TravelStream™ news feed for member schlossie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/schlossie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:35:43 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1180056900/tpod.html Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:35:43 -0400 All our VA travels

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Mason Neck State Park, Virginia, United States

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Stafford, Virginia, United States

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front royal, Virginia, United States

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great falls, Virginia, United States

Great Falls is really pretty. The fee for the whole car is very doable and allows you to come back for 2 more days. There are 3 overlooks and lots of BBQ stations. I love this location. You'll get to see lots of mansions on your way to the falls and once there you'll forget that you're just 15 minutes outside of DC. Someday I'll figure out how to get to the MD side with the rope bridge...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179709860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179709860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179709860/tpod.html Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:13:30 -0400 All our VA travels

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Colonial Beach, Virginia, United States

I only have pictures from this entry. It was a daytrip and driving took us much longer than expected (as usual...). The scene was nice, there was music playing on the porch of a bar right by the river, but I would never swim in the Potomac. Sorry can't do.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179621780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179621780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179621780/tpod.html Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:57:58 -0400 All our VA travels

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Richmond, Virginia, United States

Welcome to my absolute favorite getaway: Maymont plantation in Richmond.

The foundation is doing a spectacular job keeping the property up and beautifully landscaped. I've been here in any season and the gardening constantly changes. Talk about a great deal. Admission is free. So if you're short on cash you can visit anyway. Just make a donation some other day when you're back and your wallet has recovered. You all know how much I LOVE freebies. I gladly donate money to them just for the fact that they don't charge.

This is quite an estate. You start off entering through a gate and already pass by a beautiful butterfly garden that also (this is where the ladies room is - very important for the ladies...) from here on you pass by a huge fountain and to your right are rolling hills. What a welcome change from the tiny little patches of green in the DC area. You're torn about continue walking through the big lawn where people spread their blankets and enjoy hanging out or follow the signs to the Italian garden.

I usually follow the Italian garden because I can't wait to see all the flowers. And what a nice job they do. Arrangements change with every season and it's there's always one gorgeous colorful carpet of flowers waiting for you. From the Italian Garden a giant fountain leads down the steps to the Japanese garden. You can't quite see it from up here, but once down there it's amazing. The lake has little stepping stones, where you can walk through the lake with the fish swimming right up to you. Japanese maples, little bridges, grotto's and a gorgeous waterfall make you feel a world away from DC. Once you're done exploring the Japanese garden discover the beautiful hills of the estate, the carriage house, the pavillions, the animal habitats and the estate. And finally here's someone who did it right. Thank you Mrs. Dooley for creating this beautiful garden and building a house that is cozy and not ridiculously large. There's someone that has some sense and that is hard to come by in times when people feel like they are entitled to "bigger things". This lady had all the money, but she had her priorities right.

I've taken friends, family and hubby to Maymont and I'll be back. It's just that beautiful and ever changing!

Schlossie
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179505800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179505800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/virginia/1179505800/tpod.html Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:41:16 -0400 All our VA travels

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Chincoteague, Virginia, United States

Oh boy - I'll have to start of with apologizing. We took this trip a loooooong time ago and all I remember is a very very long drive from DC and lots of water. It's funny because normally I'm drawn to water, but if there's too much water and not much land to go with then I feel a bit uncomfortable.

This is not to put down any of Chincoteagues beauty. I loved the lighthouse on Assateague, despite not seeing any wild horses. It's really pretty & quaint. In fact my husband keeps nagging me about going back, so for sure one of these days we'll be back and probably stay overnight. I'll be sure to update this travelogue then.








Until then I only have pictures - I'm sorry :(

Schlossie
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711300/tpod.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:14:16 -0500 Dreamvacation - Mexico Mayan Ruins, pristine beaches and Tequila!

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Tulum, Mexico

T U L U M & P L A Y A D E L C A R M E N


On our last day hubby & I decided we could not leave Mexico without having seen any Mayan ruins. My brother and sister in law wanted to spend the day at the hotel they paid for dearly, which also meant each couple had some much needed time for two :)

Now we just had to get through the generally aggravating process of waiting for the car we reserved the day before. We wanted to leave bright and early so we could reach the ruins before the midday heat. Our reservation was for 07:30 am, but nobody showed up until 08:00 am. By 08:45 we finally managed to pull the car on the road towards Playa del Carmen and arrived in Tulum close to noon. The sun was burning down ferociously and that did put a damper on our mood. We made a lazy decision to not carry our towels with us, although we knew how beautiful the beach at Tulum was and that YOU CAN swim there, but we were just grumpy at that point and it's our own fault that we let that bad start get to us.

