Hello Adventurers,
I hope you are thawing out and enjoying the flowers. I bought eighteen packs
of seeds to plant in the terraced fields surrounding my house. Something
must grow. I leave soon for Spain. Any shopping requests will be taken
seriously. I plan to have a Himalayan Bazaar in my Garage sale in July. You
can make an appointment or reserve the guest room at the Eighth Street
Trekkers' Lodge Bed and Breakfast for a weekend getaway in Ann Arbor this
summer. :) For reservations, appointments, tours, birthday parties,
shopping, trips to Spain, Nepal, Hungary or Peru call: (734) 369-3107. (The
lodge will be closed until June 12.)
Thinking about a trip to Nepal? Get out there (up there) in the Himalayas,
explore, learn new things, think outside America, become an international
citizen! Oct. 1-6 journey to the southern jungles of Nepal in search of
rhinos and tigers on elephant back. Oct. 6-20 enjoy a moderately strenuous
trek to 12,000 feet in the Annapurna Region of the Himalayas west of Kat
hmandu, and Oct. 20-Nov. 9 test yourself on a big trek to 18,000 feet and
visit Mt. Everest Base Camp. Adventure is calling. Join the internationally
inclined! Please contact me for details. Space is limited. Travel is safe.
Thursday (tonight), April 24, at 8 PM watch "Altitude" a 45 min. documentary
movie. Last year Sean Swarner of Colorado hired Of Global Interest LLC
Adventure Travel to make the arrangements for his customized tour in Nepal
and Mt. Everest Expedition. Sean became the first cancer survivor to reach
the summit of Mt. Everest on May 16, 2002 at 9:32 AM. The movie is
inspiring. Trek over to the Trekkers' Lodge, 120 Eighth Street at the corner
of Eighth and Washington near downtown Ann Arbor, MI. Call to arrange a
movie showing and/or a Nepali slide show for you and your friends (734)
369-3107.
Saturday, April 26 all day is "Club Day" at Eastern Mountain Sports on State
Street at Liberty in downtown Ann Arbor. Find me at the "Of Global Interest"
table and you'll get 20% off outdoor gear.
Sunday, April 27 at 8 PM a two-hour global television event will premier on
the National Geographic Channel. Titled "Surviving Everest" this is the
movie the National Geographic team was making while at Everest Base Camp last
May 2002. Their camp was 50 feet from our camp. You may see me wandering
around the glacier in the background. :)
Saturday, May 10, 8 PM, The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival presents: Blues
in the Garden at Downtown Home & Garden, 210 South Ashley Street, Ann Arbor,
MI. Great food, live music - George Bedard & the Kingpins, a silent auction
and cash bar. $35 all night or $20 after 10 PM. Proceeds will support this
fall's Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival scheduled for September 19-21.
Tickets available at all Ticketmaster locations and at Downtown Home and
Garden. Charge by phone at 763-TKTS or online at a2.blues.jazzfest.org.
Donations are tax-deductible.
Sunday, April 27, 1-5 PM spend Earth Day in the Kerrytown Neighborhood. Also
Thursday, May 29, 7-9 PM there will be a Kerrytown Neighborhood block party
with live music and activities. Both events will be in the Farmers Market
area downtown Ann Arbor, MI.
BACK TO THE ADVENTURES IN MEXICO PART II
(See the Adventure Journal Archives at www.ofglobalinterest.com for Part I.)
Friday, February 28
Piste, Mexico Continued. . .
Just before the sun set outside the budget hotel, Dawn and I wandered through
the town of Piste to the end of the strip. The big luxury hotels seemed to
wait for bus loads of tourists from Cancun that never came. Such tourists,
as one person described them, had long finger nails and wore visors with
"Cancun" sparkling in sequence across the top.
At the other end of town there was an old church. The setting sun beyond
silhouetted the bell towers against a pink and peach sky. The building was
boarded up but across the plaza by the basket ball court there was a newer
church. Those doors were wide open. We wandered in and sat in the second to
last row. The altar at the other end of the room was far away. The size of
a gymnasium, modern concrete architecture gave it little personality. The
town must have outgrown the other church.
A woman rushed around behind where we sat and soon had unfastened the rope
which she then pulled with all of her might. One of two bells on the roof
rang, calling the town's people to mass. The woman, framed by the doorway,
wore the traditional Mexican dress that was white as white can be. The front
was colorfully embroidered with a jungle of flowers in true Yucatan style.
