mexico

June 23, 2019  by

Mayan Ruins: Coba, Tulum and Chitzen Itza

Which ruin to visit and why

Tulum, Coba and Chitzen Itza are three different spots with famous ruins of the Mayan Culture. Having been to all three, I’m using this blog to point out the differences between the areas, with a specific focus on ease of the journey, what you can expect to see, and if the experience will be worth your time, particularly if you have a family. Because you have the jungle (Chitzen Itza) and the beach (Tulum) with Coba right in the middle, you have variety!

The highlights

Chitzen Itza is approximately three hours outside Cancun, a mostly straight drive which allows you to speed right along. The best time to go is either before the buses head out of town (roughly nine-am) or in the early afternoon, which guarantees you’ll miss the crowds. It’s uber hot and muggy in the jungle of Chitzen Itza, with zero breeze. The area is expansive with incredible structures and lots of history, but after an hour, my girls were ready to go. The colosseum-size area where gladiators fought to the death (and if you remained alive but lost, you were beheaded anyway), weren’t enough to keep their attention. Most importantly, four years ago, the government closed off the pyramids; no longer is one allowed to climb the famous structures. The first year, we’d scheduled the trip to see Rio Secreto and climb the pyramids, but only got one out of the two done. Still, the history and area is a must-see if you are in the Cancun area.

Taken at three different locations around the city: the upper left is in the marketplace, the columns are a part of the 1,000 that were created, and the bottom visual represent enemies that were killed by the Mayans.
Since the government restricted climbing the pyramids, this is the next best thing. A view showing the incredibly steep climb.
Coba

Coba is the last pyramid in the Yucatan visitors can climb. It’s about two hours outside Cancun, offers great parking, and perhaps because it’s much smaller in terms of actual area covered, it’s about a 10th as crowded. We arrived late in the day, around 2 p.m., not realizing the entrance closed at 4 p.m. We paid the modest amount (about $7 US) and walked he 1.5 miles through the forest to the pyramid. Note that I call it a forest vs a jungle of Chitzen Itza. That’s because the jungle is hot, moist and dense, whereas in the area of Coba, the trees are sparse, the wood and type totally different and the air less humid. I pretty much suffered from heat stroke in Chitzen Itza, because I hadn’t eaten what I should have, nor did I drink as much water. At Coba, it was like being in Idaho, dry and arid. If you don’t want to walk, you can either rent a bike, or be transported (by bike) to the pyramid. The climb is a @400 steps up, and the view can’t be beat. It’s incredibly steep, with a rope to aid climbers—but the climb up isn’t that hard. It’s the way down that’s spooky. Be prepared—some of the steps are worn and slippery.

The drive to Coba was our favorite of the three. Long stretches of pavement with interesting sites along the way.
Yep, it’s as steep as it looks. You can tell the difference in building styles and structure from Chitzen Itza.
Tulum

Situated on the gold coast, the ruins of Tulum appear on about every photographer or traveler’s web site, so we were uber excited to go. Well….I just want to say this: the buildings are short and modest if you compare it to Chitzen Itza. That’s not to say the history isn’t fascinating, which it is, or that the architecture isn’t worthwhile! But for children 9 and 13, after seeing CI and Coba, Tulum was a total and complete let down (for them). As an adult, I found the historical tour fascinating, marveling at the engineering prowess of the Mayan’s, their ability to identify time, the setting and rising sun, building their structures to capture the exact time and place of both for specific rituals. All this was lost on our girls. However, the private beach which is open to the public did get their attention, so note to the visitors. You can swim in the area, but the park doesn’t offer showers or changing facilities, so if you go in the water, you’ll be sticky on the way back.

About the only picture I salvaged from Tulum!
Out of the three, what do I recommend to you, the person who may have only one day to travel?

Well, I must say you have to do all three, but the order is fully dependent on your personal preference. If you want to climb the only pyramid in North America which is available (outside Belize, which was seven hours away from Cancun, and that was just too far), then you MUST to Coba. Here’s the good news: it will take you less than four hours to drive, climb and leave, and there’s really nothing else for you to see down there. With that in mind, you can hit Tulum on the way back, and then you have hit both in one shot!

If Chitzen Itza is on your bucket list, then by all means, go the other direction. Sadly, my entire folder of shots got wiped out due to my lack of backup skills, so I can only offer a few I’d sent to my Instagram account.

