Yucatan Day 2: Cozumel

Journal entry from Day 2:

Breakfast: Smoothie - watermelon, papaya, apple, pineapple, orange, cantaloupe.
Omelette - queso fresco, poblanos, tomato, onion
Fruit platter with honey and granola
Bus to Playa Del Carmen 720 pesos. Rocky, rolly bus ride.
Playa Del Carmen, bought waterproof sunscreen and a Frida Kahlo bag. Took the ferry to Cozumel, Rented a car, drove around not getting much accomplished. We had shrimp and chicken quesadillas at Playa Rasta. They were very good. Had to drive back to town to get gas, $20 for half a tank. Visited El Cedral. Walked to a good bakery, had Mayan tacos and platanos fritos. Got ice cream bars on the way back from dinner. Had a major allergic reaction to the "pistachios" in Aaron's bar. Walked around town, we felt very comfortable here, but wished we had rented a scooter instead of a car.

Aaron enjoying breakfast




On our way to the next adventure


Someone else's Coke bottle made for a nice shot


Me pretty much the whole trip



El Cedral, the old Mayan church


The new church built right next door





It was not uncommon to see entire families on scooters. Some towns required helmets, others didn't.







I have a severe tree nut allergy, but there are several nuts I can eat, pistachios being one of them. I discovered that I can eat them in the last 2 years or so, I had just never tried them previously assuming I would be allergic to them too. So I thought nothing of sharing Aaron's pistachio ice cream bar with him. But as we finished it, I realized there was some other nut in there as well, one that I was allergic to. I got the normal itchy throat and mouth. Then my throat started closing, so much that I couldn't take full breaths and I couldn't talk above a whisper. My face swelled, my eyes itched. It was awful, I woke up with a stomach ache and a sore throat from my experience. Luckily I don't go anywhere without an epi pen, and also luckily I've never needed to use it.


I'm posting my pictures on my photo site as I go...thankfully I got all my pictures in the correct folders tonight which should greatly speed up the process.

Yucatan Day 1: Cancun

Journal entry from Day 1:

Direct flight from MSP, arrived in Cancun 1:30 pm, 85 degrees.
Street man talked Erin into following him, go figure...
Hostel Laurel $25/night, clean, little bugs, quiet.
Dinner: Tender dog meat tacos, 3 mini quesadillas cooked in butter, 1 beer and another that Erin accidentally ordered. Chips and salsa yum!!

Aaron

I will post our journals, blue for Aaron's words, pink for mine. I didn't write anything that day, and to my credit with the "Street Man", I trusted him and he took us to a nice hostel, he made a dollar and we found a quiet place 2 blocks from the bus station.

We got Kinder Eggs, you can get these in the US but they can be hard to find. The chocolate was completely unappealing in the heat, but the toys are the real treat anyway. We got a flamingo and a parrot. I gave these to our bird guide's children on our second to last day.



A colorful wall. I wish the US wasn't so afraid of bright colors, they really cheer the place up.

We dubbed these beef tacos, "tender dog meat tacos". The meat was unbelievably tender, and was unlike your garden variety beef. Pretty good.



Aaron had a cold he was trying to recover from and took this make shift Netti pot to try to ward off any secondary infections. He ended up getting an infection anyway, but luckily between the internet (thanks for your advice Jason!) and over the counter pharmaceuticals, we had that infection nipped in no time.


The moon was so beautiful as it came up that night, bright orange. Hard to do it justice.

I am trying to get a day of pictures sorted a day. Today was an easy one since it was only a half day. Good thing because I'm still getting used to the time change. Tip to future travelers, make sure the times on your cameras are set properly! iphoto has my pictures all over the place.