We decided to tour Tulum on our own. Another bad decision. We walked the ruins for what seemed hours, jumping from shadow to shadow, ohhing and ahhing at the details we saw, but I know for a fact that we missed out on most of Tulum's hostory. We didn't know what we were looking at. I've got to say - we always do this. I'm not sure why - maybe we prefer to roam freely or want to save the extra money, but it means we miss out on a lot of stuff too and generally we're bummed out afterwards (see Pompei). Maybe it's time to learn this lesson. The good news is that you don't need to know Tulum's history for a photo safari, which is exactly what I set out to do.






We did have a little brochure that explained the different buildings and their purposes, plus there are little information plates at some spots. Like the one before you walk through the wall into the city. It explained that "regular" folks probably did not live within the city walls, but somewhere on the outskirts so they are close enough to work for the rich people. Sounds like any major modern city, right? It's funny to compare that time to ours and hubby & I were joking that - had we lived way back when - we probably wouldn't have been allowed in the city. So it was fun to stand in someones driveway and think to myself: "Look at me now! Ha Ha - I'm in your driveway and there's nothing you can do about it!".














I know stupid me, but there really was one house that looked like it had a driveway - maybe to park the horse? Probably not and I would probably know more about it had I taken the tour.... Touchy subject - let's not go there :)



To me the most beautiful place in Tulum is on top of the clifs, looking at the ruins & the ocean. The watercolor is just amazing. It looks out of this world. You'll probably see some sort of ruins on any vacation, but the location just makes this particular one so special to me. By now we were drenched in sweat and it would have been lovely to take a dip in the ocean, but guess who had no towels to dry up afterwards...



Oh well, I guess I could label the first half day of this trip "Making the least out of your trip". The second half will better though - I promise. We walked back to our car (we knew that a train was driving from/to the parking lot - but it wasn't far) and decided to tour the the little bazaar outside until our stomachs started to grumble and we knew lunch was overdue.

We decided to stop at the Aventura & Spa Hotel, which is just gorgeous. You arrive in the lobby and everything smells really really good, there are huge sofas along the wall where people just lay back and relax, silent spa songs playing from the speakers. I don't think I need to say more than that the bathroom sink was surrounded by flower petals... It felt so good to be here after frying in the sun (you cannot hide from it in Tulum).

Needless to say we decided to spend lunch hidden from he sun in the big cabana hut by the pool. The food was pretty much the same as it was at the Moon Palace, but it tasted better! Really and there was a bigger variety. I took advantage of all sorts of different pasta's, appetizers, salads and later on desserts, while hubby robbed the meat counter. It was soooooo good. Now we just needed to survey the area and find a good place to relax a little bit.

I already told you the jelly-fish story in the second entry, so obviously that wasn't the place to cool down. We walked the breaker wall for a little bit, the ocean was hitting it hard and it was nice to watch. Water color here wasn't the beautiful turquoise you know from Cancun or Tulum either (just like the Moon Palace). There are plenty of Palace hotels that are located in "turquoise" areas though (LeBlanc, Sun Palace, Xpu-Ha, Cozumel). It wasn't a big deal for us, because we had the day at Xel-Ha, seen it in Tulum and will be there shortly in Playa del Carmen. Landscaping at this hotel is top notch. I loved the waterfall and garden paths that they created at the Aventura & Spa and they even had a roman bath perfect for use during bad weather (covered). That's something I haven't seen done so nicely at any other Palace hotel. Very nice, I could definetely see myself on a rainy day in this pool. Just looking at the rain pooring down, why I safely get to play fish in the water.












I finally found the perfect spot: A pool lounger half submerged in the water. I took a quick swim in the cold water, which felt heavenly and then quickly fell asleep. I could not have been any happier. Once awake and fully restored I ordered a nice cocktail from the waitor that constantly serviced our area. I certainly could have stayed here, but we had to get to Playa del Carmen.



