Round trip prices from:
USA Transfers is run by Entertainment Plus Cancun.
Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Club Oasis Akumal 4a
Main Page | Trip Report Main Page | Add a Trip Report | Search Report's
OUR AKUMAL ADVENTURE, PART 4a
Thursday, 6/22/00, Day “5”
Woke up around 5:45, which is a good thing because we didn’t get the wakeup call we had requested the evening before. Nice sunrise, cloud like a pyramid or Mayan god. Very appropriate since today we are off to Chichén Itzá. The ocean was like glass, with some fog to the south. Somebody was burning something somewhere, the smell drifting in on a very light breeze from inland. It would have been a great snorkeling day, but adventure summoned us.
We had booked the Chichén Itzá Limo Club tour at $85 per person. Let me say right up front that we found the tour well worth the price! It is described, and I quote from the sheet the A.T. rep gave us, as follows: “Upgraded deluxe tour to the most impressive Mayan ruins aboard a spacious air-conditioned executive motorcoach with restroom; includes continental breakfast, tour guide and conductor, entrance fees, lunch with a drink, hotel pick-up [sic] and complemetary [sic] drinks on board the bus. Also visit the amazing lagoon of Ikkil.” The rep had told us the bus only took a maximum of 28 people, which suited us to a T. (I especially liked the idea of a bathroom on board!)
We got all our stuff together--cameras, notebook (which is by now permanently attached to my hand), hat, jacket (recommended by the rep for the cool bus after being out in the hot sun, although I ended up not needing it), water bottle, etc., etc.—and went to the lobby to await our pickup. The shuttle van appeared promptly at 7:20 to take us to Playacar, where we would meet the big bus.
On the way, we stopped at Barcelo Maya to pick up some more people. This is a beautiful hotel, at least from the outside, with Chac Mool fountains and gorgeous landscaping. Very upscale. We learned later from a fellow who went fishing with Steve that it is also upscale dress-wise. They apparently have a dress code there, asking for no shorts when dining in the restaurants. Obviously not a place we will stay at.
We stopped at Puerto Aventuras to pick up another couple, then arrived at Riu Tequila just before the bus did. We boarded and set off about 8:13. We then stopped one more place (Continental Plaza?) to pick up the rest of the group and set off for real. The bus was part of the Cancun Line, with tables for some of the seats (which were very comfortable). We had sat in the front, right behind the driver, so we only had a small ledge with two cupholders, but we got to see a lot more, I think.
Our host for the tour was Paul. He was a very pleasant and well-spoken young man. He introduced our bus driver, Dionisio, an older fellow who was a very good driver, and our guide, Manuel Couoh, who was very Mayan looking. His name means eyetooth (co, i.e., fang) of the jaguar (uoh).
First of all, Paul showed a short tape on the different tours. There were titles for the different places but no narration, just background music. I found this a bit odd, but interesting nonetheless. The bus was equipped with an excellent sound system and several TVs so everyone on board could see and hear.
We passed by a bad car wreck where the car had apparently flipped onto its back and burned completely. There were cops and firemen everywhere. Glad it happened well before we got there or it could have delayed (or even involved!) us. Felt sorry for whoever it was, though.
Paul served coffee and pastries. There was a nice selection of delicious sweet rolls, and he insisted on us taking as many as we wanted. I also had about half of a very large banana that was quite good.
As we drove along, I read the various road signs and found the literal translations of some of them very amusing. For example, “NO MALTRATE LAS SEÑALES” literally means don’t mistreat the signals!
We traveled briskly along the new road to Valladolid. The scenery was interesting at first, but then became rather boring. One kilometer of jungle looks pretty much like the next. Only occasionally could we see little houses and huts set back from the road. If you take this tour, you might want to bring a book for this long stretch. (The total tour is about 380 miles roundtrip.) Paul did get up and talk a little about what we were going to see and do. Then he went back to the book HE was reading! (It happened to be “The Celestine Prophecy” in Spanish.)
We finally arrived at Valladolid and drove slowly through town while Paul commented on the various sites. It is a charming place, with “lover’s seats” in the park, fountains, trees, brightly painted buildings, and local people going on about their business. One interesting mode of transportation I noticed here (and later elsewhere), was two people on a bicycle, the second one standing up on a very long axle through the rear wheel and holding on to the seated cycler’s shoulders. Paul told us that Valladolid was originally called Sa Keet (sp?), which means “white hawk” in Mayan.
Manuel handed out clip-on tags with his name (Couoh) on them. That was to identify us as legitimate passengers on his tour. We were also told to remember our bus number, since many of them look alike and go to the same places. We then stopped at a tourist store, where we could shop for bargains. Paul told us that bargaining was expected here, and that one could get some pretty good deals.
Now, this place was really set up well. There were various wares outside, and a whole storefull inside. Vendors walked around with calculators and headsets and communicated constantly with each other. One nice thing was that they were not very aggressive. If you did select an item and agree on the price, the vendor would carry the item and take you to the cashier, telling the cashier what the price was. At that point, you paid the cashier and the transaction was finished. (As a side note, I might say they had a nice bathroom, too, with a little gal in attendance. Tips were left in a tray at the sink. Oh, well, you know me and bathrooms…) I cannot begin to tell you what all they had at this place. It ranged from T-shirts to painted leather to very pretty crystal objects. They also had a variety of glass pyramids (more on this later).
Outside, I saw a neat tie-died T-shirt with “Mayan Culture, Chichen-Itza, Mexico” and a Mayan mural on it that I really liked. The vendor sniffed my interest immediately. I asked how much and got the standard response of “250 pesos, but today, for you only, I make special deal.” Yeah, right, where have I heard THAT before? Obviously, I was not going to pay $25 for a T-shirt, so I told him no. The price immediately dropped to 200 pesos. Well, it’s very pretty, but no, too much. All right, 150. Now we’re getting somewhere. I turned away from him and dug in my pocket. I knew I had 180 pesos on me, but I pulled out 120 and said, “This is all I have.” The vendor bit his lip and consulted with a woman, apparently slightly his superior. He returned to me with his calculator and held it up. It said 150. I shook my head sadly and repeated that I only had 120 pesos, but maybe I could find my husband and ask if he had any more. The vendor bit his lip again, fearing that once gone I would not be back, and said, “Okay, 120.” We proceeded to the cashier, I paid my 120 pesos, and everybody was happy. I might add that much of this conversation took place in Spanish.
I then set off in search of Steve. We looked at a few more things, then outside he found some very nice lace tablecloths. The one we liked was in tan and white, with the Mayan glyphs around the edge and a mural depicted in the middle. I forget what it started at (450 pesos?), but we (I) got it down to 200 pesos after a few minutes of bargaining. This particular vendor had a crippled foot and bad teeth, but I refuse to feel sorry for anyone while bargaining. The tablecloth was well worth the 200 pesos and fits our round dining table nicely.
Well satisfied with our purchases, we made another bathroom stop and reboarded the bus. Now it was off to Chichén Itzá…
Submitted by: D. Stevens -- dragon5@fullnet.net
Hits: 0
Want to add a Review on this report?
Please completely fill out the form below, and we'll add your review as soon as possible.