From the edge of the top, looking down. Definitely think twice if you are afraid of heights. We observed grown men having serious issues going down.
Safety and security

We’ve found that most of the tourists we run into are afraid to drive a car or get on a bus to most of these locations. I’ll admit my personal utility for hopping a bus is low—it extends the drive time immensely! But if you have a rental car, which we always get, we’ve never felt unsafe driving in and around Cancun. Local patrols are everywhere in the city, and once outside the limits, it’s mostly farmland, cattle, cenotes and little towns.

Feature image: taken with the wide angle iPhone from the top of Coba
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June 22, 2019  by

Isla Mujeres: the island that has it all

By boat or golf cart, come and spend the day

Isla Mujeres is well-known and visited by the thousands of tourists a year, but it took us three before we decided to go. The primary reason was the split commentary from others we know and trust. “It’s just a tourist trap,” said a couple with teenage children, while the over thirty and single crowd gave it glowing reviews. Yet another demographic, the 60 and over, raved about the exclusivity and near-private beaches available to those fortunate enough to own vacation homes. Still, we weren’t convinced. It took a private excursion on a catamaran, seeing the island from the water to convince us Isla Mujeres was more than bars or private homes.

The first unique experience on Isla Mujeres was going to the tip of Centro on our golf cart. A storm on the horizon was no where to be seen on the other end of the island
First, the catamaran

Before jumping to the island, I’m going to touch on boating. Generally, we avoid boating in Mexico unless it’s fishing because the tour operators oversell, overstuff and overcrowd the boats with bodies. It’s misery. It’s also unsafe, and frustrating. Imagine spending money to go snorkeling off short (because that’s what most offer), only to arrive with to find five other boats, with all the occupants scrambling to get in as fast as possible. Most tours give riders 5-10 minutes in the water, then usher them out and on to the next venture.

Six of us guests had the catamaran to ourselves. It was superbly wonderful. And in case you are wondering, we paid full pop for this tour. It wasn’t sponsored or anything of the kind–which makes it all the better. The average tourist (us) can have the celebrity experience without paying the premium (e.g owning the boat).

We were lucky enough to sit by the owner of Caribbean Dreams at sushi one night at the Villa Del Palmar. We learned he spent a million on his French-made catamaran, and has a limit of 12 people on his boat (compare this to 30-50 for the others). We decided to spend the money and we spent nearly five hours (versus 2) snorkeling, then seeing Isla Mujeres. The experience truly spoiled us forever on the notion of a catamaran. The cost is higher, and justifiably so. From the food, quality of the boat, staff, length of ride and locations, it’s worth the extra $75.

Just compare and contrast the picture on the left; the standard bargain catamaran cruise, and our experience with girls on lush pillows and private snorkeling. Only one serves all-you-can eat and drink (ours). Which one would you take?
Now the Island

The owner/captain took us around the island, pointing out various sites on the island that’s only 5 miles long and 2,000 feet wide. We were able to see the primary beaches, so crowded the beach wasn’t super visible—but this was balanced with private beaches in front of hotels, which were less so.  On the far side of the island, where the shoreline was rocky, visitors zip-lined from high treetops, kayaked in peace in the nooks for paddle boarding. At that point, we realized a lot more existed to this island than what was depicted in the brochures.

We stopped just off the shore for an hour or more, swimming, snorkeling and lounging in the clear, warm water. This gave us the best of the island without having to battle the crowds. The only annoyance were the other chartered boats that came up with booming stereos, killing the vibe. Don’t get me wrong; great music and drunken people have a time and a place, but it wasn’t our groove with kids. Our captain lifted anchor and we moved elsewhere.

A marina with seaside eating is right next to a corridor for yachts and larger boats. The bottom photo is a peninsula home rumored to be formerly (or presently) owned by Rickie Martin. That’s the kind of funny things you get on tours by the locals.
Getting their and around: the ferry and golf carts

Ferry services to Isla Mujeres are available from every port in Cancun. Staying at the Villa Del Palmar, we were fortunate, because the state of Jalisco invested $15M in a state of the art super shuttle ferry here. We walked the 500 meters from the hotel to the marina, paid the $5 per person and had a perfect ride over. The double decker ferry has a kids play area, food service, televisions and air conditioning, pretty much all that’s required.

Big, beautiful and inexpensive from the Isla Blanca ferry terminal

Once on the island, all passengers without cars must hail a cab or walk the 15 minutes in to centro, which is the local name for the city center. Along the way are a myriad of golf cart providers. We mistakenly thought the price would decrease if we walked clear to the end of town, through main street. While this was wrong, (they are all about $60 for an hour), we took a left on a side road, and paid $45 for a new golf cart and were on our way.

