Christmas holiday travelogue

Living in the Back of Nowhere (BoN), far from friends and family, does little to inspire me to "do" Christmas. Most of the kids, grands, and greats live Up North, where it's generally a lot colder than here. (Here is too cold for us for most of the winter. )

So, there's just the two of us old geezers and the three dogs, who could care less whether we put up a tree, deck the halls, open a mini-bakery for a month, shop for presents, melt some plastic, or cook a feast. We share their sentiment.

After taking a cruise at Christmastime a few years ago, we realized that we could let someone else handle all that stress and bother, and we could sit back, enjoy a mild libation or two, catch some rays and get far more enjoyment out of the holidays. So, early last year we decided that Mexico would be more fun than the BoN, and made plans to get there. By December, the trip was paid for, with the exception of miscellaneous expenses we knew we'd incur while actually down there.

The BoN is two hours from the nearest airport, and our flight left before first light of day, so I begged a favor of my sister-in-law, who lives 10 minutes from our departure point, to let us spend the night with her. She is an angel. Not only did she agree to accomodate us, she cooked a delicious dinner, and gifted us with tickets to the symphony. Our three beautiful nieces, with husband and fiance' in tow, joined us for a fun evening. Of course, we stayed up much too late, but it was worth it. Around 0'dark thirty the next morning that sweet woman woke us, made us coffee and drove us to the airport.

We submitted to the TSA's 'junk touching', then boarded our plane, and dozed our way South.

Our destination was the island of Cozumel, just off the southern side of the Yucatan Peninsula.

It is far removed from the border and all it's danger and mayhem, both by distance and temperment. There is one small town, San Miguel, whose residents rely almost entirely on the tourist industry for their livelihood.

The cruise ships stop there every day except Sunday, disgorging thousands of people each morning to enjoy as much as they can in a day, leave as much money as the shop owners can haggle from them, and then leave in the evenings. Anyone who has visited there knows the familiar phrase, "Almost free today!!" The week we were there, a total of 35 cruise ships visited, with an average of 4,00o passengers each!


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The remainder of the island, with the exception of some outlying hotels, bars and beach clubs, is thick, impenetrable jungle. There is one road that skirts the perimeter, and one transecting the island, which is flat. No hills or mountains to traverse. It is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs, magnets for divers, snorkelers, and those who enjoy almost every water sport or activity one can imagine. The beautiful Caribbean waters, and the gorgeous sunsets complete the picture.

We had chosen a hotel outside of town, hoping it would not be as congested or noisy as we had remembered from earlier visits. Our rental car was an added expense, but well worth it for the freedom and mobility it afforded us. We arrived, checked in, grabbed a bite, unpacked, and caught up on our sleep.
Dear hubby had possession of the camera for most of our time there, and took no less than several dozen photos of the hotel, the view from our room, the restaurants, etc., etc., oh, and the resident iguana family.

The front of the hotel, overlooking two of the restaurants, pools, and the ocean.

The view from our balcony, overlooking all of the above. At night, Playa del Carmen's lights illuminate the horizon.

The back of the hotel, overlooking the casitas, and, yes, it IS a jungle out there!

View from the top story, looking towards San Miguel, in the distance. Another new condo is in the foreground, and yes, more jungle!

The welcoming committee, baby iguana and parent. I didn't venture close enough to see if it was Mom or Dad.

Day Two

We got out to revisit the island. One of our first stops that morning was at Cava Antigua, on the road transecting the island. This place is a nursery for the blue agave, the plant from which tequila is made. For a paltry sum, we got a guided tour, but first we were treated to margaritas and nachos - breakfast of champions! Our friendly, funny guide, Gallo, told us about the plants, the fermenting process, and how to ferment pineapple to make our own hooch.

Pay attention! If you can answer a few simple questions, you get double shots instead of singles! lol We now know the difference between clear(for mixed drinks) reposado (for sipping with your spouse) and anejo (for your own private enjoyment), and we know that mescal (with the worm in the bottle, not dead, just sleeping - lol!!), is made from another type of agave, and tastes like dirt. Gallo says it is the telephone liquor - enough of it and you can talk to the gods! Thanks, Gallo, I'll just stick to my prayers, and leave the mescal for the worms!
After the tour and the tasting, a lot of tasting, we did a little shopping, just in case we got thirsty later. :))

http://www.cavaantigua.com/inicio.html

Despite the attitude adjustment our tasting/tour gave us, hubby and I both needed to unwind, relax and generally get it together.

So, on Day Three, the winter solstice, we went to a Temazcal, or Mayan Steam Lodge, in the jungle. http://www.temazcalcozumel.com/ It was a very unique experience. We will do this again, as it was everything we'd expected and hoped for, and more! There is a great blog entry here which describes this better than I could hope to do: http://www.yourspareport.com/Blog/Entries/2009/2/18 _Sweat_Lodge,_Cozumel.html If this doesn't work, just go to http://www.yourspareport.com then click on Blog and search the archives for Feb. 2009 Sweat Lodge Cozumel This couple's experience was very, very similar to ours.