| Mar. 12th, 2009 @ 10:14 pm Hola, estoy casa...! |
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Current Mood:  mellow
I got back from Mexico Saturday, and am just getting around to posting about it today- that's how lame I've become, folks. And the trip turned me into a wimp! It's so cold and wet and gross here! I miss the palm trees. *sigh* Anyway, on to the good stuff...
Mexico was even more fantastic than I hoped it would be. I had so many "firsts" on this trip it was ridiculous! To begin with, it was my first flight- two of them, in a row, in somewhat smaller planes than I might have hoped. But I was weirdly calm flying; there were a few moments of motion sickness on the first landing, but other than that I was fine. And then, while still in the middle of my first "first," I hit another one: leaving the country. Leaving the country? Please, I had never even left the Midwest before this trip. Anyway, the airport in Mexico was a little confusing at first, but there were people standing by with luggage racks ready to take us right to our bus, which took us right to our hotel. All in all, it was surprisingly easy and low-stress travelling in Mexico. The cabbies drive like maniacs, but at least they're good-natured maniacs.
The resort was incredible. It had four restaurants, two pools, I don't even know how many bars, a theater, and a nightclub. Each night they had some kind of entertainment planned: they set up a movie screen on the beach with a bunch of loungers (lemme tell you- that is the way to see a movie!), they had a "Michael Jackson Night" with an impersonator and backup dancers, they did stage performances of "Grease" and "Mamma Mia," they brought in street vendors to line the plaza sidewalks, and they brought in an amazing circus. All done inside the hotel. All of our food and drinks, including alcohol and our mini-bars, were included in the price of the trip, so there were literally no worries about anything- it was all taken care of. During our one week stay, they called our room twice just to check if we needed anything, and they sent up this adorable hand-painted ceramic jar with the name of the hotel and city on it, along with a letter saying it was a token of their appreciation and hopes of a continuing good relationship with the resort. How awesome is that?! It was crazy clean, and everybody spoke English so that wasn't an issue at all (although I was pretty impressed with how much high school Spanish came back to me over the course of the week), and the food was a great mixture of Mexican, American, and Asian.
On our first full day in Mexico, I went jet-skiing with my uncle (it was rough on those waves- he really almost lost me once) and then went parasailing over my first ocean. Did you know those things take you up 500 feet in the air? It was a little scary looking straight down, but looking out at everything was awesome. It was so utterly silent and still up there, and I could see the whole city with the mountains in the background. Two days later, I swam with dolphins, something I've always wanted to do. Again, I was not at all disappointed. We got to swim around with them and pet them, feed them, ride them, and eventually take pictures with them. They were so gentle and smart- of course I knew they were before, but it was different seeing it first-hand. One little boy was trying to take his turn riding them, but he couldn't figure out quite where to put his hands or his body. The dolphin just hung suspended in the water, waiting patiently for him to get a good grip, and then swam slowly and easily to the end of the pool- much different from the fast, exciting rides he'd given the adults. It was one of the single coolest moments of my life thus far.
Two days after that, we went whale-watching, a bizarre but definitely worthwhile experience. They didn't come much out of the water, you basically just saw the lines of their backs and fins leading down to the tail fin, but trust me, that was enough. Our boat was within about 50 feet of the whales, and it was awe-inspiring. You'd hear people shout and point as they saw one break the water, then everyone would watch with complete silence until it went under again. Seriously cool. On the drive back, they played loud dance music and made each crew member dance in the middle of the boat as he was introduced to the passengers- I got singled out twice for lapdances, got asked for my phone number once, and then got pulled up to dance with one of them. When we had to get off the boat to catch our water taxi back to shore, the crew guy I danced with wouldn't give me a lifejacket so I'd have to stay on the boat with him! I ended up having to scavenge one from the guy behind him. (Oh, and the guy in one of the jewelry stores at the hotel kissed my hand, pulled me in for a hug, then kissed my neck. I was very popular in Mexico.) The next day I went sailing on a catamaran with my cousin, aunt, and uncle, who'd been certified the day before. One of my only regrets from the trip is that I didn't have a waterproof camera on me that day. It was bumpy on the waves, but really fun, and man, the ocean is salty! I mean, you know it's saltwater, but being smacked in the face with a wave and feeling the gritty salt on your face all day and tasting it on your lips for hours afterward was something else.
On the last day, we went horseback riding into the Sierra Madre mountains, and hiked to the top of a waterfall to swim, before riding back down the mountain to have lunch at the ranch. Some of you may know how terrified I am of horses, because of that devil horse that tried to kill me when I was thirteen. This one, Sarrucho (or "Sam," as I fondly called him) was much more my style. The ride there was actually good- I was feeling comfortable on the horse, feeling like I could control him, and Sam and I had bonded through constant conversation ("Slow and steady, Sam, we talked about this!") and neck-patting. The ride back, however, was nuts. We had to ride further up the mountain before we could go back down, and I've never been a big fan of cliffsides, let alone when I'm riding an animal that could at any time decide to pitch me over. One of the guides led my horse through that, thank God, and was really sweet about it. He asked me my name, and later when he looked back and saw my face all squinched up and turned to the side, trying to not see the edge of the cliff, he just said, "Too close for MeLEEsa?" and moved us over to the other side of the path, giving me a few feet of comforting distance between me and death. He pointed out wild Maccaws and orchids, and calmed me down enough to start breathing again. I'm glad I went though- it was definitely something to see, and I no longer believe that horses are inherently evil. That being said, I don't ever think I'm going to be a horsewoman. It's just not in the cards for me. Aside from the terror of that damned mountain, I just felt bad for the horse! He was picking his way through these big stones and trying to find his balance to cross rushing streams, puffing as he trotted uphill, and I just kept thinking, "Who the hell am I to be riding this poor thing?" Poor Sarrucho. Oh, wait, that's a whole other story! Later that day I asked Marco, one of the workers at the hotel, what "Sarrucho" meant, and he said the literal translation is a "big knife," like a saw. But then he told me it's used a lot in jokes as slang for "penis!" I have my guesses as to which version my horse was named after, and went back to my group saying that we'd better be more careful throwing that word around in the future.
On each of those experiences, I had a moment of feeling humbled and just so incredibly lucky to be seeing the things I was seeing. It really was an incredible trip, and I can't wait to go back there. All of the people were so friendly and helpful, always ready to break into a laugh or a dance or both, and it was like all they cared about was that you had the best time possible. And you know what? I really did. Until next time, Mexico, adios. |
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