Accompanied by:

Lynn Johnson, my Wife and Friend.
Nancy Felts, my Friend.
Rick Kruse, my Friend.
Bill in Tulsa, 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
 

 THIS REPORT STARTS AROUND OCTOBER 2, ‘98

Vacation to Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

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

DIA CUATRO November 5:

The alarm (yes, alarm on vacation, didn’t want to be late) goes off and we get ready for a day of exciting adventure. Like Magic some fine person has already been up and made the Coffee! That’s the Magic of Akumal for you. We are getting around and yep, admiring the rising Sun once again as we drink our fair share of the coffee. While the girls finish doing their hair and that girly stuff, Rick and I go off to see if we still have a ride to Chichen Itza this morning. It’s about 6:30am. We knock on the door and no answer. We do hear water running in the shower so we walk back home and wait until 6:50 to return. Knock once again and Rob answers the door, we apologize for the miss communications with the note. No problemo Rob proclaims, we got the note when we got home last night. Come on in! Well, we need to go get the girls first and we will be right back. By now the hair and face are in place and they are ready for the Chichen Itza adventure. We wander over to the Beach side of their condo and find several other people milling about. So I walk up and ask if they are with Rob and Tina? Sure are. I introduce our group and we start talking about how I met Rob and Tina and the said we know you, your Bill from Tulsa! Heard all about you yesterday. We’ve been trying to decide who down here was Bill from Tulsa. Pleased to meet you Bill from Tulsa. I hear you are going to be our Tour Guide for the day! I say that if that is what you hear it must be true. I had not heard this but what he heck, I have been to Chichen Itza before and will be glad to be the tour guide, that is until we get to Chichen Itza, there I will hire a guide so the adventure will be complete. We meet the brides Mother and Father, Bernice and Royce Martin. Also meet her sister and nephew, Terry and Charles. We met many others and sit around waiting on the bus. It is late. Tina by now says who want a pastry from Turtle Bay? I do comes from everywhere. She disappears for a while and then appears with a bag of coffeecake and rolls. She won’t accept any money so I tell her that these pesos are a Propina for her and that I will not accept them back. Not to make a scene she accepts. Rob is off to find out why the bus is not here. He returns to say that it will be at the entrance to Akumal at 10am. Only in Mexico will 7am turn into 10am. I suggest we have a Cerveza and they all laugh, as they know from visiting my Web site that I like my Cerveza. All of a sudden there are Cervezas being popped all around. Magic is a wonderful thing. I down mine as if it were the last beer on Earth. Would you like another? No Gracias, the bus rides is 3 or so hours, better not.

The time comes and we’re off to the entrance, I suggest that we leave our wheels at the Lol-Ha restaurant as they have a security guard at their parking area. The others think that is a great idea. I locate the security guard and provide a generous Propina for him, he proclaims Gracias Amigo Hasta Luego. You know that is what a Tour Guide does, save the day. We all get on the bus and say Hola to the driver. His name is (lost it). He asks Rob which way he wants to go? By way of the toll road or pass Coba. Rob tells him to go the way he likes best. We go out to the highway and turn left. I tell everyone we will be going past Coba because of this direction. We pass Casa Cenote’s sign and I advise everyone that it is a good place to have lunch and a Cerveza if they have time and maybe spend the day as I do. On to Tulum and turn off towards Coba and beyond. Tope, tope. The driver has to slow almost to a stop to keep from jarring our teeth out. The road is full of pot holes so he is continually moving back and forth across the road.
Up ahead is a Curio shop and pit stop that I had forgotten to tell you about on our trip to Coba the other day, they have some nice Yucatacan gift items and other fun stuff. The driver pulls in and says that this is the last chance for the Restrooms (Los Banos) until almost Chichen Itza. Everyone gets off and shops and well you know the rest of the story. One or two catch a Coca and Beer. All aboard and the driver count heads.  The turn off to Chichen Itza is at the junction at Coba. Left to Coba, Right to Punta Laguna and points beyond, circling around a bit and there is the road to Chichen Itza, kind of strange the way it is laid out. It works and we are off on an adventure that I have not experienced as of yet. This is wonderful, up high to see things like Milpas (small farms or ranches) growing Corn, Beans and Squash all planted in the same hole. Very interesting these Milpas. Saw many interesting sites along the way.

Rob asks about eating lunch at Chichen Itza, I tell him that if we could, it would be nicer to stop somewhere prior to Chichen Itza as when we were their before the food was not to good at he ruins. He asks the driver and is told that he knows just the spot.
Not long after we arrive at a place that was built just for Tour Buses. It is a buffet and has a flat charge. It seemed reasonable, so Rob said yes. We did enjoy the food and entertainment of Mariaches and Dancers. You pay on the way in, they give you a sticker to put on your shirt so they know you have paid, kind of like kindergarten I think and then pay extra for Cerveza, Margaritas and Cocas. Paid and left a generous propina for the waiters, the Mariaches and the Dancers all being separate. Lovely meal for a buffet. Routed thru the curio shops on the way out. Just love the captive audience, they do. The driver counts heads and off we go to arrive shortly at the Ruinas Chichen Itza. Before we get off the Bus the driver tells us that we must be on the bus by 4:30pm on time. We head for the Boleto Oficina to purchase our entrance Boletos. After doing this I head to the Tour Guide post and make a deal for a Guide for the whole 24 of us for 300 pesos. Our guide is called Jose, he say that there are many Joses in Chichen Itza, but his last name is Cob and he is the only Cob. The first stop is the Great Ball Court. Jose tells a similar story about the ball game as we heard at Coba. The Great Ball Court here has an interesting point that I find fascinating. When the Judges sit on one end and the Leaders on the other end, they can talk at a normal voice level and hear one another with out trouble. The acoustics are fantastic in this Great Ball Court. Simply amazing.

