Sunday January
20th
The past 11 days have
melted into one colourful blur.
I have been having more trouble with my
back and we found a chiropractor in Cancun ( Centro Qhiropractic Cassan, Calle
Venado for anyone going to Cancun who might need one.) So we made an appointment
and then spent the day in Cancun.
I have to say I was
not impressed with Cancun, it seems to be a conglomeration of big hotels and
little else. I did however meet Viktor, who makes cigars. He has spent the past
10 years hand rolling the cigars, made from the finest Cuban tobacco. It was
fascinating to watch.
Tom & Silke
arrived that night from the UK to torrential rain as there was a cold front
coming through. Some welcome!!!
The next day, Roger
decided to dive the boat to tighten the bolts on the sacrificial anode on the
prop. He had noticed it was loose when diving the boat a few days previously.
So, armed with his allen keys, snorkel and mask he took to the water. Now those
of you who have boats or cars, know that it is never simple as one job begets
another. So it was, true to form! The head of the bolt had sheared off leaving
the shaft in the hole. Now I can hear you saying, ‘so drill it out….simple’.
Yes, in theory, but remember it was underwater. What had started out to be a
simple job ended up with us having to pay $360 to have the boat lifted out so
Roger could do the repairs!
And no, we do not think that Tom &
Silke could be a bit of a Jonah.
T
With Beaujolais
safely back at anchor, the next day we took a tour to Chichen Itza, the Maya
ruin some 130 miles to the North West of Cancun ($65 US with Graylines, though I
would try and book on line as I think you would get it cheaper) stopping at Maya
co-operatives on the way to buy souvenirs, as is usual with tours all over the
world. The crafts on sale were very high quality and not the usual tourist
trash.
We had a pleasant
lunch before going onto the ruins. Peacocks roamed around the grounds and
entertained us with their courtships.
Maya women
entertained us with traditional dances, it was most
enjoyable.
It turned out we had
chosen the hottest day to go with the sun blazing down and no shade, it was very
tiring. Our guide, Santo, was excellent. He spoke very good English and had a
very wry sense on humour. He was Maya and also passionate about his history,
which made his tour much more interesting.
Despite
initial reservations about taking a tour and a tour guide, it was well worth the
effort and gave another dimension to Mexico. The Maya history is fascinating,
but I was most impressed with the design of their buildings, particularly how
their construction was designed to incorporate astronomical phenomena, such as
the equinox etc. The Maya calendar last only 52 years, then is replaced with a
new one. Roger was rather pleased when he read that the Maya calendars began on
August 13th 3114 BC. There was an amazing parallel with Roger’s life.
He was 52 when he sold up and went sailing, coinciding with the beginning of his
‘new’ 52 year Mayan calendar