The first part of the walk….
The second part, which lasts about a mile–“centro”- or the center of the city
The island itself

Drones are not allowed, which we were bummed to learn as Roger tried to get his airborne. The island has a single airstrip, but it includes military planes, and therefore, the island is considered a no-fly zone. Save yourself the weight and leave the drone at home.

Local art was everywhere–colorful and eye catching. We do all we can to expose our girls to local culture and attitudes, appreciating the differences, talking history and present day.

Zipping up, down and around the main area of the island will take a solid ten minutes, then you head out. The city planners have made the island easy to navigate, because you can essentially ring the land by driving on a single road and it’s a loop. It doesn’t matter which way you head out of town, you are going to end up back in the same place. On your journey, you will encounter itty-bitty communities, lots of stray dogs and open-door homes, replaced with dirt ballparks, small churches and larger homes. This eventually gives way to stretches of beautiful and deserted sandy beaches, private driveways and at the furthest tip of the island, a restaurant and shops. This is the dead end-turnaround.

The end of the line–the turnaround with a few restaurants and shops. One of the colorful private homes dotting the shore.

Unless you are driving slowly, you will miss the roadside activities offered, such as the ziplining. We did the first time out, but caught more of them on the return trip. We also slowed to enjoy the cemetery, where I wandered and took pictures, while Rog and the girls bartered for conch shells.

The Isla Mujeres Cemetery….beautiful and unique
The deals

On that note, I can relate the conch shells are legal to transport back to the States. I can also tell you that they are $36 dollars on main street in Isla Mujeres, and $45 or more in Cancun, and we know, because for three years, our girls have been begging for the shell. The roadside stand where Rog and the girls stopped? Five dollars. Yep, count it out. That beautiful, perfect shell now sits on our stands of collectables at home. Our oldest daughter purchased a rough, pearl necklace for seven dollars which was forty-nine in town. Score!

The spa on the beach….

Spa is misleading, but this is what the brochures and tourist companies would have you believe. The only “spas,” per se are the ones attached to the hotels, and I’ve not been, so can’t comment. What I can relate is the experience of two couples we know who did afternoon trips which included getting a massage on a beach. According to one woman, a flight attendant for Lufthansa (who we met on the catamaran trip btw), she thought the 90-minuate beach massage at $50 US was a steal, because that same massage would have been $100-$200 on the mainland. She said she’d go again just for that.

Isla Mujeres offers different eco-climates. Dark storm clouds at one end, centro was right in middle while the sun shone on the least populated end.

We saw a ton of places to eat that looked good, but didn’t stop once, other than to purchase freshly cut fruit, which we did several times. It was so hot, even with the periodic rain shower, we weren’t hungry. Sorry!

What I liked most

The accessibility, freedom to roam, empty beaches and ability to stop roadside and pick up great deals. The Catamaran ride is a must, but that’s outside the island itself.

Stopping at any point on the road is perfectly acceptable. It’s also perfectly lovely
What I liked least

About the island, nothing really. It was lovely, and a fun day trip, which in reality, is more like four or five hours, unless you stop to take advantage of the recreational activities.

Ziplining across the ocean is different from the view over a jungle. In the Cancun area, you can do both
Feature image: taken from the desk of the catamaran
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June 20, 2019  by

Isla Holbox: the perfect place to disconnect

With perfect beaches, pristine, unspoiled water and remote enough to keep most everyone away

We discovered this little island by speaking with the staff at the Villa Del Palmar, many who have proved to be well traveled and in possession of great locations for the adventurous visitor. Isla Holbox is not generally known to the American tourists, for in the three years we’ve been visiting the Yucatan, it’s not been brought up once, either at poolside discussions, or travel agencies. It’s always Isla Mujeres, and this is probably because it’s across the bay, large and offers all the standard recreational activities, from rentals to nightlife. Always up for exploring new territory, we piled in the car and got going.

The small marina where you board the ferry to Isla Holbox
Getting there

It’s about three hours by drive, a straight shot in the direction of Chitzen Itza. Nary a police officer in site outside the Cancun city limits, so we followed the locals who booked along at 80 mph. The road is flat, mostly straight with a few turns here and there, but eventually dead-ends at a pier. You will pay about $5 US to park your car, and another $2.50 per adult for the forty-minute ferry ride over. We saw loads of people crammed into mini-taxi buses, mostly young, honeymooners wanting to escape to the romantic, micro island for a few days. I write this with a caveat: those poor passengers were squished in like sardines, and we learned it cost them about $100 US of the three-hour journey. If you’re staying a week and not renting a car, then I suppose it’s reasonable. Just recognize you may want to splurge the extra $20 for a nicer minivan service. If you want to charter a plane, the small airstrip can handle a six-seater Cessna, and that’s about it.

