The next day, we met up with our group to head towards Amomoxtli, Tepoztlan. This is a resort located about 1.5 hours south of Mexico City, which our host describes as one of their favourite resorts in Mexico. I approved.
The grounds were immaculate, and I had a relaxing few days here where my bud and Pokin just worked, and I chilled.
Then it was back to Mexico City, where I went to Teotihuacán, known as one of the most significant Mesoamerican Pyramid sites. The bus ride was long! I’m glad I went though. We had some pretty special experiences.
This week, we are off to Mexico City for a couples retreat organized by some business group Pokin is part of. Naturally, I came along too.
The recommended flight was an early morning flight requiring a 4:00AM wake up time. No way. So we decided to head out the night before and stay in the Sheraton Reforma.
Flight was pretty uneventful, other than Delta changing the flight time on us a few times leading up to the departure. Everything took off smoothly and next thing we know we’ve arrived at the terminal.
Just in time for a pretty long customs line.
Well our bags aren’t here either so I guess it’s no big deal. It’s a wait either way.
Eventually, or something like a couple hours later, we made it through customs, in time to hear that our friend’s flight was arriving.
We suggest meeting up to carpool —
Only to realize they had landed at a different terminal….
…and that in Mexico City the terminals are not at all connected. In fact they are something like a 10 minute drive apart with no traffic.
Which then become the other thing I learned. Mexico City has a lot of traffic. A lot.
So although we arrived at like 7pm. We eventually made it to our hotel at like 10pm.
Well we made it. And they greeted me with some candies. That’s cool.
This whole week we stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Fives Beaches in Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun. Pokin and Nick’s friends Cathey and Rob were getting married, so we all packed up and went there.
We arrived a day earlier than every else to settle in and work. For some crazy reason, Pokin booked a red eye. No one was impressed when they found out, especially because there were dinner plans hours before the red eye flight to the airport.
Well they got it all done, saw their friends, enjoyed some dinner, made it to the airport, and a bunch of hours and a transfer in Atlanta later, arrived in Cancun for a transfer to the resort.
Pokin did no research on the resort, and so she didn’t really know much of what to expect.
And one of the first things I discovered was that, this resort was infested with my archnemesis the Coatis. Remembering my time in Brazil, I figured it was time for a rematch. These paws are ready to smack. I glared at one as it walked by. I shook my paw at it. Get ready for payback!
Our room wasn’t ready so we had time to trek around the resort. I saw the beach. I saw the pay-per-use beds. I saw the pools.
It was hot and sweaty. I was hot and sweaty. The hotel wasn’t ready even after the promised check in time. It’s ok, I’m here all week. I will freshen up and bide my time on those Coatis.
Eventually we were able to check in at about 3:50pm (50 minutes past check in time.) We were in Villa 2 where Andres was our ambassador. I got settled in to prepare for my rematch.
And then I saw them.
First I saw a pair of eyes. Then many pairs of eyes.
A whole family of coatis, watching me from below the balcony. Staring up at me. Taunting me. Where’s my one-on-one rematch? Those coatis don’t play fair! There I was, prisoner in a resort for the week because the coatis are bullies.
Meanwhile Pokin and Nick spent their time working outside around the resorts, because their hotel room really didn’t have a desk and the coatis didn’t dare attack them. I guess this place wasn’t meant for remote work because they said for the whole week they only saw one other person with a laptop to work.
Towards the end of the week, they managed to get one excursion out, to see some Cenotes. I thought about sneaking out but then I learned what Cenotes were. Cenotes are a network underground chamber or cave which contains permanent water all throughout the Yucatan peninsula. There are numerous theories to how they formed, but geologically they are formed from limestone being eroded over time. Young cenotes start out as underground caves, and over time they become partially exposed, fully exposed, and some eventually run fully dry. Many of the cenotes are connected via water currents, making it possible to dive from one network to another. In fact, Yucatan is known to have some of the world’s longest underwater cave systems! My bud and some friends went to visit an open air cenote, and an underground cenote. They ziplined, my bud did backflips, they got nibbled on by fish. They’re weird.