Eventually we managed to get out of the loungers and back into our car, back on the way north - next stop: Playa del Carmen. We stopped at the Playacar Palace, which was a bit harder to find then the other Palace Hotels, but we found it nonetheless. The hotel itself was gorgeous - all white and tropical. But we didn't want to spend a lot of time here, we wanted to see a local beach. So my hubby went for a quality tequila shot and we were on the road trying to find a parking spot.















We followed the signs to the beach and then stopped at I think it was #38. We were not really sure if we could park here, but we couldn't find a different spot so we just stayed close to a condo complex. When we reached the beachfront I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was late afternoon and the sun covered everything in a beautiful golden glow, the water color was amazing and small boutique hotels had set up quite spectacular beach loungers. Loungers is not really the right word. How about beds in the sand enclosed with flowing white curtains? One hotel caught my attention in particular with it's cute little bungalows right on the beach. I liked it so much I made it the first thing I researched when back at home. That hotel is the Shangri-La Caribe and we are planning on staying here in the near future.



We went for a long walk on the beach - it wasn't hot any more - just nice & warm. Locals were out with their kids, while someone plaid with his dog and music was playing from radios, a marina was in the distance and the sun slowly started to set. My husband spent some time in the water, while I stayed on the beach, soaking in the impressions to remember them on a particular rainy day.





And that's how our last day in Mexico ended, back at the hotel we had one last dinner, slept one last time in our beautiful room, creating our own good-bye cocktail the next morning, before they took our wristbands and sent a van to take us away...

I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did and I would love to hear from you in my guest book.

Adios,

Schlossie

PS: One last funny (?) story about Mexico. You better plan on going soon, Mayan's predict the end of the world for 12/21/2012. Well.. really they are not sure. Maybe someone was slacking and didn't carry on the calendar or it really is judgement day ...


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1200711180/tpod.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:02:49 -0500 Dreamvacation - Mexico Mayan Ruins, pristine beaches and Tequila!

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Isla Mujeres, Mexico

I S L A M U J E R E S

This pretty little island is just a few miles off shore from Cancun and was named after its previous owner: the Mayan moon goddess - a woman. Population is less than 20,000 and as of 2005 there were 121 taxis, 500 golf carts, and 1500 moped scooters on the island :) Isla Mujeres has many beautiful coral reefs perfect for snorkeling and is home to a population of sea turtles. Cubans like to stop here on their way to the United States. Our hotel stay included a free trip, so how could we not go?















There's only one thing I would do different in retrospect. Do yourself a favor and put on your swim suit in the morning before you get on the bus. It gets very hectic once you arrive on the island. By the time I had my towel, locker and snorkel gear (you'll have to get in a different line for each) they were already doing a second call for the snorkelling tour and I was one of the last to get on the boat, though I can assure you I had wasted NO time. Not to mention there's no place to change, so I had to use the bathrooms. They had wet floors which felt a little gross.

It was about 09:00 am when the bus picked us up at our hotel and took us to the boat dock in Cancun. The ride took about half an hour. Once on the boat it took another 45 min to reach Isla Mujeres. During the ride the crew told us about programs we could choose from once we reach the island (there are charges for these additional activites):

~Snorkeling
~Scuba diving
~Tour around the island
~Swimming with dolphins (I'd prefer to see them swim in the ocean...)

Once on the island we had about 20 minutes to get ready before the boat left for the snorkeling tour we wanted to do ($20.00 per Person). Like I said before, it was all a little hectic, but still enjoyable. The boat ride that took us to the reef didn't take long at all. But the fact that we were now out in the middle of the ocean scared me a bit. Oh well no time to be scared - because I had to fight with the instructor. He really wanted me to spit in my goggles to prevent them from fogging up, which is great but GROSS! No way I was going to do that. Well, he had the last word: "If you're not going to spit in them then I'll spit in them for you." Given that choice I took my finger and mopped out my goggles with a little spit - vowing to feed the instructor to the first available shark. I don't even want to think about the fact that these goggles are re-used...