Micro it is

This is perhaps the smallest island I’d ever been on. It reminded me a lot of Rarotonga in terms of vibe, and size. Both are roughly 26 miles long, but the difference ends there. Holbox is only 1.5 km wide, the island has virtually no cars and people walk, or rent mopeds or golf carts. The walk from the ferry the short distance of about 500 yards into central downtown. Most people are in flip flops, because anything more than that is overkill. The beaches are unspoiled and white, and most of all, because it’s facing west, wind doesn’t exist as it does on the eastern-facing Cancun side. Between the soft, white sand and lack of wind, it is simply heaven. It’s also hot.

Tragic tails of boats of the past dot the entry bay to Isla Holbox- enough to make it interesting but not so many that it scares the tourists
The food, hotels and tourist-y things

Unlike Isla Mujeres, which is diverse enough offer every type of water sports, hotel accommodations, eaters and lots of private homes and yachts, Isla Holbox pretty much has a couple of each, if that. The hotels are more like bungalows, but sit beachside. The nicest restaurants are those attached (or within) the boutique hotels. Quite a few outdoor, casual/beach dining eaters exist, but one shows up in the bikini, not the cocktail dress. Because cars and even private golf carts aren’t allowed, and walking is the norm, prepare to wake up and take a stroll from one side of the island to the other.

That said, locals couldn’t stop telling us about “swimming with the whale sharks” that take place between June and September. As we always go to Mexico around the spring break timeframe, we’ve not experienced that, but certainly have to mention it.

This is it: “Main Street” which you will walk from the ferry to downtown, which is about 200 metres in front of this shot. If you are with a boutique, a golf cart will be waiting. If not, you can hitch a ride (pay, actually) at the marina. Otherwise you are walking.
Smooth sand, quaint eateries and boutique hotels….so perfect for a couple
Family friendly but…

My girls loved the beach, for about three hours. At 9 and 13, they were looking for something…anything to do. If you consider Cancun, where one can rent a jetski, go parasailing, kayaking or anything other pleasure activity one can imagine, it’s not a reality in Isla Holbox. This place is quietly free from loud machines or rentals of any sort. Parked off the beach aren’t party boats, but multi-million-dollar yachts, and once or twice we saw the occupants step in to small watercraft to come ashore.

This was a Saturday. See how empty it is? Aww…the reason you go is because no one else is and it feels like you are all alone…mostly.
What I like best about Isla Holbox

The amazing street art, easy, low-key, local feeling of the area. It’s overwhelmingly populated with native people, leaving folks like us in a small minority. It’s definitely more Sausalito in terms of casual attitude than La Jolla, and we got a lot of practice with our Spanish. The amazingly soft, white sand and crystal clear waters is honestly the best we’ve experienced in the Yucatan thus far.

Those lucky enough to have an off-shore ride to and from the beach.
What I like least

How long it takes to get there. Since we drove, it was 3 hours, as I mentioned, but by boat, going from the tip of the Isla Blanca, where the Villa Del Palmar is located, would have only taken about 30 minutes, because it’s going tip to tip. By driving, we had to go all the way down, then back up the other peninsula. Of course, flying is another level, and we ain’t there yet.

Mainly a fishing community, tourism is increasing, but slowly–for which I’m very grateful
After you walk the beach, return to the casual stops twenty feet away
Take away recommendation

For honeymooners or a couple/individual looking to completely and utterly disconnected, Isla Holbox is your destination. Between the pace of the island, the clarity and beauty of the water and beach, Isla Holbox can’t be beat, at least not in the Yucatan Peninsula. For a family, well, I’d say it’s a nice, one-time experience, but we may wait a few years until they are older—or we return by ourselves. The girls recounted the four hours it took to get on the island, then the three hours spent on the beach, and the four to return. We had to agree with them—not the best place for active, mid-range kids, perfect for everyone else!

Perhaps this poor sea creature had suicidal tendencies, but he got there and stayed.

Tip: Be sure to check the ferry schedule, as it stops running to the Mainland early on weekdays

Feature image: on the beach just in front of city-centre
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