TheTales ofBillinTulsa(Tour Guide)in Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

November 2 though 10, 1998

Accompanied by:
LynnJohnson, my Wife and Friend.
NancyFelts, my Friend.
RickKruse, my Friend.
BillinTulsa, is Bill Johnson

These stories are true to the best of my Memories. You know how that goes!
But I will be as accurate as possible.
I truly hope you enjoy my tales of the Magical Akumal.
(Magical Place of the Turtles).Yours truly Bill in Tulsa
 

Vacation to Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Time frame November 2, '98 to November 10, '98

Dia Tres

 

It’s becoming day light and Lynn is already up with the coffee in a cup.

Caribe
SunRise

I join her for another morning of Sunrise celebration. The Café is hot and black. Muy Rico, I exclaim, just what I need this morning after all that joyyesterday. I’m already ready for breakfast (I don’t eat much breakfast) as my stomach is crying from all that Cerveza and Margaritas. Rick and Nancy stumble out to view the morning and Rick looks like death warmed over. I give him a hearty laugh and he scorns me. We all laugh and drink our coffee. We are headed for Ruinas Coba this morning. We are out of the condo and out the arches and on the way to Tulum to catch the road to Coba. On the way we pass the sign that announces  and the car wants to stop, but we are on our way to Coba and I won't let it turn. We are now at the turn off and head down the jungle road that is full of pot holes. We pass though several Mayan villages on the way. We will arrive before the Ruins open so we can have breakfast at Nicte-Ha Restaurant.

            
Coba
Nicte-Ha Restaurant and Tourist Guide Post

It is a small place run by a Mayan family that over looks Lake Coba (Fuente al Lago). The signs and menu are in English and the waitress is Mayan (Irma Maria Chuc Interian), a very cute young lady that doesn’t speak any more English than I speak Spanish. We have a wonderful conversation and enjoy the Eggs and Bacon and Nescafe con Crema. The Tortillas are hand made and the best I have ever had, Irma keeps bringing the Tortillas as they dwindle away in my mouth. Lynn and I found this place a couple of years ago when we arrived too early for the ruins. Quite a find we think and would recommend that you have breakfast there if you can. We pay our bill and say our Hastas Luegos. Oh yes, leaving a very generous Propina (tip) as usual.

We are off for a tour of Coba. Lynn and I have been here but heard that the ball court and a circular pyramid had been restored since our last visit. Looking forward to this adventure as the air is full of mystery and allure. The Maya left behind some very strong Karma or something as I always feel like the hair on my arms is electrified. It will be Nancy’s first ruins and Rick’s first time to Coba. We are parking the car and find only one other visitor has arrived for a tour of the Ruinas Coba, that is good as we will be the first to enter today. I (being the tour guide and all) go to acquire our boletos (tickets) to enter the Ruins. I now head for the group of Guides that are milling around waiting for me to stop by or if I don’t stop by they will chase me down to sell me on the idea of a Guide as Coba is so large and you just should have a Guide. I ask for the next available Guide. He steps forward. I greet him Hola, Como Esta Ud., he says Bien Bien y Uds., and I tell him Muy Bien, Gracias. He introduces himself as Francisco at your service Senior. Gracias, Francisco, Mucho Gusto. Mi Nombre es Bill and he says that some would call me Guillo and others would call me Guillermo. The short version that is like Bill is new to me, I think I like it. I (being the tour guide of this foursome introduce my charges as Lynn, Nancy and Rick. Wow, dude look at the size of that Mosquito! Deet anyone? We are off down the well kept trail headed for Grupo Coba, stopping in short order for a little history lesson. Sorry to interrupt but look at that Butterfly, it’s all sorts of colors, what a beautiful site.

Seems Francisco teaches students from the United States Universities about Coba on field trips. He also has been to Florida to teach at Sarasota Community College, I believe he said. He proceeds to explain that we will be seeing a number of Stellas on this journey through the Magical Ruins of Coba. The exact meaning of most Stellas are unknown to date as they are worn by time and the element beyond deciphering, if that were even possible. Forward into what could be considered a mind fog as far as I am concerned as this place has power. We arrive at our first pyramid, it is the second tallest of Coba, checking in at 22.5 meters.