The bell resonated above for a moment, sounding similar to a tin can as the
woman gave us a smile. A few of her teeth were definitely missing.
On our way back to the low budget hotel, we took the back road through
neighborhoods where the houses had many open doors and windows. Lights were
turning on inside as it got darker outside, illuminating hammocks swinging in
the front rooms, plastic flowers and books on the shelves, pastel paint on
the walls. Each home was cozy and welcoming even to our foreign eyes as we
passed in the alley. Not many tourists wandered away from the turquoise
water and sandy beaches. We were glad we had.
Finally in darkness, we continued 3 kilometers beyond the hotel to the
Chichen Itza ruins to see the nightly "sound and light show". I sat in the
grass because there was a cloud of cigarette smoke above the people in the
audience in the plastic chairs. The grand pyramid, as tall as a sky scraper,
was lit up in a brilliant neon purple. It was unrealistically glowing and at
the same time the stone wall above the ancient ball court flashed silhouettes
of warriors fighting. The sound effects, men yelling and swards clanking,
must have scared the jaguars in the surrounding forests. The announcer
relayed mythical stories over the loud speaker in Spanish as lights flashed
around and through the temples. The drama continued, and "El Castillo" the
grand pyramid soon became neon pink. Then I saw one shooting star in the
sky. If only the Mayans could see this place now, I thought. Dawn had
rented the headset with the English translation. Maybe she had a different
experience.
Saturday, March 1, 2003
Piste, Mexico
The next morning, I awoke to the churning and wobbling of the ceiling fan
above my bed in the low budget hotel. My eyes then met the eyes of a German
man on his tip toes who looked in through the open window. "Good morning," I
said to him. He also said, "Good Morning" and then disappeared. At least I
wasn't bothered by small animals or insects during the night.
We had breakfast at the restaurant across the street. Four tables sat on the
sidewalk inches from high speeding trucks. One truck carried a load of
innocent and noisy pigs. The sight made me cry, all wedged and jammed in
there together. Being a vegetarian, the breakfast quesidillas tasted too
meaty. Maybe lard? I resorted to the "fruit plate" since it looked good at
the next table -- bananas and watermelon. Yum! Dawn and I both had Mexican
"bandera" (flag) omelets with tomato, onion and green pepper -- red, white
and green!
We spent the day wandering around the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and climbed
to the tippy-top of the grand pyramid. Just as herds of Cancun tourists were
squeezing in through the main gates, we inched by them on our way out. We
caught the three-hour bus to Cancun at 2 PM. In downtown Cancun, we hopped
into a taxi and sped to Porto Juarez where we took a ferry over to Isla
Mujeres, the Island of the Women.
That evening after settling into the best little hotel, we were roaming the
island streets. It happened to be "Carnival" (a spring festival) meaning
young girls (and old girls) dressed in orange, blue and red totos with
feather trimmings, wearing gold shoes and headdresses, were dancing to loud
music in every street. Giant speakers on the backs of pickup trucks were
controlled by proud men, blasting rhythmic salsas. It was like New Orleans,
a 24 hour party.
We walked to the end of one street and onto North Beach where we turned left.
We were soon content in the swings that hung at a bar near the water. This
was the best way to drink margaritas and eat crunchy tortilla chips with
salsa "bandera" -- right there on the beach -- in swings! I had to be
careful not to get too excited. Smacking into the bar was easy to do. Maybe
this was how the bartender knew when patrons had too much. Thick wood seats
roped to the overhang above our heads held us in the conversation.
Sunday, March 2, 2003
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
The next morning we rented bikes and rode fearlessly around the island. We
stopped to view the sea turtles. Oh my gosh. They were soooo cute! So so
so cute, swimming frantically around blue circular pools. This
save-the-turtles operation rescues the eggs before the little ones hatch.
They raise the turtles and set them free when they are hearty enough to have
a chance of surviving. I took one of my best photos ever here.
Soon above the bushes on the left side of the road, a large white stucco
house in the shape of a giant conch shell(!) appeared. I stopped my vehicle
to take a picture. What a fun little place. Someday I will buy this house!
A mermaid must live here. I was sure.
Back in the center of town we were surrounded by dancing women with feather
headdresses and silver shoes. We returned the bikes and took the long way
back to the hotel along the beach. There were several bars where the waves we
re slowly creeping up toward the bar stools -- I mean -- swings. We had to
stop for some salsa "bandera" and more crunchy tortilla chips.
