Progresso/Meidra

Got my photos of my last cruise back, just today. I was so excited that I greeted Gloria in the driveway (I knew what she was bringing since she pulled the mail truck up into the driveway). WOW! I used Winkflash...for the first time, and I can really see the things that we saw while in Mexico.

I wanted to talk a little about the ruins...for those of you that may go to Progresso, I recommend getting off the ship...Hit Los Cinco De Soles...uh, this is the same stuff you will find in Cozumel. The cruise will tell you it is not because this store does not pay the cruise line any money so they will not recommend them to the passengers. Don't buy much here, keep going through the shop to the little shops outside. There are vendors that sell hammocks CHEAP $15 here seems to be the going rate...but don't buy them yet!!! You can do better! Get you some vanilla or a ukulele if you want one...maybe a wind chime...then keep going. At the end of all the stores, there will be lots of guys selling tours. See you should not book them on the ship, this guy will sell you the same tour at a 2 for 1 price. Give him the money, get your bracelet and board a bus for the flea market. Now, you may buy your hammock $10! Purses that are hand made (very well made) $5, and silver (make sure it is real silver look for the .925 first) and all kinds of cheap t shirts. You will board your bus and head to Dziblichaltun. It's not a long bus ride and it is air conditioned. You will travel by little lakes...look inside there for you will see WILD pink flamingos. They are a sight to see in the wild. Through the ride you will see many great Mexican sites. I took tons of photos of signs, and even a water park. I really enjoyed the bus ride. The guide, Ivan kept it interesting by telling stories about hammocks and why they are so plentiful. Maybe if you ask nicely I will tell you.

Once you get to the ruins, your guide will have to get you a new ticket, this is all ready paid for by you so just wait. Please NOTE there can be NO video taking unless you pay extra. The guide did not know that I had planned on shooting video on my camera and did not tell me that, but I heard him tell someone with a camcorder this. We entered the ruins and saw some marvelous plants. My favorites were the flowers, all types, all colors.

The first magnificent sight that we saw was a giant wall. This wall was very tall, very steep, my first thoughts were "I want to climb that". Ivan made us sit for a lesson about the ruins. It was very informative, but I kept saying I wanted to climb that thing. After his talk he led us around a bend and there was the lovely cenote. This was a source of drinking water for the Mayans. It was so blue, and so refreshing looking. It was covered in lily pads and flowers. I just could not stop taking photos of it's majesty. Ivan invited us to take a swim and a couple of our group jumped right in. John took off his shoes and stuck his feet in. There were little fish inside and they started nibbling on his feet. It made a funny photo, with the blue water, his pale feet and those tiny fish.

Next Ivan led us to the exit, or so we thought. I ran ahead and climbed to the top of one of the giant walls, I could stand it NO more. John got my photo of me looking triumphant in my glory, "ha I did it and you said I could not"... Up there is was a LONG way down. The steps were very shallow and very steep. As I started my descent I got a little worried...How was I going to get down this with my big feet and now that I looked down I was tad dizzy? I just took it slow and walked sideways...seriously, my feet were way too big for the steps.

As I got to the bottom, Ivan was asking how many wanted to make the long trek to walk to the observatory. I had waited to see this...waited and waited. Actually, I did not think that we would get to go. It is a very cool place, and I was so glad that we went. Again, there are narrow (not as narrow but narrow) steps to the top and it is tall, but the view is outstanding and it is worth the climb in so many ways. In the Spring and the Winter on the equinox days, the sun will shine through the windows...we were about 10 days to early for this event. Oh well, we got to see it.

We next walked to the houses where the Mayans lived. They can withstand a hurricane, which fascinates me. When I visit an island here I always like to see the hurricane routes, the devastation from them and things that withstood hurricanes...Barbados was the most interesting...Maybe I will tell you why another day. The huts were poorly constructed to my eye, but again, they can withstand a hurricane so looks can be deceiving.

I would post a photo, but for some reason the blog will not allow photos, must be a windows 7 thing. I will look into it, or you can just go to my facebook page and see my photos...Note the cenote and the observatory