We follow Jose like little puppy dogs as he walks along talking and filling us in on all this fantastic culture and ancient history. We are off for the Tzompantli and Platform of the Eagles. The next stop is the Sacred Cenote. Francisco exclaims about the sacrifices that have taken place here. He also talks about the excavation of the Cenote and how lots of the artifacts have be taken to the USA which is now Illegal. Some how I personally think that the Artifact should be returned to Mexico. There is cold drinks and Los Banos at this stop so we take 15 minutos. Head on down the Sacbe to the Tomb of Chac-Mool (Platform of Venus). Next we go to the Temple of the Warriors, Group of a Thousand Columns and the Market.

Francisco takes us out into the grass on the North side of El Castillo (Kukulcan) to show us how when he claps his hands the returning echo sounds like a hawk. Kewl as it can be. Tried it and I find it does work for anyone. Neat effect. We climb the Pyramid to get up in the world and see the sites from above. One young lady with the wedding party, look down and totally freaks. We talk to her and get her calmed down. Rob the groom is a Firefighter and Paramedic that is trained in helping people down ladder so he is the one to get her down. Others up there have to scoot down on the bottoms. I am not affected by this height and just bounce back and forth across the steps. We gather around for some group photos and reflect the experience. Some of us want to go inside the Pyramid and go around only to find a line that is way to long. Oh well we say maybe next time. This has been a good experience and we settle up with Jose Cob on very good Guide. Everyone gives him a Propina as Rick has taken care of the Guide Fee. Jose is one happy Mayan today. Some go to the market as we still have a few minutes before catching the Tour Bus. We return to the Bus to find old what’s his name waiting for us. He has Cerveza and Coca on Ice (Hielo) for $1 US. We all have some thing, and it sure is cold and welcome. We head for Akumal in short order. Just on the out skirts of some town he pulls into a Market and say last stop before Akumal as the others will be closed by the time we get there. Off for the Bano and buy another carving of stone for the living room wall. Kewl place. I love the stone carvings. Head them up and move them out is the order of business as the driver and Rob count heads. One missing, glad that they counted heads. He shows up in a flash. We are off to Akumal. Mas Cerveza Por Favor. Rob has bought and paid for all that is left in the cooler. He provides the most welcome brew free of charge. In conversation on the trip I hear someone proclaiming that Bill from Tulsa, Now Bill from Akumal is like down loading a virus to your computer. I’m still trying to decide if that was good or bad. They were laughing and that didn’t help me decide. I guess it had to be good as they continued to talk to me and we were reconfirmed for the wedding on Saturday the 7th.

We are just about to Coba and I ask if it would be possible to stop along side the road. I have been in Japan and I’m not bashful about Nature and all. The driver says he knows just the place up the road. He stop and several others join me. Thanks what’s your name. We arrive back at Akumal to the Arch and say good by to our Driver. Had a great time. We walk to the car and find the same security guard still on duty. He gets another propina.

We’re off to La Buena Vida for dinner. Hola Amigos, Como esta Uds.? Bien Bien y Uds. Bien Bien Gracias. Margaritas Por Favor.
The Margaritas arrive shortly, they are a good way to relax before a fine meal. After the Margaritas we order Stuffed Jalepenos and grilled veggies for appetizers. They are real tasty to hungry people like us. Mas Margaritas Por Favor.

Time to order dinner. Lynn and I have Camarones al mojo de ajo wouldn’t you know. Nancy has the Steak Chemita and Rick has Camarones a la diabla. We all enjoy except Nancy doesn’t like the mushy stuff inside he steak, some time you just can’t win. We finish off the evening with Spanish Coffee for us all. Spanish coffee is a mixture of Brandy, Kahlua, Ice Cream and Coffee. The brandy is flamed and pour in the glass from about 20 inches in the air. It is quite a show. I love watching and I love devoring the mixture. It is a great dessert. We meet the wedding party as we wait to pay the bill. Yep and a grand Propina for the guys. It’s time to go home and clean up and sleep. The Moon is brite and lovely once again. The shower is hot and I relish it’s warmth on my tired back and neck. I will sleep with great contentment tonight. Good night all. Pick up a book and start to read. Five minutes later down goes the book off come the glasses and off goes the light.
Out like a light.

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Copyright November 29, 1998 Tulsa, Oklahoma by Bill Johnson (Bill in Tulsa) bill.in.tulsa@webzone.net

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