Finally saturday Nov 11 arrived. The day of Rob and Cathey’s wedding. My bud’s friends decided to get married in a Cenote via a Mayan ceremony, which was about a 30 minute drive and then another 20 minute trek through the jungle. It was a mosquito feeding frenzy so I was glad to miss it, but it sounded like a very cool ritual with an emphasis on being kind to the earth.
Pokin being Pokin, was unimpressed with the wedding photographers, and decided to take over photography duties after the ceremony by making Cathey and Rob do a photoshoot, including a trash the dress portion where my bud and her made them get right into the waves. Glad they were happy to get wet. All the while I stayed in the hotel.
Because of the coatis. It’s so unfair.
Eventually Sunday came. Time to head home. With my bud as an escort, I ventured out for a last glimpse of the property. I see a coati dart by in the distance, but the gang seems to have mostly dissipated. I spot some big lizards. I glance down the jungle walk path but I don’t go in.
Maybe it would have been fine to go out more this week. Who knows. Anyway it’s time to go back home. And anyway there are no coatis there.
For almost my whole life, Pokin’s been talking about wanting to pet baby whales. I don’t know what the big fuss is with them, but this year we finally actually made plans to see them.
Gray whales migrate south during the winter to have their calves, and apparently one year, some baby whale got the idea that it’d be a good idea to swim up to humans on boats and get pets. Other whales got FOMO, and pretty soon, generations of whales got used to swimming up to humans. Of course the humans loved it, and now it’s a tourist hot spot where people from around the world come to touch whale.
Within the Sea of Cortez, there are multiple places to visit whales. The two main places are San Ignacio Lagoon, and Magdalena Bay. Based on the logistics of where we had to go, Pokin went with Magdalena Bay (although whale sighting odds are apparently better up north in San Ignacio.) Pokin picked an outfitter called Magdalena Bay Whales, and booked it.
That was the easy part. Now we had to get there. The getting there took 3 full days.
First we got up. Too early.
Then we took a connecting flight from Phoenix to Loreto.
We got in too late to make a transfer so we slept for a night in Loreto. Loreto’s one of the best places to go Blue Whale watching, but we decided to ration our whale watching time and opted to wander around the town and the malecon instead. Outside of whale watching, Loreto is definitely primarily a tourist sports fishing town.
The next morning, we got a car hire to take us 3.5 hours across the peninsula over to San Carlos, where we were to spend another night. I didn’t know what to expect of San Carlos. It was also mostly a fishing town. We got dropped off at the Isabella B&B (which is affiliated with Magdalena Bay Whale Camp), my bud paid for the tour with money he raided from my bin, and we were left to our own devices for the rest of the day.
The town was pretty small, but fairly spread out. The roads were paved with sand, and it was really windy, so walking around took a while. It was also incredibly exfoliating as fine sand particles continually blasted us in the face. We took a loop, ate sand, snorted sand, spit out sand, and went back to the hostel.
The food at the hostel at least was pretty good. There were plenty of chips that everyone liked. Pokin ordered all sorts of weird seafood stuff, and since there wasn’t much to do everyone went to bed early, because we were told the boats would depart the next morning at 6am.
Oh she also ordered some sort of weird margarita.
The next morning, before sunrise, we got up to wait for our guides. Breakfast was included, but everyone was nervous about being on a boat so only Pokin ate much of anything. She got huevos rancheros. Brave. The sensible people got oatmeal. I decided to fast.
As the sun started to rise, our guides in gumboots showed up, and it was time to make it to whale camp!
We loaded up on these small boats, and zipped across the bay as the sun rose. What a sight! I would have loved it if I wasn’t freezing so much. I guess even freezing, I loved it and made an exception for being on the water again.
I thought we were going to unload our luggage but it turned out we were starting to whale watch right away. Whales are morning mammals, so no time was to be wasted to the whale meet and greet.
I didn’t know what to expect as the boat headed out to the ocean, but pretty soon I realized there were blowholes and spouts all across the bay. Everywhere I looked there were whale spouts. Whales everywhere!
While this area has the best chances of having whales, it turns out it’s not a given that whales will swim up to you, or that you can every touch one. We later ran into a family that has been back 3 times, but has yet to touch a whale. Well the big goal is to be able to pet a whale. They swam close, but not close enough…
And then one swam up to my bud and got a quick pat.