Monday, March 3, 2003
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
The next day was our last full day in the Mexican sun. We booked a day tour
to Isla Contoy. At 8 AM, after excellent coffee at a small cafe next door to
our hotel, we were trying on snorkel masks and fins. Soon we were slathered
in suntan lotion as the motor boat roared out into the vast turquoise waters.
The Caribbean Sea was so beautiful -- hues of blues and greens everywhere.
In the distance, Isla Contoy and its many palm trees awaited our arrival.
But first, we would dive and explore the coral reef with the snorkel gear.
It was somewhat of a shock to keel overboard and go from dry breezes to wet,
wet water. But everyone did. Our tour group was twelve people not including
the captain and his mate. We were four people from Italy, four girls from
Mexico, a couple from Germany and Dawn and I from Michigan. We smiled and
nodded at each other mostly.
The reef was a nice underwater cosmos. I ended up on my own, swimming down
to the sandy bottom and back, practicing my snorkel technique. The rest of
the group was ahead, hovering over the thick of the reef. I was worried I
would accidentally kick a coral or another snorkeler so I stayed nearer the
boat. The water was clear but murky and dark and confining compared to the
Red Sea where I had snorkeled last. This was wonderful for Mexico, but not
nearly the rainbow of brilliant color I had imagined. I found more fun
testing my breath, diving toward the sand and following the bigger fish than
trying to avoid disturbing the sea life.
After another hour in the boat we were soon ashore at Isla Contoy -- yet
another beautiful place. Dawn and I immediately headed down a sandy path
into the heart and remote edges of this island. A short trek and we knew
more than the ten other members of our group who huddled on the shoreline
near the boats waiting for the grilling to begin.
After climbing the blue lookout tower that looked like an army garrison, Dawn
and I were also on the beach waiting for lunch. Free beer, actually included
in the price of the tour, we had a few Coronas and enjoyed the sunshine. I
wasn't interested in the large fish smashed inside the giant two-sided
grillers. Instead, I performed a personal ceremony for them having
sacrificed their lives. I heard they were tasty.
I ate guacamole and those crunchy tortilla chips and all the other fixings
just not the fish. Lunch was great. But the highlight of my entire trip to
Mexico was meeting, befriending and admiring the sting ray. I never did get
his name but he had such a personality and somehow spoke with such clarity as
if to say, "I know you are all here to eat fish and drink beer and play in
the sunshine. You are welcome to use my beach as long as I get the
leftovers. I promise to be on my best behavior and you must promise to leave
me whatever you don't eat."
It really was like he could talk and like this black triangular thing,
swimming in the shallow water at our knees, could have won the hearts of
humans worldwide! He was the sweetest, most handsome and adorable sting ray
I have ever met. He was sooo nice. It seemed he liked to be pet and would
swim at close range so one's hand and fingers could caress his most divine
back. The best I can describe is it was the feeling of one of those IHOP
pancakes cooked in oil where the edges are crispy and the center is soft and
full of syrup! This is exactly what this sting ray felt like as he floated
by. The edges of his being were a little rough while his entire backside was
sooo soft and squishy! So squishy! I wanted to lie in a big hammock made of
him! He was so sweet.
Nearby there were two star fish who didn't have quite the same personality,
but they actually moved around on the sandy floor under the sparkling shallow
water. I took their picture wondering if they had any idea how good looking
they were.
Another beer later and we were back on the loud speed boat headed back to
Isla Mujeres. From there, Dawn and I headed to our favorite swing set on the
North Beach. Later we had dinner and were soon fast asleep, warm with a
sunburn and tired, so tired.
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
The next morning we were up early having breakfast at the Redeye Cafe. Two
hours later on liftoff heading back to subzero Michigan, I gazed out the
little round window next to me, down and down to the Caribbean Sea. There
they were -- a wall of five-star hotels lining the narrow strip of land which
is the famous "Cancun". It was a solid barrier of high rise hotels, blocking
the view, blocking the adventures of Mexico. The tourists were sitting at
swimming pools inland from the beach. I think they missed most of Mexico's
charm.
Heather O'Neal
Of Global Interest LLC Adventure Travel
Ann Arbor, Michigan
(734) 369-3107
www.ofglobalinterest.com
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