons of water and worked on my recovery. Went to the board party at Lol
Ha in the late afternoon, it was a small group and included Bill, Kay from Locogringo, a group from Colorado (Steve and
Beth and their crew), and Tom B. Then we ended up running into the people that were our neighbours at the hotel we
stayed at LAST year-what are the odds of that happening!? We were so happy to see them, they are really cool people (Rod
and Vicky from Colorado). They were leaving the next morning though, so we visited for a while and hope we can align our
holidays, on purpose, next year! By the way, Mmmmm try the Key Lime pie at Lol Ha, it is very good. Seems to have
hangover-healing-powers as well! Steve and Beth had a Robinson Crusoe tour planned for the next day, so we decided to
join them. We have been trying to do this tour for years and were looking forward to it!!
Had breakfast at Turtle Bay and headed off to meet the rest of the group for the Robinson Crusoe tour. There was another
couple from Louisianna that went as well, but I can’t remember their names. Wow, this is a great trip!! The weather was nice
too. Got onto the Catamaran and headed to Xaac Bay! We fished along the way, but didn’t have much luck, only caught one
fish (and it was small). The crew had plenty of fresh fish they brought with them, just in case! Xaac Bay is beautiful!!!! There
is a little lighthouse ruin there too. We wandered around, snorkeled and just relaxed as the crew prepared lunch. We had 3
kinds of fish including the one we caught, fresh ceviche, salsa, guacamole, tonnes of fresh fruit including delicious mangoes
and pineapple. We enjoyed an absolutely superb lunch on the beach!! This by far exceeded our expectations. Walked down
to a small cenote in a cave, snorkeled some more, then headed back. This is a great trip, and is a fantastic way to spend a
day. It is fun and I'd do it again in a minute!! Ended up at Lol Ha and had a few drinks with everyone, discussed turtles and
how great it would be to see one (which we never have!!), then we headed to La Lunita for supper-our favorite place!!!
Today we hung out in Akumal. I went for a very long walk down the beach early in the AM. Walked down to the point on the
southern tip of the bay. Ahhhhh, now this is the life!!!! Snorkeled in Yalku for the morning, then we headed to Akumal Bay,
snorkeled some more and relaxed on the beach under the palms. It was a picture perfect day. This was the only evening we
had rain, and it was coming down pretty good!! Went to Lol Ha for supper. Can’t say this is one of my favorite places. Took
a walk down the beach and retired.
We ended up driving down to Oscar Y Lalos very early in the AM, nothing was open there yet. Yikes, there was a jet ski in
the bay!! I really hope this does not become commonplace down there! We ran into a guy that was the owners son - Danno.
I had heard of him on the boards before through Sharoon, so we were very pleased to meet him! He asked if we could give
him a ride to Tulum, which was no problem. He was in a car accident the day before, so he was feeling a little rough! Really
nice guy though! He does tours for a living so you can track him down at Oscar Y Lalos anytime to arrange a time. He
offered to take us to a beautiful secluded spot on our way to Tulum. He took us to this beach where they had been filming a
German soap opera for the past two years! Wow, it was awesome!! Not sure what this area is called, but I believe it is one
of the Tankah bays. There was a freshwater cenote there where the water emptied from a cave into the sea. The colors of
the water were stunning and you could see the Tulum Ruins in the distance. The owner will be converting the set, which
consists of a few nice cabana type structures, to a restaurant, so there will be public access to this place soon.
Akumal. Enjoyed the drive and the small villages along the way. Somehow we got turned around in Puerto Phillippe Carillo
(sp?). There is a small traffic circle in the centre of town….we turned right, Oops. This is a busy, bustling little town! I would
like to spend some time here next trip. Got ourselves turned back around in the right direction and carried on. Passed
through villages and lots of fruit stands-especially pineapple and lots of little farms/orchards along the way. The old fortress
on the lagoon called Fort San Felipe was amazing!! It was a fortress built in 1729 to defend against Pirates. It was built by
settlers from the Canary Islands and constructed out of stones from Mayan pyramids. There is a small, very interesting
museum set up inside. The view of the lagoon from the top was absolutely breath taking!! I burned a whole roll of film there.
Stopped at a restaurant/marina on the lagoon for a refreshment. The colors in the water are unreal. There were HUGE trees
and all kinds of birds. What a great place! We absolutely loved this area and will return to visit Bacalar again and also
Xcalak and Chetumal. Drove back and had our last supper at La Lunita - it was a beautiful night so we sat outside at the
tables on the beach.
our flight time. We couldn’t get through to our airline. Actually, someone at the airport told us that airline did not exist!!
Cool!!!!! We’ll just have to stay then!!! ha ha ha No such luck, we packed up and headed towards Cancun, dropped the car
off, our flight was right on time, and before we knew it, we were back at home. L
only the best ones! No problems at all with anything, including our car rental through Budget. Everything went through on
our credit card as quoted. We have used Budget 3 times now. They are excellent; quick, provide great service, fair rates,
and we never have any problems. We met many cool people and saw some old friends too! As usual, we always say this is
going to be our last trip and that we will go elsewhere in the world for our next holiday, BUT we’ll be going back to Akumal
and destinations south again, ASAP!!