Ruinas Coba
La Iglesia 22.5 meters

Its name is La Iglesia. It is closed to Public climbing this time as it has started to disintegrate. That’s what happen with old things. Sure is impressive to my way of thinking. The rocks are quite slippery and Francisco says to be careful and not slip and fall, no problemo I think and proceed to climb around and slip and fall on my Backside. Oh, my charges say. Is our Tour Guide ok? We’d sure hate to get a new one at this point. We all laugh as I have short fingernails and caught myself before anything other than pride is hurt. But  my shorts have this great big muddy spot on their backside for the World to see that I fell down, I’ve got it I’ll tell them I sat on a log that was covered with mud, sure you did Guillo! We are given some more history that I just lost in the awe of things.

         
Ruinas Coba
Palapa Covered Stella

We are off to a Stella that is sheltered by a Palapa Cover to try to protect it from the elements. We pass many interesting sites as we head onward into the jungleandhistory.

         
Ruinas Coba
Mayan Arches

We come upon a Sacbe (white lime stone road); they lead off to other sites in the QRoo and the Yucatan. The early Maya were able to make their road as straight as an arrow. Lord knows how is all I can say. You can’t see ten feet ahead though the jungle. Their understanding of the stars was phenomenal. They used crushed white limestone so that they could see it in the night because it was much to hot to travel by day. One point that has blown my mind is that Their Calendar is so accurate. How did they do it? It has started to rain and I ask everyone if they have their umbrellas along and as you can guess, no one did, except the Tour Guide. No, not Francisco, he left his raincoat at the gate, you guessed it, Bill has his umbrella and he also has 4 throwaway ponchos so that everyone stays dry. That is what a Tour Guide does, save the day.

         
Ruinas Coba
Nohoch Mul  42 meters or 12 stories

After walking a ways we come to the Tallest Pyramid in the Yucatan, Nohoch Mul (42 meters and a 12-story climb), it is still ok to climb Nohoch Mul. Lynn and Francisco opt to stay in the shade as the rain has stopped and they are hot. Nancy, Rick and their tour guide (Guillo) start the climb,

Ruinas Coba
View of Round Pyramid

I like to criss cross the Pyramid so as not to stump my toe on every step, working my way back and forth across the Pyramid, in sort of a Zig Zag fashion. For me this works well and in no time I’m at the top gazing off into the distance at the lakes, the round Pyramid and jungle. Woe there boy this is an awesome sight. This is such an amazing and lovely view. It is very cool with a breeze at the top. That was a welcome feeling. The small temple is interesting also. Well it is time to head down the steps and back to the journey through the jungle to the Ball Court. Everyone is safe at the bottom and we have a drink of water. We walk some way and there appears the Ball Court.

          
Ruinas Coba
Ball Court

This is impressive. Francisco tells of the game and how it is played and what happens at the out come. His story is that the winners are beheaded. He says that it is the only way to go straight to heaven.

Ruinas Coba
Carving at Ball Court

Some note is needed here. Francisco says that the Maya believe there are three steps to life. Number one is on Earth. Number two in Hell. Then comes Heaven. So this explains the reason to win the game. Well sounds like cutting edge play to me!
We continue on to the Pyramid that is Circular in geometry. So very interesting as I never knew there were round Pyramids. We see many mounds that are remains of structures and such. We stumble on out to the gate. Just think they will be restoring more of this ruins and I will be compelled to return again and again, isn’t life great?