Once on the spot we started snorkeling, following our instructor and creating our own school of fish. The weather was rainy, but still nice and warm. All the running around before the trip had made me really thirsty and the fact of breathing the salty air through the snorkel time after time didn't help at all. The whole snorkeling tour took about 45min, but I was out of the water 15 minutes into the tour. I've never been sooo sea-sick. I didn't know you could get seasick while in the water, but all the motion just did it and I went back to the boat when I started to feel light headed. It was nice to see that I wasn't the only one that didn't make it. There were some others too, like the nice man that decided to swim in his tighty-whities... I was still bummed out though, because the snorkeling had been quite spectacular. We saw mantaray, schools of fish and colorful coral reefs in crystal clear water. That just reminded me: I have never seen a live coral reef. Wherever I've snorkeled before they were dead.



For you divers out there - you can visit the "Manchones" (=Cross of the Bay), which is a sunken cross with a mermaid carved out in the middle. The cross has been sunk as a tribute to all the men and women who died by the sea. I'm fascinated by sunken "objects". Totally unrelated, but I just looked for a video that showed diving on isla mujeres and I came accross this, isn't that beautfiul? You divers probably know all about bubble rings :)

Once back on the island it was about time for lunch (included) and they gave us two hours until we would meet at the dock before heading to the north end of the island. The ride was really beautiful, because the weather switched between rain and shine and whenever the sun came out again, everything around us just opened up in bright turquoise colors. Here's a picture I took while the boat was in a rainy patch, but the sun was shining above the island. Unfortunately I got a drop on my lense:


Probably one of my most favorite pictures I ever took. Upon arrival at the north end we had one hour to shop, which we started as a group. Our guides horded us into their preferred shops, which I didn't like at all. It felt very crowded and I want to shop freely. That quickly aggravated me so much that I quit shopping and went on a photo safari. Probably one of the better ideas I've had in a while and I love the pictures I took that day.




I've met so many nice people, for example I ran into an old man. You know this game, where you try to step out of someones way and they do the same and you both end up in each others way again? I did that a couple of times with him and then he burst into laughter and asked if we should just start to dance :) I saw beautifully painted houses, stray kittens, houses that were ruins and...







...the most amazing and breathtaking cemetary ever.











I took the next picture on Playa del Norte walking along the beach. This is my favorite picture, which made me forget all seasickness and grudge about the shopping push.












For the ride home they put on a hell of a show, where you'll just laugh yourself silly. They truly truly earned their tip!















I don't have any more good stories about Isla Mujeres. Intially I didn't want to go, because I heard many bad things about the trip included in our hotel stay: Activities cost extra, if you don't buy the extra activities you'll be bored out of your mind, stressful, shopping push.... And while all that was true it still was a very enjoyable experience and looking at back at my pictures I'm just grateful that I got to go!


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1164681900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1164681900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schlossie/2006-mexico/1164681900/tpod.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:52:15 -0500 Dreamvacation - Mexico Mayan Ruins, pristine beaches and Tequila!

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Xel-Ha, Mexico

Xel-Ha - paradise on earth. We've been waiting a long time to see this place. There was absolutely no way I was going to skip such a beautiful not man-made place: A blue maze of creeks, lagoons, natural wells and ancient caves fed by subterranean rivers flowing to the beautiful Mexican Caribbean Sea of the Riviera Maya. Our hotel package included a trip that consisted of a half day exploring the ruins in Tulum and spend the rest of the day in Xel-Ha. We've heard from other travellers though that they regretted not being able to spend a whole day at Xel-Ha and decided to buy a day pass, rent a car and go on our own.

We purchased the all-inclusive package at the activities desk in our hotel. I don't remember how much we exactly paid, but I thought it was something close to $50.00 and covered all of the following:

Park entrance fees, use of showers, bathrooms, floats, life jackets, hammocks, river train, and bag to transport your belongings. Use of snorkel equipment is also included along with a free snorkel tube as a gift, towels and a family-sized locker. Meals and beverages in any of our restaurants, tips and taxes are also included. You cannot use your sunlotion in Xel-Ha, but if you bring it, they'll hold it for you (until you leave) and trade you a small package of biodegradable lotion. It's not much, but it's better than nothing and you can lather up before you leave in the morning.

We reserved our car the day before, because we wanted to leave bright and early in order to beat the crowds. Reserving the car only took about 10 minutes and I thought it was going very smoothly. However pick-up the next day took a whole hour! The rental car person fill out pages after pages and trained a new person (index-finger typing only). It seemed to take forever.