“How was it?” I asked my bud
“It was alright’ he said
“Cool.” Good enough for me. Glad my bud got to pet one. For me, I came to see whale. No need to paw one.
A few more hours out at sea, and I was done . I was cold, I was sleepy, and I think the rest of the boat felt the same. We saw plenty of whale and got lots of video, so it was time to head to whale camp.
Our boat starts speeding towards shore, and soon enough, we pull up to a number of glamping yurts flanked by two giant whale bone carcasses. Epic!
I loved it, my bud loved it. This is going to be cool.
My bud turns to Pokin “why didn’t you book us more nights here?”
“I had no idea how much you guys would like it,” was her rather unsatisfactory answer.
I got in, claimed my bed, then decided I’d rather see what was available for lunch. They actually had hot cocoa on the menu. I like the spirit-bear-friendly menu. But Pokin went for more disgusting seafood instead.
Whale watching was only once a day, so we were left to our own devices for the rest of the day. Anna and Adam explored camp, and my bud, Pokin and I went on a short trek from camp to the other side of the bay.
In all, it was maybe a 1 hour round trip.
The next morning, we got out on the boat for more whale action. Compared to yesterday, it was much quieter. We didn’t see any whales who wanted to play for quite a while. Jerks! Luckily they eventually came around.
No one got to pet any whales today, but at least they came by pretty close.
Everyone started getting pretty cold (because no one told us it’d actually be cold in February in Mexico — apparently we should have known that. I blame Pokin for not sufficiently communicating this to the group, even though I guess she did tell us it’d be windy and to dress warm. I still blame her.), so because everyone was cold we decided to head back to camp for a quick last break, before getting back to the mainland.
Whale watching was pretty fun. I’d hang with whales again.
From San Carlos, it was a 3.5 hour drive to La Paz. Onwards!
Another year, another cruise. This time it was a work cruise. My bud took Michael, who brought a friend with him. The idea was to work on the newest bingo game, Abradoodle. We also took my bud’s dad and his step mom Jane. Because we stopped in Belize, there were many a Belize pun. Probably too many. Despite the fact we technically stopped at Belize, we didn’t see much of it. Nick’s dad on the other hand, went on a whole visit with some nuns so they had a real sense of the city.
The whole thing was a blur. All I remember is Peep DIDN’T make it on this cruise, and we also stopped in the very touristy stop in Tulum.
My best bear bud could have been a star. But he blew it.
Holland America has some partnership with Dancing with the Stars to do Dancing with the Stars at Sea, where they teach you a routine and you compete to win.
So we went. And Nick and Pokin learned the foxtrot. They didn’t hurt each other, and were even chosen by the judges to compete.
And then they wussed out.
So I lost my one and only chance to say my best bear bud was a minor celebrity on a cruise. Weak.
Instead we ended up just sitting in the front row to watch the finalists instead.
Not good enough, bear bud. Show some courage next time. I would have danced in a flash if they only had partner dancers my size!
Agung and Martin made me towel buddies every night. How nice. I guess they thought I needed the company since Nick and Pokin LEFT me in the room ALONE every night when they had dinner. Four course meals. Without me. I ate their bedtime pillow chocolates in revenge. That’s right.
I don’t know what I expected of this place aside from beaches and beach resorts.
Resorts: Check.
Beaches: Check.
Well I got all that. And Walmart.
Apparently Walmart is a popular named bus stop route in Puerto Vallarta. It’s a BIG DEAL. So many buses stop there. And it’s the go-to place for people aboard the cruise ship to stock up on Doritos. So many people came out of that Walmart with Doritos. Almost makes me want some.
Aren’t we lucky the Walmart was right across from where our boat was docked?
Post cheesecake, we ventured away from the blue line <gasp!>
through the city
and towards the water.
The water looked pretty nice.
We had some moments on the Malecon (boardwalk.)
We even saw a ship named the Titanik.
That name didn’t seem that great for a boat. Why not just call the boat “Please Sink Me Now“? I’m happy our boat’s got some boring name like the Veendam. Wait, what does that name mean anyway in Dutch?
