An Indiana Jones Adventure

Tropical Storm Alma sure has left some fun weather in the area. Right now I'm sitting on my balcony listening to screaming winds and picturing tomorrow's flight out of here. Ugh. Apparently another depression is forming off the coast of Belize, so I think I may be getting out of here just in time.

Today I had a total Indiana Jones adventure and it was the highlight of my trip. As soon as I boarded our tour van this morning and found it filled with Italians and Belgians, I knew it would be anything but boring. Luckily the three Belgian women spoke some English, so I was able to talk with them throughout the trip. The Italians were certainly an animated bunch! When we introduced ourselves I said I was from Seattle and they all said, "Ahhh! Americano!!" I've never figured out if that is a good or bad exclamation!

Our first stop was Coba. We toured the first group of ruins, then rented bikes to ride the mile or so to Nohoch Mul, the large pyramid. It was amazing! I scaled up quickly, but halfway up stopped to take a photo and then got a bit of vertigo. I took a small sanity break, focused on the steps in front of me, then I was fine. The view from the top was phenomenal and I'm glad it was a cloudy and slightly rainy day. Climbing this in the baking sun would have been murder. Getting down also went much better than I anticipated. Thank you to whoever installed the rope! Maybe my IT band is finally getting healed, because this normally would have thrown the discomfort into high gear.

After Coba, we started the adventure part of our trip with a swim in an underground cenote. Before the swim, we had to wash off and remove suntan lotion and any other "scum". The cave formations are pretty sensitive and they are particular about not affecting them. We descended some narrow stairs and found the water deep enough for diving practice. It was cool but refreshing. After the swim, we took part in a Mayan ritual that wishes good luck and good health to its participants, then trekked through the jungle and saw Spider Monkeys swinging from the trees. Very cool! We arrived at a beautiful lagoon, paired up, and had a brief kayaking excursion that returned us to the start.

From there, we went to PacChen where we suited up in harnesses to rappel and zipline. I can't even tell you how nervous but excited I was to try this! The worst part of the rappel was just getting to the edge, leaning back, and putting all of my weight into the harness. That was a damn freaky feeling, but once I started down, it really was a piece of cake and fun as hell. I may have to start climbing now!

Waiting for the rappel, I saw people coming in on the zipline and that thing freaked me out more than anything. I couldn't believe how fast they were going! Waiting for my turn nearly gave me a seizure, but as usual, the anticipation is far worse than the actual doing, and the zipline was probably my favorite part! We were instructed not to use our little hand brake stick until close to the end, but I got there quicker than I anticipated and I think you can tell in one of the pictures that I'm a little "concerned." Haha!

After the activities, the Mayan village supplied a fantastic lunch of veggie soup, pasta, chicken, and an assortment of tortillas and other things. We hung out at the village for a while and then got to see the pictures that the tour company took while we were out "Indiana Jonesing". The pics were great! One of my favorite parts of the trip has been spending time in little villages like the one we visited today. The living conditions are humbling but the people are amazing. They are all so friendly and welcoming, and the little kids especially like having their picture taken.

On the drive back to Playa del Carmen, one of the Italians decided to hook his phone up to our tour guide's radio and we all laughed over some great 80s music and other funny songs. The Italian said it best: "Music unites!" Language may be a barrier, but it's amazing how many people start singing along to certain songs! Oh, and the Belgium girls all agreed with me: Tom Boonen is the best! Too funny!

This trip has been way beyond my expectations. I absolutely love Mexico and can't wait to return. I also want to venture further south into Honduras and Costa Rica, and then into South America soon. I just pray that my flight gets out of here tomorrow! It's going to be a rough one for sure with all this weather from Alma. The winds are still whipping up out there and it's supposed to get worse tomorrow. Good times!

More pictures from today!