We had this idea of how the drive would go down: The sun burning down from a bright blue sky, while we're taking a small car over old bumpy roads, with happy music roaring from the speakers, windows half down, smelling the air - just enjoying the ride. BUT when we finally got our car, it turned out that it had:

~no radio
~no "oh-oh" hand bars
~no switch to flip the mirror for night driving
~no fire extinguisher (I was told that this was mandatory in Mexico)
~no power stiring
~no automatic transmission (costs extra)

Apparently all of the above is luxury. Didn't know what a luxury limousine you were driving at home, did 'ya? We accepted the extra insurance for $22.00. We always do because Karma always catches up with me on vacation time and this way I don't have to worry :) I need not be concerned about scratches and dents - $0.00 deductible baby.

Driving wasn't too bad, a bit aggressive maybe. I just pulled onto the shoulder and let the other drivers pass, whenever the harrassment level got too high. I didn't stick with the flow of traffic, which means driving about 10 or 20km over the speed limit, because I did not want to get pulled over not speaking the language. That meant that I had to slow down from 100 km/h to 40km/h snail speed at every single hotel exit and there are a lot!

The road has two lanes each way and you can imagine the surprise when police appeared behind us in our lane with flashing lights. We immediately pulled over - worried and unsure what we did wrong - just to find out that they dashed right by. They didn't want anything from us. Maybe we didn't take one of the many speed bumps fast enough? This actually happend a few more times along the way :)

We enjoyed the ride and it was great to see that all the sister hotels were right along the way. We passed the Aventura & Spa Palace and later on the Xpu-Ha Palace. Shortly after that traffic came to a screaching halt. We were only one car in a long line of cars that didn't move. We waited for about 10 to 15 minutes until patience ran out and we got out of the car. We couldn't find a reason for the hold up, it was like the first two cars in the line just stopped and refused to go any further or maybe an abyss had just opened?

It didn't matter, because now I really really had to go... So we decided to turn around and make a pit-stop at the Xpu-Ha palace that we just passed. This hotel is really cool. You enter through a massive Mayan stonegate, the lobby is one giant bamboo hut and there are exotic animals everywhere. We decided to take a little break from driving and have a late breakfast (plus the first Margherita of the day), followed by a quick tour of the Xpu-Ha (via golf cart - okay that's not really a break from driving is it?). Before long we were back on the road, the traffic jam had cleared up and we had only a few minutes ride left before we were at the entrance of Xel-Ha.

Once inside we locked up all our private belongings and headed right over to the snorkel desk to pick-up our gear and plastic swimbag. I thought the plastic bag was the greatest thing, because I had brought a point and shoot camera for "land shots" and a single use water camera. Well it turned out that the plastic bag was distributed at the other end of the park and I just couldn't make myself go there, because I wanted to get into the water - now! It looked awesome. One huge turquoise lagoon, parrots, huts, palmtrees, tropical flowers & hammocks. This place should be in the dictionary under "Paradise".

But first I had to march right back to the locker, because they needed ID as a deposit for the snorkeling gear. I practically ran back and forth, taking down anybody in my way (okay slightly exaggerated) just to finally get into this beautiful water and boy it felt GOOD! Once I got used to the feeling - I always need to get over a little panic when I see how deep it is and how big the fish are - I dared to venture further. Hubby & brother & sister in law were content snorkeling around in circles exploring their own areas and I ventured towards the floating bridge where I've heard the really pretty fish like to hang out. It was a bit awkward to hit streaks of warm and sometimes also yellow water. I couldn't help but scour for a perpetrator. But there was nobody close by, so I guess that's just the way it is.










I was well on my way to the floating bridge when suddenly I "ran" into a couple of absolutely gigantic fish. Here's a little fact about me: I love the ocean, but I'm absolutely terrified of drowning. I don't like deep waters and I certainly don't like big fish. I don't know any types of fish, I don't eat fish, but they don't kow that :) Anyway I panicked. I didn't know what type this big fish was (and how friendly...) and went on a race back to the steps bypassing my hubby, making everyone else crazy and turn around too. Clearly there must be a shark in the water . Ask questions later - get out of the water now. Well eventually everyone rolled their eyes at me, annoyed at having missed seeing the big fish. And eventually even I decided to get back in the water, but from now on I staid close by.