Ruinas Coba
Palapa Covered Stella

Just before we get there it is time to settle with Francisco, we pay the fee and again a generous Propina is in order as we were not eaten by Snakes or other Critters, well at one point the Deet did come in handy for the Mosquitoes. There were not as many as expected, guess it was to cold for them. The weather has taken it’s toll on the birds and other wild life this time but hey we can come again some other day! Hasta Luego, Francisco y Muchas Gracias Por La Viaje! We dump our stuff in the trunk as unsafe as it is and we’re off to find a Cerveza. Yep, we do find a Cerveza at one of the shops. It is quite cold and welcome. I look next door to find some limestone carvings to take home for the abode wall in the living room. It keeps me excited about the Maya and the QRoo. So the day has been fun so far and very full of Life and History. La Dia Es Muy Bonita! Gracias QRoo for a lovely day!

         
On the Road to Coba
Restaurant and Coke Stand

On the way back we pass through several small villages that were quiet when we passed earlier.

Road to Coba
Tourist Shop

The children are at the Topes. Oh, forgot to mention the Topes. They are speed bumps at the Entrada y Salida (entrance and exit) of a village or other place that they want you to slow down. Believe me you that you will slow down at least the second time you see one. Any way the children stand at the Topes and beg. Not a fun site for Ol Bill. I have seen this before and always am a sucker for the children. I used to give them a peso or two. I now carry Pens and Paper tablets to give as a gesture of friendship and they seem happy. I think more so than with pesos. Do be careful when around these children because some times they hang on to the car and won’t let loose. It scares the devil out of me. You must get stern with them. Vamos Chico y Chica! I really want to get angry but it is not possible with these little guys and dolls and besides it is not bad to beg in their culture, it can sometimes be very necessary to life it’s self. I believe in taking care of what needs to be done so long as it doesn’t cause problems for other people. Live and let live is my motto! I enjoy learning about the Maya and their interesting way of life, before and the present. I may be Mayan, hum , I wonder?

Tulum is just ahead and I decide to gas up at the . I get out and give the key (llave) to the attendant and he pumps the gas. He says Cuanto? Todo, Gracias I say. Pay the bill and a token propina and head for Akumal.

Akumal Bay
Lol-Ha Snack and Beach Bar

Stop at Lol-Ha beach bar for a Cerveza and a snack. We hang out for awhile and decide to have dinner here. I didn’t take notes and my brain is toast so I’m not remembering what we ate, so it must not have impressed me. Don’t get me wrong though, the food at Lol-Ha is good. We had a long walking day and a hangover to boot.
After dinner it’s off to the condo for a good nights sleep. We think we are going with Rob and Tina to Chicken Eats Ya (Chichen Itza) early in the morning. So we finish up the evening meal and pay the tab and yes leave a generous propina (what goes around, comes around I always say). Jump in the car and head for the house. Arriving in no time as it is just ½ a mile home. Yep, you guessed it straight to the balcony to view the evening sky and the Caribe once more before cleaning up for the night. Some one says how about some coffee? Sounds good, we can watch the Full Moon on Half Moon Bay over a cup of Hot Café. Knock, knock comes from the front or is that the back door. Rush to see whom it is. One of Nan’s helpers is at the door with our note to Rob and Tina. Here is a note for you. I look at it and say that it is for Rob and Tina from me. Oh we didn’t know. I think they probably think we’re not going and rude to boot. I walk back to the office with this young lady to talk to Nan. I ask where I can find Rob. She says is he the groom? I say yes and she leads me to his room. As you would know it no one is home. I stuff the note in the edge of the door. I think, hope he sees this. Back at the house everyone is about to crash after a long day of culture. The Full Moon over Half Moon Bay is spectacular. The reflection is super and makes me reflect on a camping trip in the Sierras in California in another Lifetime. They have saved some Café for me. I sit on the balcony and sip from the warm cup and reflect on the day’s events. I quit smoking almost 4 year ago and I sit thinking that I should have a cigarette with this coffee and realize that I don’t smoke any longer and laugh out loud at myself. I will never again smoke. I don’t think I could live though quitting again. So much for the thought of smoking. It was very rewarding having been a good Tour Guide for the day. Good night Rick,  Nancy and Lynn, Hasta Manana! We maybe, have a 7am date to go to Chichen Itza in La Manana. Tonight I sleep like a Rock!

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