Cancun Dreams and Realities, continued...

Adventure #2

We decide that Thursday morning, we’d like to drive to Coba to explore a site of mayan ruins that has not been completely excavated. Although I was pushing to try to visit more sites on Thursday, Co convinced me that to over schedule our free time would be BAD. He was right. So, from Coba, we plan to head to our new cabana, hang out and relax in the water that evening. Then, Friday, we planned to do some snorkeling, and to get to the airport at 2:30.

To carry off this plan, we decide to leave the poopy resort by 8:00 am on Thursday. We consult two maps to plan our driving route. It looks like there are two ways to get to Coba. Unsure which would be better, we ask the concierge:
Me: “Should we take the coastal highway, or should we take the inland route?”
Him: “hmm… Oh, definitely take the inland route. It is much more direct. You’ll be there in 1.5 hours.”
Me: “so I take highway 285 to Hwy 5 south? Will I have any problems finding my way?”
Him: “No, you’ll be fine. Very easy.”

Ok, off we go. I was driving. I missed a turn right away, and we did a tour of the airport. I get on the correct highway going the correct direction upon exiting the airport. Not a huge detour. So, Co looks at the map and tells me the next turn should be Hwy 5 south in about 60 km. I make a note, and Co starts napping. La dee da… Driving is fun in a foreign country. Even relaxing. I get close to the km marker, and start watching. Wait, there was the marker…. No signs. Um, oh no. that was an overpass headed north/south, but no access ramp to it. Uh oh. I go another 4 km or so, and come to a “state line” and there is a toll station for trucks. I pull off, and Co wakes up. I explain. We look at the map, which is no help. We look around.
Two guys, in their 50’s maybe, are sitting outside of a building not far from us. They are watching us curiously, with beers in hand and shirts unbuttoned. I look at Co. “Think we can get help?” “Might as well try…”
I get out and approach the two, er, gentlemen. Broken Spanish starts here:
Me: Hi. We’re going to Coba. But… gesture at hwy 5 on the map.
Do you know how to get there?

Guy 1: Oh, you can’t get onto 5 from here. No access.

Me: Yes, but is there a town we can get off of this highway… and then to 5?

Guy 1 and 2: Oh you can go VIOWRHTOIHGQEO CIOWIYTQ OWI SDPIHF QOPWIT long very long.

Me: Ummm. I go north?

Guy 2: No, OIYYQOXIYO@)(#& AOIDHASDKH IEYR AOWIE EIYRKHROQIY but then FAOWUIEHC DI woerti HGWOIYT wleith ai.

Me: Umm, I didn’t understand that.

The two guys look at each other a say a few things I don’t catch. One gestures to the truck nearby, the other shakes his head.

One guy says to give the other guy $10 (100 pesos) and he will take us there.

I look at Co. He shrugs. I hand the guy 100 pesos. (I’m thinking, yup, I expected to pay my way out of this, the question is, are we really going to get where we want to be?) He says to follow him, and he gets a BICYCLE. We hurry to our car. We do a u-turn in the highway to get going the other direction. We drive on the shoulder of the highway at 8 mph following this guy on his bicycle. (!!)

We go maybe a mile. I mean, 1.5 km. The guy stops and lays his bike on the ground. The highway is bordered by a guard rail. The guy walks up to the guard rail, and starts UNSCREWING THE BOLTS THAT HOLD IT TOGETHER! I tell Co to get out and help him. I can see that beyond the guard rail is the remnants of an old road. Weeds are growing in the middle of the road, and trees are encroaching along its edge. There’s some trash around too. I cannot, however, see where this road will lead. It does head south, which is encouraging….

Co and the guy get a piece of the guard rail off, and the guy motions me through. Ok. I am feeling a little uncertain and ridiculous. (And I’m having a blast.) Co and the nice guy put the guard rail back on, the guy climbs back on his bike, and goes back towards the state line, and is out of sight quickly.

Co gets in the car. He’s also grinning a little uncertainly.
Me: I can’t believe that.
Co: The bolts were loose – that gets done a lot.
Me: I guess we go this way?
Co: Do you have a choice?
Me: Vamos!
Co: We’re dumb for not bringing a dictionary.
Me: Si Senor!

We head off down the road.

After 3 km or so, another road (in use this time) crosses our path. Of course, there are no signs to indicate what road this is, as this is not a legal intersection, so to speak. So, left or right? We gamble right. We were wrong, we realize, as we come to a small village. There are goats, and dogs, and children, but no hwy 5. We do another u-turn, pass the decrepit road, and Lo! There appear to us signs for hwy 5. Co and I are shaking our heads, dumbfounded by our luck at getting on the right road.
Best $10 we ever spent.

Here are some pictures from Coba, and our cabana on the beach in Tulum. Ah, so nice.

*coming soon*

Coba is a site of Mayan ruins, several of which are unexcavated. It’s a bit perplexing to see a tree growing right out of the middle of a rock structure. There were bicycle taxis you could hire to take you around, but we opted to walk the 4 to 5 miles. The main pathways are busy, but there are several temples off the main path that you get all to yourself.

We played spot the lizard:
*coming soon*

And spot the bat:
*coming soon*

The tour guides raced each other running up this pyramid – 42 meters tall.
*coming soon*

All in all, an excellent trip.