It was really quite beautiful - we snorkeled all over the big lagoon until we reached the floating bridge, where we got out of the water and walked over it. A very nauseating experience :) On the other side we explored the land until we came upon a hole in the ground with a photographer on the top. Turned out we found the swim-in cave... on land. Of course we had to get in now. The photographer took a mugshot for later purchase opportunity.



We walked a little more on land, coming up on the rope-swing pond. It looked interesting, but I had a mighty respect for the solid rock wall that you would crash into if you swung a little to far... Next we walked the path of conscience, which had been inspired by the frailty & beauty of nature. It's an uplifiting walk through woods, passing ponds & lagoons and over rocks following the pathway. The pathway was lined with rocks that held chiseled inscriptions quoting wise words like these (in Spanish):

"I pledge loyalty to the planet that gave me and all life the chance to be. I also pledge loyalty to the three and a half billion years that made it possible for us to be here.

We are responsible for making sure that the billions of people yet to come also have a chance to be. These unborn beings depend on the path we set for them. Our commitment ensures that their world will be at least as beautiful as our own"
David Brower










A pamphlet with translations is available - but it would get wet - unless you got your plastic bag... Let's not go there. It was a beautiful walk that took us straight to the "cliff of courage": a cliff jumping opportunity. Hubby & his twin were quite taken with this action and wouldn't leave for what seemed an eternity. I jumped twice, thoroughly bruising each time, but you just have to love that little feeling that makes your heart skip a beat when you jump off the cliff. Once you hit the water you're officially in the lazy river where people float by on tubes.

We snorkeled a bit more, but by now we've literally been in the water for hours and my sister in law and I were feeling the effects. Whenever I got a chance I pulled onto a rock and whorshipped the sun a bit to warm up. It was time to get out of the water, but hubby & his brother got caught up at the "Rope crossing". Men...



Eventually thoroughly shivering we got back to the big lagoon and went out of the water for a quick shower and some dry clothes. After this much excercise it was time for some food and we decided to eat at one of their restaurants. I forgot what we ordered, but I remember the food was all right!



With new found engery we ventured through the shops looking at all the beautiful nick-nacks that were absolutely useless but soooooo pretty. One thing I love about Mexico are all the pretty colors they use. Everything is bright and cheerful. It really lifts your spirits. The good thing for us was that our hotel offered the same souveniers we saw here in their gift shops for half the cost. We knew where we were going to shop.





With excercise, food & shopping behind us there was really only one thing left to do: Crash on Hammock island. It was very relaxing and I was just slightly worried about the coconuts on the tree above my hammock (I'm a total wuzz...). I could have slept forever, but it started to get dark and we still had a long way to go home. So sad as it was we had to leave paradise after only one day. But it was a day filled with fun, action & natural beauty we surely would never forget. A half day at Xel-ha is definetely not enough.




The ride back was very quiet, everyone was worn out and sleepy. However there was one last adventure on the horizon. The car needed to be returned with the same amount of gas as it had when received, no exception here. If you go to the gas station that the rental person tends to suggest (about 8 km behind the Moon Palace towards Cancun) then you might be in for a little trouble.

Most of the gas stations are on the road towards Playa del Carmen (2 lanes in each direction) and there are not many U-turn (or left turn) opportunities. Not to mention that you'll have to be in the left lane in order to do the U-turn, driving 80km/h. Try to slow down in the left lane in order to take the sandy spot between the two trees. Good luck with the upset driver behind you that was already bumper on bumper with you stupid tourist, driving only 80! He might just try to pass you on the left side.

Not in the mood for an accident I waited for a real turnaround opportunity and that took me all the way into Cancun, getting really lost at night. I turned around just to find out I was going the wrong way again when I started seeing the airport. That's it! I had to make an illegal U-turn right in front of the police, but they couldn't have cared any less.

We did eventually make it back - happy at the sight of the Moon Palace sign, worn out and tired from an awesome day!

PS: We learned from the experience and on our next trip got gas in Puerto Morelos which is about 30km from the Moon Palace. We did not need to fill up again by the time we were back.


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